Sterilizing plants in discus tanks.

[dkeef]

If u put plants from different tanks into straight tap water for 24hrs, does cholorine kill everything on it that they are now considered safe to put in discus tanks?

[rickztahone]

I do not believe so. I have always done either a PP bath or a very quick bleach dip. Many times you will kill your plants but it is worth it, because plants can carry all kinds of stuff. Snails are the main things that plants harbor from tank to tank, but there are worst things as well.

I have always just played it safe, but as I said already, I have lost many plants in the process. Plants like anubias and swords are kind of hardy and they can sustain a little more abuse. Higher grade plants tend to fair less well under the procedure mentioned above. I remember losing a batch of stems that were about $150 :angry:

[dkeef]

Rick i already am losing some from doing pp bath for a day.
Im thinking spraying hydrogen peroxide for 10-15min then.

[RPMick]

Tapwater never cut it for me. For all of my freshwater/non-discus tanks I've used a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide to clean up any algae that may have come along for a ride on new plants. I have not found that to be effective for eliminating snail eggs or tiny snails that may be hidden away. I've tried bleach dips and peroxide dips...those put a serious hurting on the plants and some recovered, some didn't. Likely species specific.

I did just learn about these guys, Ruby Reef, and their HydroPlex solution. http://rubyreefinc.shptron.com/c/hydroplex I'm very interested to find others who have used it and get some feedback. I e-mailed them specifically about driftwood the other day and they suggested it's safe to dip driftwood for 10 minutes prior to aquarium introduction. Right now I have driftwood & anubias sitting on my porch waiting for a cycle to complete and I'm not interested in transporting anything that's hanging out in that rubbermaid, into my aquarium. So I'll likely be test running this stuff next week...but if it destroys my bacteria I'm going to be irritated. Took too long to cycle this new tank to start over again.

-Ryan

[OC Discus]

Just a thought. What about extended quarantine in clean water with large water changes? Won't parasites die without a host fish? What about viruses and other diseases?

[dkeef]

Not so concerned about algae or snail eggs. More on pathogens.

[Skip]

i have done quick bleach dip.. and used ALUM Dip

[RPMick]

If you're just looking to kill the bacteria then I'd absolutely give that hydroplex a try. I'm planning to keep some on hand for the QT and will run everything through it prior to making it into the display tank.

-Ryan

[elbeeaz]

I've been reading more and more about using Potassium Permanganate to clean plants and prepare them for adding to a tank. Where do you guys/gals buy yours?

[Davidzil]

Interesting, so whats the deal with hydroplex

[dprais1]

I've been reading more and more about using Potassium Permanganate to clean plants and prepare them for adding to a tank. Where do you guys/gals buy yours?

Ebay is where I got mine.

[Eddie]

Hydrogen peroxide dips

[Akili]

Hydrogen peroxide dipsDo you use it straight out of the bottle or mix it with water?, if mixing then how much?

[Eddie]

Do you use it straight out of the bottle or mix it with water?, if mixing then how much?

Dip them straight, no dilution.

[Akili]

Dip them straight, no dilution.Thanks

[brewmaster15]

I use to use "clout" which is was not available for the longest time. I see its now availible from Mardel...but not too common yet. It worked great on plants..


Theres a product called "LifeGuard" by jungle/tetra thats pretty common at LFS...It contains 1-chloro-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-4-imidazolidinone. I haven't used it yet, but suspect it will work great on plants as well.


hth,
al

[Filip]

Dip them straight, no dilution.

That means straight 3% H2o2 right?
How long you dip them usually?
And is this method considered complete parasite and bacteria safe method?

[Eddie]

That means straight 3% H2o2 right?
How long you dip them usually?
And is this method considered complete parasite and bacteria safe method?

About 5 minutes and rinse. Too long and it can harm the plants. It's pretty effective. Complete...that can be questioned. Everybody has their own methods.

[flowandbehold]

Dewormers like Kusuri usually work against snails, whenever I dosed my tank, any snails present would reach out of the water. I usually leave the plants in a PP solution for a couple of days in the backyard, rinsing them under the tap before planting.