Pothos toxic?

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Mount_Prion

Mount_Prion

Piranha
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Jan 31, 2012
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I think I heard somebody mention somewhere that pothos can be toxic when eaten.

I'm thinking about putting a ton of them all over my swamp setup as I've had mixed results with some other plants, and I know pothos will get viney/rooty in there and look cool.

I've grown pothos before in sumps but never in the main enclosure with livestock. So should I be concerned? I'd mainly worry that my turtle will eat some, as I've seen him nipping at plants before a bit.

My instinct tells me not to worry but just want to check to make sure.
 
It is only harmful in large quantities. The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals, which are more of an irritant than a toxin.
 
Dan F said:
It is only harmful in large quantities. The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals, which are more of an irritant than a toxin.
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So in a tank with a very carnivorous turtle and some carnivorous fish, it'd be safe to string it up all about and have a lot of root mass going into the water? As I said, I sort of assumed it'd be OK but didn't want to do it and regret it later.
 
Mount_Prion said:
So in a tank with a very carnivorous turtle and some carnivorous fish, it'd be safe to string it up all about and have a lot of root mass going into the water? As I said, I sort of assumed it'd be OK but didn't want to do it and regret it later.
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I've only used it with fish, but I would be pretty surprised if your turtle would eat it. One of the symptoms is "extreme irritation of the mouth" when eaten.
 
Mount_Prion said:
I think I heard somebody mention somewhere that pothos can be toxic when eaten.

I'm thinking about putting a ton of them all over my swamp setup as I've had mixed results with some other plants, and I know pothos will get viney/rooty in there and look cool.

I've grown pothos before in sumps but never in the main enclosure with livestock. So should I be concerned? I'd mainly worry that my turtle will eat some, as I've seen him nipping at plants before a bit.

My instinct tells me not to worry but just want to check to make sure.
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I've heard this about Philodendron species but not about pothos.
 
My res has pothos in his tank, he has nibbled and to no ill effects, same with my fish... I was told only mammals can have adverse effects from ingestion!

Your good to go, and check out the link below for some tips or sweet pothos setups for inspiration!

_________________________________________________________________________
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?504763-Cheap-plants-less-nitrate!-POTHOS

*Go S. Vettel #1 RBR! 3 BACK TO BACK WDC AND CONSTRUCTERS! :cheers:
 
F1 VET said:
My res has pothos in his tank, he has nibbled and to no ill effects, same with my fish... I was told only mammals can have adverse effects from ingestion!

Your good to go, and check out the link below for some tips or sweet pothos setups for inspiration!

_________________________________________________________________________
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?504763-Cheap-plants-less-nitrate!-POTHOS

*Go S. Vettel #1 RBR! 3 BACK TO BACK WDC AND CONSTRUCTERS! :cheers:
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Thanks! I'm going to try to get a big-leafed non-marbled variety, seen some in the plant district. I'll post pics when it's grown in a bit, but I think it's gonna be really cool because there should be a lot of surface area for it to vine up and the roots should be very visible.
 
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