Quarantining Plants

Hi guys
First off its good to be back on the forum again , thanks to telkom i havent had dsl at home for a while.
I have a small tank that just has plants in it. One of my fish had been sick so i put it in there , i think it had bloat , the fish has now passed on and i want to move the plants into my main display tank. So my question is how long do i leave the plants in the tank without the sick fish before i can move the plants over safely with out fear of transmitting any deseases to my main tank, i am just worried it wasnt bloat. I have done two 100% water changes and left it for 2 weeks so far , will that be enough?
Thanks
Antony

 

Following along on this thread... Interesting topic Reafer.

And welcome back.

 

Anthony i aint no fundi but i reckon i would give the plants a dose of anti bacterial cure just to be safe..considering that you could have a goga or something just waiting for a new host to pounce on...thats just my opnion but sure the other more experienced guys will be able to help you out better..

anti bacterial meds lol not cure

 

I've read of people doing a 5 minute diluted bleech bath... but I think the bleech might damage some of the sensitive plants.

 

won't medication also damage sensitive plants?
but what to do then?
man this is a good topic I can't wait to read the replies . maybe the prof will give his expert opinion.

 

Brad think about it if you can dose your fish with a anti bacterial while in a setup tank why not give the plants a dose and after 24 hours do a major water change to flush any meds still left..i reckon with the process of osmosis the plant will absorb a certian amount of the meds but then all you do is just dose with lower dosages?? WHERE IS PROF WHEN YOU NEED HIM LOL ?

 

He's in Madagascar for a while... and usually he will only respond to threads in his "Ask the Professor" Forum. If he has time to read other stuff and answer he will.

 

i dont really want to go the bleach route , There must be a certain life span that the bugs can survive without a host . I herd but could be very wrong that most parasites cant survive longer than 2 weeks without a host , but i am not sure

 

I know his in Madagascar ZOOM was more of a retorical statement ..

 

Give you plants a dip before you move them across, i usually do this before i buy new ones, not to sure how much of the bacteria will get kills but i usuallly use it for snails, just some water and potasium permanganate. Its ment to kill everything from what ive read. (besides the plant)

 

where would on get potassium permanganate?

potassium on its own is pretty volatile !

 

Bump..... anyone have an idea?

 

hellloooooo anyoooonnnneeee.............

 

Pool supply shop or maybe a pharmacy.

 

Chemist it cost like 9 rand for a bottle that will last u a lifetime. comes in a grain form that u just drop into the water.

 

Your local pharmacy should have KMnO_4 its like a deep dark purple black crystal.

I normally treat pond plants with a quick dip in Methylene blue (anti fungal) or Malachite Green (anti bacterial) before we add them to the pond... My brother also mentioned a silver something something but for the life of me i can't remember what it is. Just be careful those two are harmful to plants, so don't overdose them. Another alternative is to keep the plants in a slightly saline solution for a short while.

 

Be careful with the KMNO4... use it in an old tank, and rinse the plants well afterwards, because it stains silicon PERMANENTLY!

I also do not believe it will work either... just warning you if you choose to use it. A LOT of reference is made to using it, but the Professor says that it belongs in the museum, as a lot of bacteria and nasties have developed an immune system to it

 

then what's the best way to go about this?

 

hmmm, just my 2c here : would water that has aquarium salt and the temperature raised to about 85F not help to kill off any bacteria???

 

That might be an option... but would the salt solution damage plants?

Where's the experienced guys on this topic... DOLPHIN... wher for are though DOLPHIN... what would you suggest?