Quarantine for wild plants?

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knifegill

knifegill

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2005
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Oscar Tummy
I don't mind the majority of micro and macro hitchhikers, but how long should I quarantine wild plants to be relatively sure most fish-oriented parasitic organisms will be expired? I'm thinking about a month. Any input? What would you do to wild aquatic plants to de-bug them?
 
I've got them divvied up into plastic containers. One looks like an ornate anacharis, and the hair algae is the kind that forms hexagons at the surface in still water. Just seeing snails and a few annelids, nothing scary. Still allowing time for any microscopic snail-to-fish bugs to die off. So probably a month.
 
I don't have an answer for your question. I don't usually bother with quarantining plants. I sometimes grow them out in another tank until I can be bothered to put them in the display, which I guess amounts to the same thing.

Your algae is Hydrodictyon, AKA water net. It is a nutrient hog and will perish in clean water in my experience. Pics of the other plant?
 
It's not quite hydrodictycon from pics I'm seeing. The hexagons formed are more like little 1" bowls at the surface of the water. Individual filaments are spaghetti-like and firm, several inches long. Now that I've mucked with it, it just looks like a wad of hair algae.

Pics coming in awhile.
 
I like to QT plants for a week or so, but a month certainly seems like plenty of time ...
 
you dont need to QT them. soak them in a bleach solution of 19 parts water 1 part bleach for 15 to 20 min then rinse the bleach off realy good and there ready to be put in your tank
 
kingkarter;4558137; said:
you dont need to QT them. soak them in a bleach solution of 19 parts water 1 part bleach for 15 to 20 min then rinse the bleach off realy good and there ready to be put in your tank
Click to expand...

More like 2 - 5 minutes any longer will kill the plant too and error to the lower side for the more delicate plant. then rinse them off and soak in some water with dechlorinator. that should take care of anything on them but it can sill be kind of rough on the plant. i know there are other dips you can do without bleach but i haven't tried them so i cant really tell you how well they work.
 
Hmm. Yeah. About that. This whole bleach thing. Riiight, well it's not exactly my idea of a good time. I'm glad it worked out for you and others, but I think I'll just watch the plants for now.
 
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