How to sterilize new plants?

[derpmeister]

I want to add live plants to my 10g betta tank. I put in a marimo moss ball after quarantining it for a week and half in both chlorinated tap water and dechlorinated tap water.

However, the moss ball still brought worms into my tank which I can't seem to get rid of.

I really want to try a floating plant like anacharis or watersprite. How do I sanitize them so I don't get any more nasty things in my tank?

[Wyvern]

Just leave them for a day or 2 in water with half a potato :D It will kill off all nasties! You can even add the potato to your tank now. It will make the water cloudy but at least its not harmful to the fish at all.

[Littlebittyfish]

Originally Posted by Wyvern

Just leave them for a day or 2 in water with half a potato :D It will kill off all nasties! You can even add the potato to your tank now. It will make the water cloudy but at least its not harmful to the fish at all.

Potato?? I have never heard of that! That is pretty cool..
I have heard of diluted bleach dips....but to me that sounds pretty risky..Might kill plants...might kill fish if not rinsed all off...Plus I really don't even have bleach in my house so I have never personally tried it....I try not to use harsh chemicals in my house....so...
I have unfiltered critter keepers I use to house my new plants for a few days to a week...The worse thing I have brought home are snails and copepods though... my betta that is in my critter keeper loves to chase and eat pond snails..so between him and the daily water changes by a weeks time there's nothing left alive on those plants...usually..

[Thunderloon]

I don't use marimo and other structured plants for that reason.

Generally you can treat plants the same way as fish; with Furans and Metronidazole. Remember that they'll shock just like fish do so generally I demand water from the tank they were in be included in the bag when I bring them home. This is always the right way to move aquatic plants, most of them take dermal damage from rubbing against the bag or external temperature differences.

Fourteen days of isolation sounds a bit extreme but that's the length of time necessary to ensure that you get everything. The up-side is that plants don't need anywhere near as many doses during that period of time. Furans usually last about six days per dose and the metronidazole really only decays in fish and parasites. I sincerely don't advise using tap water or bleach on plants, dead or alive, but you CAN use Lifeguard with Furan and Metro if you really wanna go all out nuclear on the plants and still have them alive and useable.

The other option is to be careful where you buy your plants. Usually there is someone in your area who sells plants from their own aquariums as a side to the hobby and you can get plants that were grown and maintained in a healthy parasite free environment. My LFS purchases plants directly from a large grower that specializes ONLY in aquarium plants grown under controlled conditions. Never had anything go wrong from theirs.

[Oldfishlady]

Give the plants a good rinse under running water and plant....if your Betta has a healthy immune response to start all should be fine.....unless the plants come from a sick tank and then a week in QT with proper lighting should take care of anything...

Most worms that show up in tank are usually related to poor care/lack of vacuuming of the tank and/or overfeeding.......

Some things that show up in our tank are normal/natural and harmless....just part of the little ecosystem in a glass box/closed system....lots more in there than you think or know about and you want this too......the good stuff keeps the bad stuff under control or in check.......you don't want to try and create a sterile environment........

[derpmeister]

Thanks so much for your responses guys. I think I will try buying some plants from liveaquaria.com. I've heard good things about them. I made the mistake of buying that marimo ball from Petsmart and I don't think I'll do it again. :/

OFL, it's true, I don't want it to be sterile. I just hate those worms so I've been doing daily gravel vacuums and water changes. I guess I'll just have to keep them in check. :)