Fish eating string

[fishnose]

I stupidly used cheesecloth to secure java moss to a rock. It all fell apart and there are little bits of string floating around in the water. I tried to get it all with my water changes but it keeps showing up...even after I got rid of the part holding the moss down.

I have seen some fish eating it and spitting it out but some of them are swallowing it. I saw my betta pooping string and now instead of long stringy pieces of string, some of it is in small fuzzy clumps that look like they have been through someone's pipes.

I am trying to get it all out but it is not easy. will eating it hurt my fish? I keep imagining their insides getting all clogged and sliced.

[limecharacin]

I've had that same problem, but my iratant was a wad a java moss that never grew to anything. All it did was fall apart into individual strands and clutter my gravel, it looked like I neglected my tank completely, a HUGE mess.

Have you tried to use some sort of fine mesh? What you could do is stir up your gravel so the little pieces float around in the water, then, with a piece of mesh cut to about the width of the tank run it through the water lengthwise to catch the pieces like a net. Watch out for your fish though! You could do this with a standard net, but every time I tried it all I did was create little currents that the mess followed so a bigger piece would be better.

Also, don't forget that your filter is made to catch these kinds of things, stir your gavel regularly along with more frequent medium changes.

I don't suspect that your fish would be harmed by something like string (animal digestive systems are SO much stronger than human), but I don't know for sure. If you see any signs of abnormal behavior it would be a good thing to transfer the sick one to a quarantine tank if you have one.

[fishnose]

Thank you very much, I feel better now . I have not tried mesh but I have tried a net with the same results you described. A ha! I just remembered I have some plastic-coated screening I can used to cover the moss instead of cheesecloth...that should prevent future problems.