Quarantining?

[MonteCarlo]

Starting up a 10gal NPT, and I'm about to order the plants all at once. I know petsmart/petco plants in tubes are pretty safe, but they dont have much of a selection. I'd love to order online, but I know those have a high risk of unwanted pests. Is there any website known for safety? On limited funds, I'm not sure how I would even QT all the plants I want to get, since I'm ordering quite a few for a 10gal. I really can't afford a bunch of little tanks with separate heaters and whatnot...ugh...

[jeaninel]

If there's no fish in the tank yet just put the plants in and let it run. If it's Ich you're worried about it will die out after a week or two with no fish since it needs a host to complete its life cycle.
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[homegrown terror]

be sure to rinse and inspect them as well, even before inserting them in a fishless tank, unless you want pond snails. rinse them under warm water and then feel every stem and leaf with your fingertips for anything that feels like jelly or snot. these will be pond snail egg clusters, and if they get in your tank they stand a chance of quickly overrunning it and driving your bioload through the roof.

[MonteCarlo]

Originally Posted by homegrown terror

be sure to rinse and inspect them as well, even before inserting them in a fishless tank, unless you want pond snails. rinse them under warm water and then feel every stem and leaf with your fingertips for anything that feels like jelly or snot. these will be pond snail egg clusters, and if they get in your tank they stand a chance of quickly overrunning it and driving your bioload through the roof.

This is what I'm most worried about, since I will be getting a number of plants, and I doubt I'll successfully go over every single bit perfectly enough to assure that not even ONE egg is left.

[kfryman]

Simply get an assassin snail. If you are concerned. Most places, unless you get tissue culture, will run the risk of pond snails.

[MonteCarlo]

Originally Posted by kfryman

Simply get an assassin snail. If you are concerned. Most places, unless you get tissue culture, will run the risk of pond snails.

I will, multiple of them actually, but will they for sure get all the pest snails? I know their name implies they would, but I thought they only really eat other snails if they have no other food. Obviously in a NPT they'd have other stuff to snack on, so I wonder if they could definitely get rid of an explosion of pond snails.

Excuse me for doubting, if you have experienced them successfully getting rid of pond snails in bulk, it would give me much comfort.