Plants And Bleach

[SaTiVa1984]

Hi all,

I just ordered some frogbit floating plants from ebay, but these seem to be from the chaps own tank, who i know nothing about,nor do i know the health of his fish..

So my question, is it possible to soak plants in some sort of bleach solution, or anything similar? i just want to be extra careful that i do not introduce anything nasty into my tank.

Thanks.

 

[Million]

I've heard of people dipping in 1:9 bleach/water solution, then rinsing copiously. Not tried it myself though so can't vouch for it. Probably the safest thing would be to try them in a quarantine tank for a couple of weeks, but this may not be practical

 

[Ps3Steveo]

I don't ever use bleach, deadly to us, deadly to fish, I'd give them a really good rinse then chuck them in a quarantine tank.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Been bleaching plants successfully for over a decade.

1- The mix is 19-1 water to bleach (ie 5% bleach and 95% water),

2- Dip plants for about 90 seconds.

3- Remove and rinse well.

4- Drop into a bucket with a high dose of dechlor in the water.

5- Rinse and plant.

Warnings: Some of the more fine leaved plants such as water sprite or HC etc do not react well to bleaching and will usually die. The hardier leaved plants are not an issue. Therefore I resommend one dip a small sample, rinse as above and then let it float in a bucket of dechlored water. If it doesn't react well to bleaching you will know pretty fast.

Some plants like anubias can take a dip a bit longer and others need to be a bit shorter. trial and error will be your best guide.

 

[Babillba]

Potassium permanganate bath is better. Can be picked up at drug store. It is a super powerful oxygenator and will zap any possible algae clinging on. Just mix in a bucket to make a pale pink color. You will NOT need much to achieve this. If you're worried about snails, then a mild bath in Alum water will kill snails and eggs. Both of these are more a soak than splash twenty to thirty minutes each. Have never had a problems with either of these on any plant, even crypts.