Quarantining & disinfecting new plant.

I bought 5 new plants today and I have them sitting in bucket of dechlorinated tank water at the moment.

This is my first time using real plants, so I'm a bit nervous, and now I have a few questions.

Advice I've have read online says to quarantine them for a while before putting them into your healthy tank ...this will highlight if there is any bugs or snails or whatever.

Also, other advice given suggests using a Potassium permanganate product to disinfect the plants.

Can someone give me a brand name of a Potassium permanganate product and where can I get it?


Is it necessary or can I use something like Dettol or Bleach instead?


If this product is used on these plants is it then safe to put them into my main tank immediately, or do I still need to quarantine…I was not clear on that.


As I don't have a quarantine tank available the moment (as its already in use) Can I leave these plants in bucket for a few days in a sunny spot in the room? Is it okay that the water temperature will fall to room temperature?

Many thanks!

Lazerus wrote:

As I don't have a quarantine tank available the moment (as its already in use) Can I leave these plants in bucket for a few days in a sunny spot in the room? Is it okay that the water temperature will fall to room temperature?

I sometimes end up with cutting from plants in a cooler box in the shed. They easily last a couple of days. To be honest, if you dont mind snails, put them in right away.

Be careful though. Keep them away from the sides, as you will disturb them when cleaning. Also have an idea of how tall they grow, bigger ones to the back. Also if you hoover your gravel, make sure you position the plants to suit you, the fish and whatever else you have in the tank. They will also need light, so get a timer if you do not already have one, B+Q do one for seven euro.

Clean plants with some cotton wool, especially under the leaves, this is where snail eggs are deposited. Be gentle with plants out of water, as its easy to damage the stems. Depending on the plants, you may need to feed them, you may find later on that you need co2, there is a good article on a diy version.

Ok!! Thanks...

I would put them in right away tonight(especially if I find out about this sugar & water trick on the other thread I posted on a minute ago )

But the only thing is, I'm still reluctant to put them in, until I'm sure they are disinfected correctly, because I'd be afraid that there might be a problem of possible diseases that may be lingering on the plants, and be passed onto my healthy fish or maybe they are harboring pests such as Hydra.

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Ps. When they do go into my tank, there is plenty of light - its a Fluval 500 tank (10 gal) and it has a 'Day-Glo' bulb. Its attached to a timer. They will remain there temporarily...maybe a week or two, and then be transferred into an 84L tank. (I'm still setting it up)

I bought plants that are suitable for my tank height wise....the tallest I've bought is the 'Amazon Swordplant', then a 'Twisted Vallis' and I got a Red leaved Cryptocoryne (Gorgeous!)

So I imagine should be okay height wise.

Prior to this week I would have scoffed at the idea of quarantining plants before adding them to an existing setup. Certainly, by all means run them under chlorinated water or submerse them in a very light bleach and water solution but the idea of setting up a single purpose quarantining tank seemed slightly over kill. After adding new additions to my planted tank last week (using the wash thoroughly with chlorinated water method) I experienced a 100% wipe out of the fish in my tank in about 6 days from the time I noticed the whitespot. I have never witnessed a more virulent strain of the parasite and it literally laughed at all the medications and treatments I used. Although, the species of fish were fairly hardy they where no match and they all ended up looking like Sugar Doughnuts before they passed.

Hence my opinion has now changed! I had previously heard horror stories from a few people about their fish stocks being decimated by a very resistant strain of whitespot. So, with that in mind and after my experience I would suggest that if you are planning on getting some new plant editions. Get a bucket, fill it with dechlorinated water and add a heater to bring the water temp up to about 30 degrees. Throw in the plants and leave stand for about a week. This should break the cycle of the whitespot parasite as they wont find a host and should die off. The high level of heat also shortens the length of the life cycle speeding up the process. Hope this information helps.

Regards

Denis

I would quarentine them for at least a wk, changing some of the water every 2 days. I made a mistake of putting plants into the tank too early and I nearly killed all of my fish. They were carrying a strain of disease my fiah were not accustomed to. I lost 6 and managed to save the rest!!

Patience is the key here! BTW I would not use bleach of dettol it might be too strong for them and kill the plants.

Potassium permanganate also know as permanganate of potash is used for a treatment for bad foot odour and can be found in most chemist shops it will come in tablet form avoid brand names as they may contain other chemicals.


it is very dangerous to aquatic life and caries a warning about this!

in the past i have used this when starting a second hand tank to destroy any danger from previous infection

as for its use with plants i have no experience and its effect on plants???????

but if you follow instruction you found earlier i would expect it to be safe do i would suggest you wash in clean water well after treatment.