Does Lead Affect Goldfish?

by Joe
(Delaware USA)

Can I use lead fishing weights in my fishtank? I use small fishing weights to hold down the air pump bubbler and some of the bigger plants.

Do the bare lead weights "leach" off into the water? There does not appear to be short term effects but are there long term effects on the fish?

Thanks for your help,
Joe from Delaware USA

---

Grant's Reply

Hi Joe
Unfortunately yes, lead is one of the non-ferrous, heavy metals that poison Goldfish.

Lead can cause severe neurological and physiological damage, accumulating in the liver, kidneys and gills.

Goldfish absorb minerals and chemicals through their skin and gills directly from the water.

This makes them particularly susceptible to water borne poisons.

You mention that there appears to be no short term effects from using lead fishing weights so far.

Your pH affects the rate of leaching. A low pH increases the release of lead into the water. If you are maintaining a neutral pH this would slow the process.

Also, if you are doing frequent water changes, this would also slow the accumulation of lead in your fish's organs, but, it will still be accumulating however slowly.

My advice is, remove the fishing weights as soon as possible.

I use acrylead that I buy in sheets from plumber's merchants. It has a coating on it that minimizes lead leaching into the water.