The things that come with plants. Help me!

[Kytkattin]

Good, bad, and otherwise, lots of things come in on plants. I just got a bagful of duckweed that has a TON of different things in it. Little worms, little things that hop, little things that wiggle, and little things that zoom around.

How do I know when something is bad for my fish?
Say I QT the plants for 2 weeks, then what? These bugs aren't going to just disappear.
I don't want to bleach either because I actually really like all the little bugs and such. I just want to know they won't hurt my fish.
So what should I do? Any comments are appreciated.

[Oldfishlady]

Usually the bugs/critters that tag along with live plants are harmless and often just as interesting to watch as the Betta and sometimes the Betta will feed on them......the biggest danger is hydra and fry...they look kinda like a jellyfish and have a stinger...it pinches a tad when you get stung but not bad...but it can make you jump....lol.......

When I collect native plants-I will keep them in QT for a week or so and just do lots of water changes to reduce the numbers.....I don't try to rid them all.....I personally like some of the critters that tag along....

[Kytkattin]

Thank you OFL. I was hoping you would advise me on this because you have the most natural tanks I know of! I have looked for hydra and see non in the water.
The sooner I can put the duckweed in the tank the better because my anubias is getting too much direct light. It already took a week for the duckweed to get to the pet store. I have been using IALs for cover for now. lol.

[Pitluvs]

Friend of mine gave me a bag of duckweed from her goldfish pond, I tossed it in my tropical tank and the fish had a ball with it. I had major poopers or a few days lol I'd be more weary of my bettas though.

[Kytkattin]

Pitluvs do you mind me asking why you would be more cautious with your bettas?
At least to me, they seem to be some of the hardiest tropical fish, next to maybe zebra danios. When kept in poor conditions they tend to live much longer than most tropical fish, when kept in great conditions they seem invincible!