Disinfecting New Plants-

aunt kymmie

I've got some new plants arriving any day. The plants I currently keep have taken a serious nose dive after treating the tank w/ salt & hi temp for ich. I'm nearly 100% convinced the ich was introduced into the tank by the addition of some new plants not too long ago. Lesson learned. Do not buy plants from a tank where fish are being kept!

The question I have is: What's the best way to treat these new plants I'm getting without killing the plants BEFORE I put the plants into the tank? My fish can't handle another ich outbreak and neither can I!

A bleach dip solution? A dip of potassium permanganate?

kritas

No, no, and NO! Your plants were not the reason your tank blew up with ich, this i am sure 99.99%. Definitely a potassium pemanganate dip, just make sure it is diluted. Bleach will only kill snails, if it did kill bacteria, then it would also kill the plant. I would not reccomend bleach dipping, or PP dipping any expensive plants, it is simply to risky, as expensive oplants are very delicate.]

Quarantine your plants, like you would with any fish(maybe you don't quarantine fish?). 2 weeks minimum IMO, and leave them in with a disposable fish(like a white cloud or something) to check whether or not the Plant is infected.

Hope that helps =D

Kind Regards,
Nicholas.

1077

If the plants you suspected of introducing ICH came from a tank with fish then it is entirely possible that ICH was introduced in this way. I have had it happen. I do not believe the Ich parasite can surrvive more than ten days without a host(fish). were it me I might soak the plants in dechlorinated water for a couple weeks and then rinse the hell out of em. I have also heard of mild bleach dip but some plant's I have heard are more sensitive than others.

aunt kymmie

Thanks for the info.

I know the ich must had to been introduced by the plants. The group of clowns (the first fish in the tank showing symptoms) were the last addition to the tank two months ago. Even if I had keep them in QT for four weeks instead of two the end result would have been the same: ICH!
Man, I really hate *&^@! ich!

I had sent a PM to fish_4_all last night and he confirms that the potassium permanganate is the product to use as it will kill all "critters" on the plants. If the dip is done properly it won't harm the plants. I'll keep the plants in QT for awhile to be sure they are risk free.

Now my only worry is if the plants I receive are living and healthy. My last batch sucked. Off to the post office to pick them up....wish me luck!

jeaninel

Hope your plants arrive well and healthy. Make sure you wear gloves and old clothes when you treat them. I've heard that PP stains really bad.

aunt kymmie

The plants arrived today and I'm very excited! The ones from Malaysia look as nice as the pictures showed. Thanks for the heads up on the PP. Fish_4_all says it will stain you purple for a very long time if you aren't careful with it.

I also got plants from:

Home Page

These plants are of very high quality and Cory, the owner of the company, is a great guy. Excellent customer service, not to mention great pricing. He assured me his plants come from *fish free* tanks so I don't have too much worry about them. I highly recommend his site as a source for plant purchases.

I'll still dip all the plants because at this point I'm still very cautious. I even set up a QT tank for the plants, complete w/lighting and a heater. The boyfriend thinks I'm an absolute geek. Oh well, to each his own.

Thanks for all the info; you're all fantastic with your willingness to help.
Off to do my water change.....whoo hoo!!

Kim

I totally agree about bayleesfishees! I ordered plants for my 15 gallon there, and was impressed with the results. Even though they got stuck in the mail for an extra day they still came in looking good. He gave me a whole package of plants for only $20 which was definitely enough to fill my tank! And, all the plants except one type (which just didn't do well in my water) survived my noob mistakes! I'm getting plants for my 29 gallon from there...can't wait for Christmas!!

Anyway, I can't wait to see your tank and new plants. I'm sorry about your ick outbreak though...that stuff is hard to deal with :( Post some pics once you plant them!