How To Sterilise Plants?

[Biulu]

I had a bad strain of columnaris in my tank which killed my betta, and I am know in the process of stripping it down and sterilising hardware.

However, I would like to know how I can sterilise my plants and the bogwood with anubia on it. I currently have it in water with aquarisol but am not sure whether this will do the trick.

Any suggestions?

 

[5teady_2012]

I would throw the plants away and put the bogwood in boiling kettle water for a while.

 

[Themuleous]

I doubt you'll sterilise the plants without killing them. Most fish carry most diseases any case, its just their their immune system is normally able to cope with them so its not a problem. Only when they get stressed does the illness take over.

Sam

 

[Biulu]

Thanks! I do not really want to throw my anubia nana away, since it has developed so nicely, and it has been hard for me to get it here.

Wilder suggested I should ask here how to sterilise them, since the columnaris seemed to be quite an agressive strain. I have been keeping them overnight in water with aquarisol, and maybe I should simply keep them there for another few days to break the cycle? I understand that these diseases can only survive for a while without a host.

What you are saying Themulous is also true, but if it is really an agressive strain, I do not want to risk the chance of introducing that into another tank.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Colin_T]

you can wash anubias and other tough leaved plants with soapy water and then rinse well. Then using a double dose of broad spectrum medication should kill off most bugs. However as mentioned above most fish have diseases of some sort. The wood you can boil or bake in an oven at 120C for an hour. It will be sterile after that. Likewise the gravel can be cooked or boiled. Most people simply wash tank out with freshwater and then set it up again. Leaving everything to dry out is a good way to sterilise it.

 

[Biulu]

Thanks Colin! The soap is a good idea!

The tank and gravel have been thoroughly sterilised with a low chloride solution, rinsed everything well several times, and left it out in the sun to dry. I will do the wood with the soap as well then as the anubia is attached to itl

 

[Colin_T]

don't wash the wood with soap because it absorbs it and then can leach it out when put in the tank. Just dry the wood out in the sun or oven. Plastic items are fine to wash with soapy water because they don't absorb it but wood isn't. If you have to wash the wood with soapy water then soak it in a bucket of water for a week and change the water every day during that time. That should get rid of the soap.

 

[shaz3271]

i would use a 1-20 bleach solution to dip in plants and equipment, rinse well then soak in declorinared water.

i use this method and it works well.

most plants will be ok some wont, but if the only other option is to throw them away i would give it a try.

sharon

 

[Biulu]

thanks for all the replies! I will sterilise the plants and bogwood tomorrow.

 

[fry_lover]

does the disease rely on a host to survive?

if it does, you could put the plant in some tank water in a container for a number of days (sometimes, no fish = no disease) but you'll have to be sure you knew what you were dealing with and find out about the issue of it needing a fish as host to survive etc

 

[Colin_T]

columnaris and most other fish diseases can last for weeks or even months in a tank. Then when the fish get injured the bugs get em.