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Thread: How to quarantine new plants

  1. #1
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    How to quarantine new plants

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    What is your best practice to quarantine plants bought from LFS so that you don't get:
    a. Snail eggs
    b. Insect eggs or larvae
    c. Any other undesirables.

    TIA.

  2. #2
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    Re: How to quarantine new plants

    For my setup, i have a permanent plant quarantine tank that is currently a 14 liter plastic "guppy" brand tank, with a well-seasoned compact hang-on filter and a set of LED lights (Up Aqua T-Series)

    Any new plants that i get which come in the common LFS packets, cups or cartons... i will first remove them from the packaging and then rinse them thoroughly under running tap water for a few minutes. If I spot any strands of algae or snails or worms, i will manually remove them.

    Next step, i put the washed plants in a container with a dosage of ISTA Snail Remover for up to 1 hour, that will kill off snails and their eggs, along with hydra and other critters. Usually after 30 minutes i can see dead snails and critters lying on the bottom of the container.

    Then i put the snail-free plants into the quarantine tank and dose the following treatments:

    1. Easy-Life AlgExit (to kill algae and their spores)
    2. Seachem Paraguard (to kill parasites)

    The quarantine tank also houses a group of 20+ cherry shrimps (ie. lowest grade ones culled from my other tanks). They assist in eating up the dead or dying algae from the plants and performing general clean-up work. Interestingly, even with the repeated chemical treatments, the shrimps are all still thriving for months and even breed too.

    The plants will usually be left in the quarantine tank for up to a week (sometimes longer if algae is still visible amongst the plants), they get regular light schedules and fertilizer dosing to maintain growth. Once i'm satisfied the plants are algae and pest free, then they'll be moved to the main tanks.

    So far, this process (though lengthy) has ensured that i don't get anymore pests or algae hitchhiking into my tanks.
    Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 11th Mar 2015 at 22:24.
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  3. #3
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    Re: How to quarantine new plants

    Quote Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria View Post
    For my setup, i have a permanent plant quarantine tank that is currently a 14 liter plastic "guppy" brand tank, with a well-seasoned compact hang-on filter and a set of LED lights (Up Aqua T-Series)

    Any new plants that i get which come in the common LFS packets, cups or cartons... i will first remove them from the packaging and then rinse them thoroughly under running tap water for a few minutes. If I spot any strands of algae or snails or worms, i will manually remove them.

    Next step, i put the washed plants in a container with a dosage of ISTA Snail Remover for up to 1 hour, that will kill off snails and their eggs, along with hydra and other critters. Usually after 30 minutes i can see dead snails and critters lying on the bottom of the container.

    Then i put the snail-free plants into the quarantine tank and dose the following treatments:

    1. Easy-Life AlgExit (to kill algae and their spores)
    2. Seachem Paraguard (to kill parasites)

    The quarantine tank also houses a group of 20+ cherry shrimps (ie. culled from my other tanks). They assist in eating up the dead or dying algae from the plants and performing general clean-up work. Interestingly, even with all those chemical treatments, the shrimps are all still thriving for months and even breed too.

    The plants will usually be left in the quarantine tank for up to a week (sometimes longer if algae is still visible amongst the plants), they get regular light schedules and fertilizer dosing to maintain growth. Once i'm satisfied the plants are algae and pest free, then they'll be moved to the main tanks.

    So far, this process (though lengthy) has ensured that i don't get anymore pests or algae hitchhiking into my tanks.
    way cool, didn't know that ISTA snail remover product can be used to wipe out hydra too something new i learnt today

  4. #4
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    Re: How to quarantine new plants

    Quote Originally Posted by sixhunter View Post
    way cool, didn't know that ISTA snail remover product can be used to wipe out hydra too something new i learnt today
    Yeah, it wipes out alot of critters, i've seen hydra and even weird insects dropping dead inside the treatment container. I only use it as part of separate quarantine treatment though, its lethality makes me abit scared to dose it directly into an actual community tank with fishes and shrimps (i've never tried that yet).

    I guess there are many other brands of chemical snail removers which can also be used, they'll probably also kill insects and other critters too, just have to test and see.
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  5. #5
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    Re: How to quarantine new plants

    Any idea if the snail remover shrimp safe, never try placing the plants in with shrimps right after treatment?

    I gotten hold of it recently and used it a few times, however, they don't kill caterpillars lol, I had an infestation of water type caterpillar after I forego the diluted bleach treatment and went with the snail remover only treatment.

  6. #6
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    Re: How to quarantine new plants

    Quote Originally Posted by Ingen View Post
    Any idea if the snail remover shrimp safe, never try placing the plants in with shrimps right after treatment?
    Not sure if its shrimp safe, though i guess any snail killing chemicals in high enough concentrations would probably be detrimental to shrimps too.

    So far i've only used it for 1 hour treatments in a separate container, after that i rinse the treated plants under running tap water, then put them into the quarantine tank with shrimps.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ingen View Post
    I gotten hold of it recently and used it a few times, however, they don't kill caterpillars lol, I had an infestation of water type caterpillar after I forego the diluted bleach treatment and went with the snail remover only treatment.
    Sounds like those aquatic caterpillars have higher resistance towards it... or perhaps those particular chemicals have no effect on caterpillars? Maybe need more powerful stuff.
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  7. #7
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    Re: How to quarantine new plants

    I put no planaria


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