# Would new plants carry ich into aquarium?



## tiffc

I'll be purchasing new plants (Anubias and Vals) either from my LFS (where I've witnessed ich in their tanks) or from my fellow APC members soon, but can't seem to get info on if I need to bleach dip my new plants to avoid ICH. I've read up on using the dips to ward off algae and snails, but I don't care about snails (I already have them!) My main concern is the ick/parasite addition to my tank. Am I worrying for nothing? Is there even a problem of new plants carrying ich from one tank to another? I'm concerned with vals not taking well to the dip; I know anubias are thick and hardy towards bleach dips so I should be fine there....

Any comments? 
One would figure that just the journey being shipped from another hobbyist's tank would kill off the parasite, but I could be wrong 
I would be more concerned with getting parasites from plants from my LFS than any hobbyist here though. I'm sure you guys take much better care of your tanks that the LFS have time for


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## Diana K

New plants can carry Ich. 
During part of its life cycle Ich falls off the fish and most of them land on the floor of the tank. But not all. Some of these Ich will land on plants, rocks, driftwood and ceramic merpeople. This is the tomont stage. Ich is in this form for a couple of days or less at tropical temperatures, then reproduces into hundreds of babies, tomites, that swim in the water looking for a host. When the water is added to the bag some tomites can be in the water, too, and in this way get into your tank. 

If the plants you buy are in tanks with fish there there is the possibility that there are Ich organisms on them, or in the water. 

The easiest way to prevent the spread is to keep the plants in a quarantine tank for a few days. NO FISH! Ich cannot live without a host, and the 2 phases of its life that you might bring home with the plants do not live for more than a few days, especially if you can keep the temperature up. Some plants don't like it that warm, though. 
I would quarantine for a week with tempertures in the mid to upper 70s, or two weeks at room temperature. 
This would more than cover the time span of a tomont that had just fallen off a fish (and got into your bag of plants), spends a couple of days dividing, then releases tomites into the tank, then another few days for the tomites to die because they did not find a host. 

I would not dip the plants in anything. Stuff that is strong enough to kill the parasite might not be plant friendly. Maybe treat in the quarantine tank, if you really want to, with any Ich medicine that says it is plant-safe, but time will do the job without any toxins.


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## tiffc

Thanks so much Diana! So do you think the plants would do ok in a tank that has no substrate? The anubias would be fine, but what about vals? Am I essentially just "floating" the plants in my QT for a week?


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## davemonkey

They should be fine if you float them for a week in a QT tank as long as they have some light and maybe just a bit of nutrient addition (maybe even just throw a bit of fish food in the tank and let it decompose).

If you were dead-set no a bleach dip, I found that 19 parts water to 1 part bleach killed off algae and parasites. But, it also hurt the plants. I started doing a 40:1 ratio instead and had good results (except it did NOT kill most algae) with a 2-3 minute soak, then rinse in dechlorinator/water. For plants like Vals and stems, the 40:1 ratio still melted most of the leaves, but the roots survived and the plants came back after a week.


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## tiffc

Ok thanks Dave! My main tank is low light, but I will add some ferts to the QT, just like I do once a week for my main tank. I would rather not deal with the vals melting, especially since they won't be growing very quickly in the main tank.

Which reminds me, I need to purchase some root tabs


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## Big_Fish

I'm NOT sure about damage to the plants after using a bleach dip... 
but I DO know ick can be transferred via plants. 

from my personal experiences, (years ago, very lightly planted tanks with heavy fish populations) ick would cause problems IF the animals were already stressed/in ill health. 

if you've got a Quarantine tank, that's the best defense IMHO.


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## tiffc

Yep, the QT sounds like the best option. I'm almost fully stocked with my fish and hate to deal with ich. I'm one of those cases of people not fully stocking the tank with plants before adding fish 

So now it's time to play catch up!


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## Big_Fish

:doh: I can put FISH in this thing??????


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## Cliff Mayes

How many times does it have to be said? Quarantine! Everything for at least a couple of weeks or longer if you can wait.


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## tiffc

Thanks Cliff. From what I've read many people, even those that have gorgeous planted tanks, don't quarantine their plant purchases. I knew it's important for fish to be but was getting mixed info on doing it for the plants. Guess I'm still learning


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## davemonkey

tiffc said:


> Thanks Cliff. From what I've read many people, even those that have gorgeous planted tanks, don't quarantine their plant purchases. I knew it's important for fish to be but was getting mixed info on doing it for the plants. Guess I'm still learning


HA! Yep, that's the old "do as I say, not as I do". I actually NEVER QT anything (fish, plants, snails, etc... ) and just go with whatever happens. For me it's easier and I've only been bitten once by that practice (and it wasn't all that bad). HOWEVER, I STRONGLY recommend QT to others in the hobby because it is simply safer and "the right thing to do".

-Dave


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## tiffc

Haha, yep, I hear ya! I bought all the plants on Friday, and they're in my QT tank with lighting and ferts added. My new additions are Corkscrew Vals, quite a few Anubias Nana, a dwarf lily???, and I was persuaded into getting Crypts (they gave me extras that weren't up to par to sell! Guess they believe in me and my growing skills LOL!)

I'm concerned with the crypts...I've read on the "rot" problems and each potted plant I bought seems to be a bunch of rhizome/root pieces??? Sound familiar? Do I plant the whole thing in the substrate, or let the "Rhizome" piece stick out?

Purchased some root tabs to give nutrients to the plain gravel as well.


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## aquabillpers

All established aquariums have Ich in them. Normally it infects fish at such a low level that it is not noticeable. But when the fish are stressed, such as when there is a temperature drop, Ich takes advantage of it.

So perhaps quarantining plants might be a good idea, but not to prevent Ich.

Bill


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## Scottso

aquabillpers said:


> All established aquariums have Ich in them. Normally it infects fish at such a low level that it is not noticeable. But when the fish are stressed, such as when there is a temperature drop, Ich takes advantage of it.
> 
> So perhaps quarantining plants might be a good idea, but not to prevent Ich.
> 
> Bill


This is absolutely not true. If there is ich in the tank it will eventually infect every fish in the tank and you will see symptoms sooner or later, stressed fish or not. Fish can't "fight off" ich and unchecked in an aquarium it will rapidly reproduce and explode in population. One single ich parasite will turn into millions in a few weeks. It never stays "at a low level." It reproduces like crazy because in the wild it's MUCH MUCH harder to find a new fish host unlike in an aquarium where the fish are right there waiting to be a host.

Some fish may resist being overwhelmed for a bit due to a strong slime coat, but in the end all will succumb. There is no such thing as an "immunity" to ich. It's not a bacteria or virus. It's an external parasite. Saying that it only affects stressed fish is like saying mosquitoes only bite you when you are ill. That's just not how it works.

You can only get ich by introducing it into your tank. You can also completely rid your tank of ich. If you've fought off an ich infestation and you get ich again later on without introducing anything new into the tank, it's not because your fish are stressed (although the ich will definitely stress them out) it's because you didn't kill off the original infestation. It only takes one microscopic ich survivor to start the whole ich cycle over again.

If you are introducing new plants, you really should either dip them in a diluted bleach or potassium permanganate solution for awhile or quarantine. Unless you like fighting off ich or other nasties like flukes, etc.


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## aquabillpers

Scottso said:


> This is absolutely not true. If there is ich in the tank i . . .


Hello, Scottso,

Not to be dogmatic  but the parasite that causes ich really is present in most aquariums. It doesn't become apparent until a fish is stressed or otherwise weakened due to a chill or another cause, then it swarms and often attacks healthier fish.

Many aquarium keepers have experienced ich outbreaks in tanks that have had no recent plant or animal additions. I have seen this as a result of a sudden chill, although ich infestations don't always result from that, particularly if the aquarium has been well maintained and the fish are healthy.

You might be surprised at the number of pathogens and other baddies that lurk in healthy aquariums, waiting for the right moment to attack.

BTW. many algaes are also present in all aquariums. They, like the ich parasite, are just waiting for the right conditions to bloom.

Good luck.

Bill


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## tiffc

Thank you for all the information. I still have the plants in quarantine. I do see faint moving "parasites" on the tank glass though...for lack of a better description I will say they have a sperm-like appearance, with a round head and a tail. They are very tiny and white. 

Any ideas on if this is harmful? What is it?


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## Big_Fish

Planaria (worms) perhaps?

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCAQsAQwAw
google aquarium planaria

NOT harmful... UGLY perhaps.


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## tiffc

That's what I'm hoping they are since they are not harmful...it's hard to pin point because most of the images online are magnified and I'm just looking at little specks on the glass!


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