Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 a)Whats steralyzing a plant do? b)How do you do it? Is it safe? c)Where can I find water lettuce? I saw sakuras water lettuce and I fell in love with them. How big of a tank they need? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sakura Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Hey SolarFish a) What does sterilizing a plant do? The point is to remove/kill any bad bacteria, parasites, and pest snails that are on the plant. Most aquarium plants are kept in tanks with fish, so it's likely they will be carrying something bad. b) How do you sterilize plants? I use a 1 part bleach to 19 parts water solution for 1 minute. Then I rinse really well and soak the plant in a bucket of water that has a triple dose (at least) of water dechlorinator in it. After a while the plant should no longer smell like bleach and can be added to the tank. It works well for most plants. c) My water lettuce didn't make it I got them for free from someone I found on Craigs List. He had too many in his pond, and rather than throw them away, he wanted to give them to people. After I bleached them though, the roots started shedding like crazy. Then I had to remove them from the tank because I was treating with a medication, so they were outside in a bucket for a while. Probably just from all those stressors at once, they didn't make it. I didn't really like how they looked in the tank anyways, they are much prettier and work nicer in ponds. They got pushed around by the filter currents too much in the tank. But if you want some you should check out your local gardening store. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Cynders Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 (edited) a.) It kills any harmful bacteria or snail eggs that could be living on the plant. This way you keep the plant perfectly clean and free of harmful bacteria and parasites before adding it to your tank. b.) I prefer to do a bleach dip for all new plants. I do 1 part bleach to 19 parts water, or I just fill up my 3 gallon bucket and put a tad of bleach in there adn let it sit for 1-2 minutes. However you need to be careful or else the plants will melt away or die so you need to watch them. After the bleach dip I rinse them out very thoroughly in the bucket and then do a final rinse in dechlorinated water. Then I add them to the tank, but you can leave them in the dechlorinated water bath for longer. c.) You can find water lettuce at most local aquarium stores, but it's a floating plant. Sakura has Java ferns and Anubias now if I'm not mistaken. it can be attatched to rocks. Edit: Sakura posted before me darn it. Disregard this one. Edited November 7, 2010 by Haruka 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 i want a nice floating plant. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sakura Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Noooo don't disregard Haruka's post! I'm sure you said some things I didn't I just have anubias now actually Taylor. I've thought about getting some java ferns sometime though, those are neat plants too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Cynders Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 They had some lovely java fern rings on some smooth lava rock my mom got for me. Red likes swimming through it and Soochi enjoys knocking it around. Can't have anything nice anymore. Solar, if you get a floating plant make sure it doesn't get knocked around too much like Sakura said. They also have hornwort and the like but the needles shed like crazy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 (edited) Noooo don't disregard Haruka's post! I'm sure you said some things I didn't I just have anubias now actually Taylor. I've thought about getting some java ferns sometime though, those are neat plants too. is that jennifer stone? Edited November 7, 2010 by SolarFish 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 They had some lovely java fern rings on some smooth lava rock my mom got for me. Red likes swimming through it and Soochi enjoys knocking it around. Can't have anything nice anymore. Solar, if you get a floating plant make sure it doesn't get knocked around too much like Sakura said. They also have hornwort and the like but the needles shed like crazy. you can call me kevin if you like. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 They had some lovely java fern rings on some smooth lava rock my mom got for me. Red likes swimming through it and Soochi enjoys knocking it around. Can't have anything nice anymore. Solar, if you get a floating plant make sure it doesn't get knocked around too much like Sakura said. They also have hornwort and the like but the needles shed like crazy. fake lillies then.lol and anachris 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Cynders Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 The only problem with anachris is that goldfish tend to think that it's an endless buffet, but that's good for them too and it grows fast. You can also plant it. Duckweed is also an option but I found it to be messy and they ate it within 5 minutes. Anubias and Java fern they really can't destroy and it doesn't need to be planted either. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 The only problem with anachris is that goldfish tend to think that it's an endless buffet, but that's good for them too and it grows fast. You can also plant it. Duckweed is also an option but I found it to be messy and they ate it within 5 minutes. Anubias and Java fern they really can't destroy and it doesn't need to be planted either. can you plant anubias? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Cynders Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Yes if you have gravel but don't bury the rhizome. If you look in the tank and videos section, you can see Sakura's new video with her anubias on the rocks. It looks very nice too. You get a nice choice with them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Yes if you have gravel but don't bury the rhizome. If you look in the tank and videos section, you can see Sakura's new video with her anubias on the rocks. It looks very nice too. You get a nice choice with them. hmm goood 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sakura Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Aw thanks Tay If you click the "Sakura's Videos" link in my signature it will bring you straight to the video she's talking about 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Aw thanks Tay If you click the "Sakura's Videos" link in my signature it will bring you straight to the video she's talking about nice fish 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted November 7, 2010 Admin Share Posted November 7, 2010 all my Anubias float. i had one with a log but i dont like logs they cause to many problems 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 all my Anubias float. i had one with a log but i dont like logs they cause to many problems Could I tie them to a rock with a rubber band?(the roots and part of the stalk). I wouldnt want it to float. It would look extremely weird and disorganized in my eyes. Or so the way I picture it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sakura Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Yep. I have mine tied down to rocks with fishing line, but a clean rubber band would work just fine as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Deku Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Yep. I have mine tied down to rocks with fishing line, but a clean rubber band would work just fine as well. thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.