Help me clean plants

[Discusdude7]

Got 2 amazon swords at a lfs today and I wanna put them in pots in my 120 barebottom tank, my question is how should I go about cleaning them? Just rinsing under tap? Bleach? If bleach...then what dosage in a seperate container?
Thanks

[RodneyL001]

with some of my amazon's I did a 10 to 1 with bleach, it did cause some stress to the plants, they turned a little brown but seem to have recovered from the initial shock. I must admit I don't always treat, I did with one plant because I did see one small snail on the plant before I bought it.

[Discusdude7]

with some of my amazon's I did a 10 to 1 with bleach, it did cause some stress to the plants, they turned a little brown but seem to have recovered from the initial shock. I must admit I don't always treat, I did with one plant because I did see one small snail on the plant before I bought it.

How long do you let it soak?

[Siddhartha Saive]

I advise not to use any chemicals

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[pcsb23]

I advise not to use any chemicals

I agree

They will just cause stress to the plants and open the door for algae. All I do is rinse them carefully and thoroughly under running water these days.

[RodneyL001]

of course their are varying opinions on this one, you will get some who advise to soak, I let mine soak about 10 seconds, of course if you get your plants from a source you have complete confidence in, then it won't be an issue.

[Discusdude7]

I agree

They will just cause stress to the plants and open the door for algae. All I do is rinse them carefully and thoroughly under running water these days.

Paul,
I wasn't worried so much about snails but more about something from the lfs (bacteria?) that gets into the tank and makes my fish sick. Do you think this will happen even if I don't bleach dip them?

[pcsb23]

Paul,
I wasn't worried so much about snails but more about something from the lfs (bacteria?) that gets into the tank and makes my fish sick. Do you think this will happen even if I don't bleach dip them?

I think we need to be pragmatic

The problem with dipping plants in harsh chemicals is the plants themselves are harmed, this then means the bioload in the tank increases as the bits of damaged plant decomposes, which robs the water of O2, which lowers the redox and water quality. It can also cause ammonia and nitrites to form due to the decomposing matter. Algae can take hold, further setting the plants back, and so the cycle goes on ...

I'm more concerned about maintaining water quality, this helps to ensure the well being of the fish. Bacteria is ever present, there is nothing (in practical terms) that we can do about it either, what we can do though is ensure the fish have the best possible environment so their immune systems deal with any pathogens.

[Discusdude7]

I think we need to be pragmatic

The problem with dipping plants in harsh chemicals is the plants themselves are harmed, this then means the bioload in the tank increases as the bits of damaged plant decomposes, which robs the water of O2, which lowers the redox and water quality. It can also cause ammonia and nitrites to form due to the decomposing matter. Algae can take hold, further setting the plants back, and so the cycle goes on ...

I'm more concerned about maintaining water quality, this helps to ensure the well being of the fish. Bacteria is ever present, there is nothing (in practical terms) that we can do about it either, what we can do though is ensure the fish have the best possible environment so their immune systems deal with any pathogens.

Thanks Paul, so a through rinse in tap water is fine ?

[pcsb23]

Well it is what I have been doing for the many years now. I use a mixer tap so the water is tepid (you will last longer that way - believe me!). With broad leave plants like swords it's easy, even then you need to be careful with them. It also allows the opportunity to remove any old or dead/dying leaves. With the smaller stuff it gets trickier, but I've managed to rinse HC without too much issue. Like everything with discus it just takes a bit of patience

[quattrok04]

Hey how about hydrogen peroxide, I used it before to get rit of some alge on a few leaf and it work like magic!!

[Discusdude7]

Well it is what I have been doing for the many years now. I use a mixer tap so the water is tepid (you will last longer that way - believe me!). With broad leave plants like swords it's easy, even then you need to be careful with them. It also allows the opportunity to remove any old or dead/dying leaves. With the smaller stuff it gets trickier, but I've managed to rinse HC without too much issue. Like everything with discus it just takes a bit of patience

Paul, I am suspecting the plants to have snails. Should I do a bleach dip or is rinsing the plants enough?

[Discusdude7]

Will excel kill snail eggs

[wild-blue-discus]

Hey there
have you tried taking a sponge soaked with API's Leaf zone or seachem's excel and gently wiping them down leaving for about 5min then rinsing or just refilling tank?
It works a treat on Anubis and other slow growing plants that often get an algae build u p on the leaves, without having to resort to bleach (which i used to be guilty of doing)

[pcsb23]

Paul, I am suspecting the plants to have snails. Should I do a bleach dip or is rinsing the plants enough?

Bleach will damage the plants and will allow algae to take hold. If you must dip for snail use a chelated copper treatment like cuprazin and then rinse carefully as any copper is toxic to shrimp etc ...

Will excel kill snail eggs

Don't know, sorry.