Can New Plants Contaminate?

It's a good idea. Often time if you get plants from pet stores and those plants are in tanks with sick fish a disease may be present on the plant itself or in the water that comes with it.

 

If I buy new plants I allways set them in an seperated tank for at least 14 days. Most of the time I refresh the water of the tank too at least 2 times.

 

Yeah. It wouldn't hurt to add plant safe medications to the water either, if you're really paranoid. Hehe

 

I know the best solution, you should cook them like the rocks

 

I'm sure some nice boiled plants would look really nice in your aquarium.

 

Use plant dips to clean your plants of any parasites or snails. You can find some info on this site. http://www.aquariaplants.com/plantdipsbaths.htm

 

i dont think id ever attempt to use bleach on plants

 

i don't use the bleach method either i use the alum version to remove the microscopic bugs and snails algae is the least of my concern cause if you have a good filter algae normally clears itself and fish and inverts eat so i think algae is ok

 

Yeah, the algae wouldn't worry me. I really never thought about parasites or anything hitching a ride on plants before. Luckily the people I purchased plants online from had healthy tanks.

 

my fish love those algae sheets you get at petsmart

 

Hopefully it doesn't die from the heat.

With java moss you just have to anchor it down with a rock or tie it to something. It will quickly attach itself to something. I push my finger in the substrate and just push a bit of the java moss down like that.

 

make a good thick batch or ick cure and soak em in it for 30 mins the rinse the heck out of them pretty much kills anything except for maybe a few sanil eggs

 

DEFINATELY avoid the bleach method, My husband caught a note stating I was going to clean up and rearrange my 90...anyways he thought he'd do me a favor and wash up the plants with a 15:1 water to bleach 2 minute soak and refresh them in a good 10 minute soak of water and Prime. Well he replaced them back in my tank and within 24 hours most of them were mushy looking and everything breathing was at the top of my tank gasping! When I came home I immediately removed all the plants, replaced filter media, and did a major water change. I now have a plantless tank! He's soo lucky he was trying to do something nice or there would have been serious repercussions!
I'm now in the market for some low-medium light plants needless to say

 

There is no such thing as guaranteed snail free - I found out the hard way. My advise is to quarantine the plants for 2 weeks after dipping them in the bleach solution mentioned. The last thing you want are snails or disease.