Banned Vallisneria Species

[malevolentsparkle]

I suspect that I have some in my tank. bought from a reputable store, is it legal? its on the pest list on doc's website:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/conservation/threats-and-impacts/weeds/have-you-seen-these-freshwater-weeds/ when i recently trimmed in it was easily over 1.5m long

[Bilbo]

I doubt its Gigantea, If its straight then its most likely to be V.spiralis which can easily get 1.5 mtrs.

Still banned though I think

[diver21]

straight val was recently banned but twisted is not. i think its because straight val and gigantea is too similar so its easier to just ban that too.

[malevolentsparkle]

its definitly not twisted. so could i get into trouble for having it?

[diver21]

well the fact that a fish store sold it to you i wouldnt worry and just enjoy it for the plant it is and throw plant clippings in the compost/ rubbish bin instead of down the drain. not like maf or someone will hunt you down for an unconfirmed plant and tell you off will they?

but thats just me..

[malevolentsparkle]

Did a bit of research:

2 banned species: Vallisneria gigantea (500 - 2000mm+) and Vallisneria americana (600 - 3000mm+) so mine is big enough to be one of these. of the allowed species only Vallisneria spiralis (200 - 1200mm) get even close enough to the length mine got to, but it is still a bit short. then again is length an identifying feature? probably not, plants grow different hights in different lighting for example.

I guess even if it is a banned species i'm not going to be throwing it in a lake or anything.

[phoenix44]

well the fact that a fish store sold it to you i wouldnt worry and just enjoy it for the plant it is and throw plant clippings in the compost/ rubbish bin instead of down the drain. not like maf or someone will hunt you down for an unconfirmed plant and tell you off will they?

but thats just me..

wanna bet?

They have visited many people and taken away any plant they thought looked suspicious.

[alanmin4304]

Gigantea is realy giant, up to round 50mm wide leaves. Spiralis has straight leaves and gets its name from the fact that the flowering stem spirals. The plant subcommittee is trying to get definitive answers on the status of these unwanted plants but it can be a challenge. Until we can get an answer it is best to be aware that it is a plant that can choke out lakes and waterways so be careful how you dispose of it.

[malevolentsparkle]

ok then it's not gigantea. how about americana? does that have wide leaves?

[alanmin4304]

It doesn't realy matter. If it has straight leaves it is an unweanted organism and cannot be propagated, commercially advertised or displayed and cannot be sold. At this stage we don't know if you can keep it, but hope to find the answer soon.

[malevolentsparkle]

so your saying it would of been better if I didn't broadcast the fact that I had some over the internet

[phoenix44]

so your saying it would of been better if I didn't braodcast the fact that I had some over the internet

I would say so! :lol:

It can't legally be "propagated, commercially advertised or displayed and cannot be sold". It would be hard to have it in the tank and not grow it, but that's a bit hazy. ill have to find out if posession is illegal, but i know upfliting it from an established area is illegal. So that would make the plant in general illegal cause it had to come from somewhere to start off from and most likely came from a pond somewhere.

[supasi]

As Alan said, We in the sub committee are looking into it. I have arranged a meeting n a few weeks time with our local authorities to find the status in the Wanganui/Manawatu region. I will see what they say about the rest of NZ. I would suspect that it is likely to be unwanted and the safest option is to not have it.

I have seen first hand the damage it does to water ways. If you want picture to prove it then I can post them up for you if you want.

HTH

[supasi]

Eel Grass is Val.

Hornwort(Ceratophyllum demersum) Green Plant and Potomogeton(brown Plant)

Val. Gigantica and Spiralis, The water here is waist deep and it is like this almost all the way around the lake edge. The only limiting factor for the Val being around the edges only is te fact it is too deep near the middle for it to grow. This lake is a popular boating and waterskiing lake. It regularly gets sprayed to kill of the weeds. This costs the local council a lot of uneccessary funds.

[Aquila]

I have recently been in contact someone at MAF in Wellington who cleared things up a bit regarding Val.

Straight leaf Vallisneria is an 'unwanted organism' and it is illegal to sell, propagate, release and commerically display it under the Biosecurity (as others have already said). However, because it is already established in NZ you will not be fined for having some in your aquarium (particulary because it used to be sold in petstores). In fact, there are rarely any fines dealt out unless you are mass producing it and distributing across the country. By 'propagate', they are referring more to the ACTIVE process of letting it spread for later sale/distribution to others.

MAF are trying to discourage people from owning it, selling it on TradeMe, or giving it out to friends' aquariums in an effort to mitigate its spread. They will not attempt to hunt you down if they happen to see a picture of your aquarium with some Val in it. They DO occasionally check TradeMe for people selling it and just pass that information onto that person's regional council. It will be up to the regional council whether they want to investigate matters further or contact the person. I believe in these situations, the person just receives a message to stop selling it as most people are just not aware.

The spiral variety of Val is permitted at the moment.

For more information, simply contact your regional council for advice. Depending on where you are from, the regional council will have differing advice. In certail areas, you may be asked to destroy it because the risks to local environments is greater.

[alanmin4304]

I was told at my meeting with the Regional Council last week that Maf check Tradem last thing each Friday. There are degrees with these unwanted plants and this is what we are trying to clarify. Things like water hyacinth would be destroyed on the spot by Maf.