QT for plants

[Roxanne]

Hi SD Planted people:)

Can you give me the heads up on plant QT? I bought some java moss for my driftwood, and I have it sitting in some tank water until I find out from you planted tankites how to treat it.

Thanks for the input;)

Roxanne

[nickmcmechan]

well...we all know we should and advise you to...the honesty is we don't!!!

meth blue dip if you want to

[zn394]

Done it both ways and noticed no difference. As mentioned we should, but often don't. Potassium permanganate is good as well.

Jeff

[seanyuki]

Hi Rox,

Just sharing...

Why quarantine new plants and how to rid them of bad bacteria.

Bringing home a new plant? Have you considered that you might be bringing to your pond some harmful bacteria? Getting rid of the bacteria should be done prior to adding the plant to your Koi Pond. (Most likely needed if coming from other "Koi" pond.) Most bacteria are attached to the Koi themselves, yet it is potentially possible to bring some bacteria with the plant.

Use Potassium Permanganate. Potassium permanganate oxidizes organic molecules in water. In this process, organisms and bacteria are killed.

Mixture: Add 2 tsp. of Potassium Permanganate to 3 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. Stir well using something like a stick. (Don't splash!) Place the bare root plant in the bucket. Let sit for 2 hours. Then remove and add plant to pond.

http://www.aquariumplants.com/Articles.asp?ID=111


Cheers
Francis:)

[Apistomaster]

I just rinse the plants well then use them. No dips or other treatments.
In over 4 decades in the hobby, the only pest that plants have ever been responsible for introducing to my tanks are Hydra. Hydra infestations are easily eliminated by a pinch of flubendazole powder per 10 gals and within a week they will be eradicated. The dose is much lower than we use to treat fish for flukes. It will not harm plants, fish fry nor adult fish. Hydra normally do not become noticeable until or unless you feed a good deal of live newly hatched brineshrimp. Under these conditions, a few hydra can undergo a huge population explosion.
You can almost see them begin to wither before your eyes within hours of adding flubendazole.
7-10 days is sufficient time to treat to eliminate them. I do every tank at the same time so they can't be accidentally reintroduced.

[Roxanne]

Thanks Larry

Hydra....I will check that out..might scope the water it's in out of curiosity....I was thinking of snails....that LFS has plants in seperate tanks, but I noticed he had snails in some bio topes, so I rang him and asked him if there was snails in his planted tanks, he said, "...not purposely, but if they are in there, the convicts would eat them...."...so I thought I should QT the java anyway...

Roxanne

[KDodds]

I'd be more concerned about fish pathogens than snails. The snails that usually come in unnoticed on plants as eggs are Physa spp., "pond snails". They do okay under discus temps and parms (most snails don't do as well in acidic, soft water), are definitely plant safe, and do a great job of helping "clean up" detritus and some algae. Some see them as "unsightly", but they're actually quite beneficial and help to round out a more "natural" ecosystem.

I QT additional plants in a 12g nanocube, along with any fish. I've a few cardinals making it out of QT today, and the tank will be ready for some Sunset Hygro from Harriet (thanks again Harriet) when it gets here.

[Roxanne]

I'd be more concerned about fish pathogens than snails. .

Yeah that was my first thought, but I didn't see the convicts so I assumed it was a fish free tank, but wanted to check with him on the snail thing cos I am working on my personal growth and my new mantra is..."assume nothing"...then he said convicts, so I did a 180 lol

does PP melt java moss at regular doses?..can't find a reference to the moss in particular....has anyone melted theirs?:D

[Roxanne]

Larry, I've read PP for the Hydra and flubendazol for planaria...never had planaria in my tanks, but get a stylaria invasion after live foods....can I say that without fraying any fins??:rolleyes2:

Rox

[Wahter]

Aquarium Products Fluke Tabs will definitely kill hydra - I've tried using their Clout and that wasn't strong enough. I've treated a couple of tanks for 3-4 days at half strength. It's hard on pl*cos though, so you might want to move them out if you have them in the tanks. The tentacles on the hydra seem to shrivel up/ die back during the treatment and then they haven't come back.

I soak all new plants in PP for awhile before sticking them into my tanks.

Hope that helps,


Walter

[Roxanne]

Thank you Walter, you are always helpful:)

What dose PP do you use? Dip or bath for how long?

Rox

....we can't get 'Clout' or fluke tabs in Oz boo hoo

[Wahter]

Thank you Walter, you are always helpful:)

What dose PP do you use? Dip or bath for how long?

Rox

....we can't get 'Clout' or fluke tabs in Oz boo hoo

Can you get Aquarium Products "Livebearer" - has the similar ingredients as Fluke Tabs.

I used Kordon Permoxyn in a 20-30 minute bath on the plants.

http://www.novalek.com/kordon/permoxyn/index.htm

Hope that helps,


Walter

[TankWatcher]

Rox, I'm very good at QT'ing my fish, but very bad when it comes to QT'ing my plants. I don't usually QT them :(

Anyhow, thought this thread might help http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=66909

[Roxanne]

Hi Robyn:)...Look at me...I'm in the planted section :D

[GrillMaster]

Hey Rox... I didn't read much of the replies but most reputable plant dealers dip em in PP before shipping em to ya. I know yer in Australia but check your resources. They should be doin everything to rid the plants from hitchhikers! :)

[Roxanne]

lololol...Mark, I might take offence at that were it not true:D

We're talking about a country where PP means wee wee, water change means flush the toilet, and QT means quarter time...if you saw the looks I get when I mention water changes to LFS's, you'd realise how funny and ironic your statement is :D..I got about 6-8 seconds of silence when I mentioned I would play it safe and QT the plant...

Thanks All:)

Roxanne

[TankWatcher]

Hey Rox... I didn't read much of the replies but most reputable plant dealers dip em in PP before shipping em to ya. I know yer in Australia but check your resources. They should be doin everything to rid the plants from hitchhikers! :)
Don't count on that Rox. Lots of snail hitch hike it into your tank along with plants, unless you do a PP dip yourself.

[shoggoth43]

A 5% bleach dip works fine. I do 3 minutes for most plants. 2 minutes for stem or "delicate" plants. Works fine. It's not gentle on the plant, but I haven't managed to find a local source for permanganate. Seems it's now one of those "terrorist" chemicals if you talk to people around here. I have no idea...

But it definitely killed any algae and snails when I moved everything from the old tank into the new one so it's brutally effective. Expect to have leaves slough off and some time for the plants to recover.

-
S

[shawnhu]

Bleach would probably be too rough on the moss, PP would be the choice if it was readily available.

I read Francis' post, a mixture of 2 tsp+3 gallons of water. That sounds like a lot of PP. I generally use a few crystals in a quart, and that is more than enough. You're looking for a nice ruby pink, and just enough water to cover the moss, you don't want to be wasting this chemical.

15-20 minutes should be enough to take out most organisms that are not visible to the eye.

Good luck Rox! And welcome to the planted world of fishkeeping :D