Will Wild Plants Hurt Betta's?

[BettaBoy84]

I have recently been snorkeling in Southern Ontario, Canada collecting small plants on the shore that grow in the sand.

I am wondering if it is safe to use these plants in my Betta aquarium. I have heard they could hold parasites? Is this true? If so would cycling the tank with the plants in it help? Or is there anything else that could be done to ensure to ensure that are safe for the fish?

Thanks,

BETTA BOY

[shinybetta]

About the parasites, I would keep them in a bowl with no fish and leave them for a week to get rid of parasites! Make sure to do water changes for your plants.

[kuklachica]

Hmm... good question. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable using those, but if you quarantined them and washed them, I guess they could work. I would NOT add them to your tank right away, but keep them in another tank for a while to keep an eye on them, make sure they have no snails, etc. And I would wash them in a mild bleach solution with hot water to kill any potential parasites. You could also see if there are any aquarium groups in that area. A lot of times they will take native plant species and put them into their tanks. They would have more local info.

[Oldfishlady]

I collect and use native plants all the time, first you have to check and make sure it is legal and get the needed permits and understand once you collect anything from the wild either plants or fish you can never return it to its natural habitat due to tropical disease and parasite that could be transferred and destroy native species.

I always QT anything I collect-fish for 6-8 weeks and plants 1-2 weeks.
Plants I will also give a good rinse in dechlorinated water daily for at least a week along with 100 daily water changes.
I have never had any problems with native plants, however, I did get a dragonfly larva that was hidden and it nearly wiped out a guppy strain I was working on until I found the monster.