Freshwater plants in saltwater tank?

SueAndHerZoo

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I'm always adding macroalgae to my tanks (not cheap) and I have a large pond in my backyard that I will be closing down for the season. I have LOTS of freshwater plants in there that won't survive the winter and I would love to put some of those clippings in my seahorse tank. Is there any chance freshwater plants live in saltwater?
 

ISpeakForTheSeas

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Is there any chance freshwater plants live in saltwater?
No - very few plants can handle both submersion (especially deep submersion, like 12+ inches under water) and marine levels of salt:
The database below definitely isn't perfect, so I'd verify that any plant on the list you're interested in can handle both submersion and 35ppt salinity (a lot of plants can handle one or the other; relatively few can handle both), but it should be a good place to get some ideas from at least:
Currently, the only non-mangrove/seagrass plant that I've verified can handle submersion and 35 ppt conditions is Sarcocornia perennis - but it grows best at lower salinities and when kept moist rather than submerged (it was submerged at 5cm under the water in the study below, and that was the condition that correlated with the highest mortality rates in the plant).

As a note here, the depth the plant is going to be submerged at under the water is important (as a general rule of thumb, the less water that covers the roots, the better, though are definitely exceptions to this rule; verifying how much water the plant you're interested in can handle is a good idea).
 
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SueAndHerZoo

SueAndHerZoo

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No - very few plants can handle both submersion (especially deep submersion, like 12+ inches under water) and marine levels of salt:
Thank you for that, was jut trying to find something like that on Google. I have some floating pond plants that might have a better chance but I really don't want them floating so probably a "no go". Thanks for the quick replies.
 

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