Plants

[chrisinha]

Does anyone know or maybe point out some literature about how to treat plants before placing them into the tank? I got a Java moss ball today and I want to make sure it doesnt have any disease...

Thanks!

[Hitch]

use the bleach dip technique.

make a 20:1 water:bleach solution. Soak the plant in there for about a min, and then rinse thoroughly.

I have used this technique on my flame moss and it doesnt damage the plants.

[DJ-don]

use the bleach dip technique.

make a 20:1 water:bleach solution. Soak the plant in there for about a min, and then rinse thoroughly.

I have used this technique on my flame moss and it doesnt damage the plants.

this is a very effective idea but to my experience not many plants house diseases. and if u dont thoroughly rinse the plant after, it can kill the fish quickly
usually if u dont want snails just put your plant into a bucket of normal tap water
tapwater does contain chlorine and will kill snails but depnding on how strong the concentrations of chlorine are in your water you should leave it in ther for and hour or so

[Shane]

The bleach/water soak works well on firm leaved plants. It might prove a bit strong for a moss. If you are worried, I would just place the java moss in "quarantine" in a clear jar or flower vase in a window sill (or near a window) where it can get some indirect sunshine for a few weeks. This will be at least as safe as quarantining new fish before adding them (and you will be growing lot more Java moss meanwhile).
-Shane

[chrisinha]

Well I did what Hitch suggested and used bleach at a rate of 20:1, but now I'm worried it might kill my fish
I placed the moss ball in a plastic container under running water to make sure I rinse all the bleach off but would it be enough? How can I make sure?

[MatsP]

Well I did what Hitch suggested and used bleach at a rate of 20:1, but now I'm worried it might kill my fish
I placed the moss ball in a plastic container under running water to make sure I rinse all the bleach off but would it be enough? How can I make sure?

That should certainly be enough unless you ran the water for a VERY short time.

--
Mats

[apistomaster]

Rinsing off a 20:1 household bleach solution is sufficient but if you still have reservations, then dip the plants in water with 2-3 times the recommended dose of dechlorinator.

[Hitch]

a thorough rinse is all you need. As long as the plant doesnt smell like bleach anymore you are good.

[chrisinha]

Thanks guys!

I let the water run for about 5 minutes then I put it in a clear jar with dechlorinated by the window as suggested. I'm going to wait a few days to add it to the tank.

[apistomaster]

It only takes minutes to neutralize the residual bleach that you are imagining is still present.
Don't you "Get It"?

[chrisinha]

It only takes minutes to neutralize the residual bleach that you are imagining is still present.
Don't you "Get It"?

uh i really "didn't get" the very last part of your post. it "sounded" a bit aggressive. however, i'm not sure because it's really hard to determine the "tone" of any post on the internet.

[apistomaster]

Amazed would be the best way to characterize my post. There is nothing present to harm your tank. The plants do not absorb the Chlorine.
I don't understand not putting the plants back where they can recover from the stressful exposure to bleach ASAP.

[chrisinha]

Amazed would be the best way to characterize my post. There is nothing present to harm your tank. The plants do not absorb the Chlorine.
I don't understand not putting the plants back where they can recover from the stressful exposure to bleach ASAP.

and i don't understand why the fact of me being extra cautious upsets you so much to the point that you "attack" someone who you don't even know. if you think what i'm doing is too much for you, just dont post on my thread please.

[MatsP]

Now, children, calm down. We don't want anyones feelings hurt...

Larry, I know that you have a very scientific background, so it's indeed obvious to you that chlorine is not absorbed by the plants, and that it's unlikely that plants harbour anything that may be bad for the fish in general (other than the ubiquitous snail eggs, which would be killed by bleach, if I understand it right) . But not everyone is that experienced in biology, chemistry and physics.

Being cautious about what we put in our tanks is a good thing. Understanding how things work together is a good thing. Learning from what other people know is a good thing.

Chrisinha: Use your nose. Chlorine has a strong smell. If you can smell it, it's bad. If you can't, rinse a little bit more just to be safe (or dip in dechlorinator mixed with water at a relatively high dose - e.g. a few drops in a measuring jug or some such). Bear in mind as well that if you shake out most of the water, there will be very little water to carry chlorine into the tank.

--
Mats

[apistomaster]

Most snail eggs require a bleach solution too strong for the 20:1 bleach solution to kill which would kill most plants and all algae.

[RickE]

To go back to the start a bit, does anyone have any experience of introducing disease with plants? (Apart from snails which some people might classify as a disease but which are easily treated with a dose of Botia.)

[Bas Pels]

I haven't

Fish deseases are normally either internally or water borne. Internal deseases are hard to imagine taken along with plants, and if one aquires plants and takes them home in a bag without water, a simple rinsing (not that I ever bothered) would remouve any water the plant would carry.

@ bleach solution, I'm happy to say my house is free of this very tocic, harmfull dangerous substance

[apistomaster]

Other than the ubiquitous snails that plants carry the only problems plants have ever introduced to any of my tanks are Hydra and those are rarely noticed until one begins feeding Artemia nuaplii every day as in raising fish fry. This abundance of food can cause an incredible Hydra population explosion. Fortunately we finally have a very safe and effective remedy; flubendazole. It only takes a low dose to completely eliminate them within a week. Hydra spread so easily that I had to treat all my tanks at the same time to eliminate them from all my tanks.
It took me nearly 4 decades before I ever had to deal with Hydra and I hate them with a vengeance.

[MatsP]

bleach solution, I'm happy to say my house is free of this very toxic, harmful dangerous substance

I'm sad to say mine isn't, but it's not going anywhere near my fish. [Spelling mistakes in quote fixed].

--
Mats

[L number Banana]

Hi, I think the extra caution with moss balls is always worth it since there's such a large hollow interior. If I want to move one of mine, I squeeze and rinse and squeeze and rinse like a sponge. They hold A LOT of water.

You said Java Moss balls so I don't really know if those have hollow interiors like my moss balls (really an algae ball) but better safe than sorry

[chrisinha]

Hi, I think the extra caution with moss balls is always worth it since there's such a large hollow interior. If I want to move one of mine, I squeeze and rinse and squeeze and rinse like a sponge. They hold A LOT of water.

You said Java Moss balls so I don't really know if those have hollow interiors like my moss balls (really an algae ball) but better safe than sorry

thank you LnB. Yep this is exactly what i have... they told me it was a [java] moss ball and the fish are supposed to eat it because it's actually an algae ball like you said and that's why i was so cautious about it. it does 'look' like a sponge and hold a lot of water.

[apistomaster]

Marimo Moss balls are unlikely to survive a bleach solution dip. That process is best suited for sturdy higher plants to remove algae.

[L number Banana]

Hi Apistomaster,
I dipped my mossballs in a 10% beach solution a couple weeks ago to kill off any snail eggs. It *looks* like it worked as they're still nice and green but I'll keep my eye on them just in case, thanks. I was also worried about transferring something like ick. Like a twit, I managed to transfer an outbreak from a QT tank to my main two tanks. Don't know how exactly but now all my nets, siphon tubes etc are colour coded. Learning from mistakes

Hey Chrisinha,
My fish and shrimps do eat from the mossballs. I can't see what they're eating but they look good all time and if you want another one, just pull off a little piece and put it somewhere with a current to make sure it rolls around once in a while to keep it round. I've never had any kind of fish actually eat the ball itself but more like graze from it.
You can also waste time placing it in the bubble stream and seeing how many hours it will roll for. Very good time waster when baking or trying to avoid dishes.

Cheers