Aquarium plant quarantaine?

Illustrator posted: 11.07.2011

Dear all,

besides fish I am also interested in plants, so my aquariums tend to be rather "green". Today I bought a new plant in the lfs, unfortunately it was in an aquarium which also contained fish. The fish appeared healthy, but I didn't put the new plant in my Goodeid aquarium yet. In stead I have it in a small plastic container. My question is: is it sensible to "quarantaine" a plant like this and how long should this be done to get rid of fish parasites and diseases which might "hitchike" with a plant?

I believe that we have to be extra carefull not to introduce diseases to our fish, which is why I ask this question here.

seriouslyfish posted: 12.07.2011

Hi Paul,

A quick salt dip should kill the majority of parasites and other nasties. Just submerge the plant in salty water for 10 minutes or so and of course clean it thoroughly with fresh water afterwards.

Cheers

Illustrator posted: 13.07.2011

Not an option with Cryptocoryne ... I think that the plants would be reduced to rhizomes and, yes, they will probably recover, but this takes a long time ...

Things that are not "parasites" are to me not always "nasties" , I would love to get some of the dragonfly nymphs that occasionally are found between aquarium plants, in order to grow them to adulthood and determine the species. Might be something cool from Canary islands or so! (A major aquarium plant nursery is located on Tenerifa and it would be interesting to see for which species transport of aquarium plants ia s pathway for new introductions).