Cleaning new plant?

[FroFro]

I got a large anubis as a gift from my Uncle. The container is a plastic tube with what appears to be salt around the roots, it just says "variety" anubis. The plant looks healthy, no slime or brown spots and the container says snail free.. one of the leaves has odd holes in it. What would be the best way to clean this plant before placing it in my 3 gallon spare, I currently have smaller baby plants growing in that one so my angels can't uproot them. I want to clean this plant before placing it inside with the smaller ones

 

[Ch4rlie]

Well, personally I simply cut off any unhealthy leaves first, then wash the plant under the tap to get rid of any dirt as well as any potential nasties.

Look out for snail eggs as well if you do not want them.

Do be aware that anubias do best tied or attached to wood /rocks or decor as planting them can have detrimental effect on their roots.

 

[FroFro]

Well, personally I simply cut off any unhealthy leaves first, then wash the plant under the tap to get rid of any dirt as well as any potential nasties.

Look out for snail eggs as well if you do not want them.

Do be aware that anubias do best tied or attached to wood /rocks or decor as planting them can have detrimental effect on their roots.

Yeah, I called the pet store and they were less than helpful on how I should add it to my main tank when its ready. My gravel is deep enough, but I wasn't sure if it needed buried, tied, floated, etc. Not to sure how I'm going to attach it to my driftwood

 

[NickAu]

A drop of crazy glue or some string.
How To: Attach Plants To Driftwood - YouTube

 

[Ch4rlie]

There are various methods in attaching anubias or java ferns to wood, rock or decor.

Cotton thread or fishing line type of thing are fine to tie the base of the plant onto the wood. Just nedd to ensure you do not tie the thread too tight on the root.

Another method is superglue or strong glue which Nick mentions, just simply glue part of the root base onto the wood, NOT the roots, you only need a small amount simply to attach the plant to the wood. Do ensure the glue is free from anti mould chemicals and suchlike, look for 100% Cyanoacrylate glue, easily obtain from hardware stores or online, pretty cheap too.

The roots of the plants will eventually anchor themselves to the wood so you can then remove the thread/line if you wish to.

It's just a matter of preference on what method you like to use, some folks find tying thread / line pretty awkward to do and glue is much easier but the potential of making a mess and glueing your finger together is pretty high. heh.

I have used both methods above and tbh, pros and cons on both but once its done, no need to worry about it. Pretty much just 5 mins of cursing and fumbling to get things attached then you can forget about it, another pair of helping hands is a good idea btw.

 

[thrujenseyes]

Just to show how you'd tie it to a rock

 

[FroFro]

There are various methods in attaching anubias or java ferns to wood, rock or decor.
.

Thanks for the advice, I have some left over sewing thread that I can use as glue and I in general do not get along, I looked up a method for killing parasites on new plants without damaging them, a diluted peroxide remedy. So far I've rinsed the plant in warm conditions water and left it soaking until it's time to clean it. I'm not sure what snail eggs look like but there were some suspicious looking "spots" underneath two of the leaves. The plant is healthy however, I cut away the funny leaves so lets hope for the best

 

[FroFro]

Just to show how you'd tie it to a rock
View attachment 81378

Thanks for the pic! I don't have any large rocks in my aquarium, just gravel and a decoration rock cave, but I have a small piece of driftwood that I think would be perfect

 

[Ch4rlie]

a diluted peroxide remedy. So far I've rinsed the plant in warm conditions water and left it soaking until it's time to clean it.

If you have not already done so, a ratio of 19:1 of water to bleach would work well for most plants.

Be careful not to let the plants stay in bleach for too long, this can kill them too. This can depend on what plants as well as some are hardier than others. A dip of say 30 seconds for the more fragile plants and 90 seconds max for the hardier types of plants is a general rule of thumb.

That would help eliminate any potential hitchikers such as snail eggs and nymphs.

Snail eggs are a cluster of tiny transparent eggs in a clear jelly like substance. Often laid in a sort of C shape on plants or glass of tank.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Note that the plants that come in plastic tubes are guaranteed to be snail free. These plants are most often tissue culture plants grown in very sterile environments. You should be able to unpack, rinse and plant with no issues.
Yes, Anubias and Java Fern or any plant with a rhizome can't be planted into the substrate or the rhizome will rot and the plant will die. Tie to rock or wood with thread, fishline or I have also read that Loctite Super Glue GEL is aquarium safe (don't assume any/all super glues are safe in the aquarium). I also recently saw a Youtube of a fellow that uses black zip ties.

 

[thrujenseyes]

Thanks for the pic! I don't have any large rocks in my aquarium, just gravel and a decoration rock cave, but I have a small piece of driftwood that I think would be perfect

I actually bought mine attatched to that rock. It was a teeny plant when I bought it.
Now it's a monster! I love it!
But you said you have diftwood...that would look amazing!
Please post a pic once you've done it!

 

[thrujenseyes]

I have some left over sewing thread that I can use

I've often wondered if the dye used in coloring the threads is at all harmful?
My tank is only a 6 gallon and every little thing ...isn't so little.

 

[Toney]

I've washed my two Anubis plants in Bleach, was a little scarey...

Just couldn't get the algae off, they looked good until I put them back in the tank...

I washed one to see what happened, then a week latter I washed the other.

Their as clean now as when I bought them. Looking like their almost made of plastic.

 

[FroFro]

I've often wondered if the dye used in coloring the threads is at all harmful?
My tank is only a 6 gallon and every little thing ...isn't so little.

Well I actually used the bleach remedy as my store was out of the small bottles of peroxide. The plant is still soaking in conditioned water at the moment... I didn't think about dyes. Perhaps an old twist tie then? Now my question is some of the roots are really long, do I just wrap them around the wood or let sorta.. float free?

 

[thrujenseyes]

Well I actually used the bleach remedy as my store was out of the small bottles of peroxide. The plant is still soaking in conditioned water at the moment... I didn't think about dyes. Perhaps an old twist tie then? Now my question is some of the roots are really long, do I just wrap them around the wood or let sorta.. float free?

I never used twist ties as I didn't trust the metal in the middle. I've used sewing thread (but have been concerned about the dyes in them.
My roots grow wild and you can try to tuck them down into the substrate but mine always seem to grow back out. I've never trimmed them but I suppose you can?