Drew 43920

I recently bought some plants on eBay that come from Taiwan. Do you think they might have some "beasties" on them that might cause some problems ?
Drew

fishlover78

I personally wouldn't put them in my tank.

sirdarksol

It's possible. It's almost guaranteed that they will have pond snails. I've simply given up on keeping pond snails out of my tanks. It's easier to keep them under control by not overfeeding the tank.
Any time you get new stuff, it should be quarantined for a couple of weeks minimum. This gives you time to see if it appears ill, and gives hostless bacteria/viruses a chance to die off.

Why? Several people around here have ordered from Taiwan (myself included) without problems. In fact, the majority of my plants in my community tank are from Taiwan.

catbtony

Go to-http://www.aquariaplants.com- click on dips/bath-this site has 3 great dip/baths you can use-follow the instructions to-the-Tee-I use the PP bath on all the native plants I collect for my tanks-Potassium Permanganate or PP is easy to find and works great-I have never tried the other 2 bleach and Alum.
I don't know how to add a link for you to follow or I would have done that for you-but its a neat site, lots of good information for people that collect native fish and plants. Hope this helps-good luck

-pinky-

I wouldn't put them in my tank if i were you. I just stick to plain, simple plants, from local shops, since my mate ordered a plant ages ago, and her whole tank was infested with pond snails! =]

sirdarksol

Local fish store plant tanks have just as many pond snails as any other place. About the only way to not have snails when introducing new plants is to do a bleach dip or a potassium permagnate dip.
Aside from that, what's a "plain" plant? Most aquarium plants come from around the world, anyway. In fact, it's very likely that pet stores are getting some of their plants from the same kind of place as this.

Mike19

You took the words out of my mouth.

People would buy a fish imported from a different country whats the difference if its a plant.

catbtony

Good point.....

Drew 43920

fishlover78

SDS, I wouldn't put them in my tank because #1, I rather not have my tank filled with pond snails, #2 I am not sure if would trust they cam from a clean place, if I buy plants at my friend's local pet shop we both know they came form a clean reputable source. I guess I am kind of lucky to have this opportunity

fishlover78

and I also don't buy fish that are imported. I know exactly where my fish came from because I buy them from local pet shops, and buying them there gives we the knowledge that they are locally bred.

Mike19

not all LFS fish are locally breed,Some LFS may import fish also. its seen as a competitive advantage rather then a down fall

fishlover78

how, do you mean their past family?

fishlover78

huh? what do you mean "the section we don't see"?

Mike19

Q section

fishlover78

quarantine section? I know what goes on behind the scenes at my LPS, I'm friends with the owner!

fishlover78

they have tanks that the fish are in for a week, they are observed for odd behavior and any signs of disease, if they do have anything wrong with them the whole batch of fish is treated just to make sure no diseased fish are sold to customers.

ask91888

i think i may have ordered plants for the same (or similar) seller. What i did was quarantine the plants for a week or a bit more, then i just stuck em in the tank. I am almost 100% positive that the few snails the suddenly appeared in my tank were from the java moss that i purchased, but there were only a few, and i picked them out pretty easily. If i could do it again, i would probably treat them first, but i would still buy them. now, about two months after putting them in, ive had no problems and theyre growing like crazy.

fishlover78

If you quarantine them and treated them to be sure there were no diseases then I would have no problem with plants from oversees

Drew 43920

Are Pond Snails from Taiwan ?

fishlover78

no, they're everywhere!

sirdarksol

Where you buy your fish from has much less to do with what's imported than what you are buying. For example, good luck finding captive-bred glassfish, no matter where you buy them from. The are simply a pain in the rear to breed.

As far as Taiwan vs American plants, I'm kind of curious what makes you think that plants raised in American farms are any less prone to carrying disease than those raised in Taiwan?
As you say, pond snails are everywhere. I've purchased American-raised plants and got snails in them, just as I have on plants from other countries.

Butterfly

If you are concerned about plants you buy then just quarantine them or dip them.
http://www.aquajake.com/blog/plantin...fore-or-after/
I went in with several people a couple of years ago and bought plants from an aquarium plant company in Taiwan and those were the cleanest and largest plants I had ever seen.
Carol

fishlover78

you know what? I am tired of being ridiculed in this thread by all of you (cough cough, SDS, cough)

fishlover78

Butterfly, you had nothing to do with it though

Butterfly

fishlover78 No one was being ridiculed. Drew asked for opinions on plants from Taiwan and everyone was expressing their opinions and experiences. Through these opinions and experiences maybe he can make an informed choice.
Carol

sirdarksol

I was not in any way ridiculing you. I was disagreeing with you. There is a world of difference between the two.
It is possible to disagree with someone and still have plenty of respect for that person. Even most of us mods have disagreed with each other at one point or another.

fishlover78

yeah Butterfly, it just gets kind of annoying that SDS usually disagrees with me, and I am tired of him making me look bad because people consider him more important, hence they listen to him and I get pushed aside
:;kmg

Butterfly

LOl I love that smilie I always wanted to use it. None of us are more important than anybody else, some of us just have more experience. Nobody thinks anybody looks bad just because somebody disagrees with them. Gee whiz! If we never disagreed or tried different things or shared different ideas we would still be keeping fish like the ancient Chinese did. So please don't take things so personally this is all about sharing thoughts and ideas.
Carol

fishlover78

thanks Butterfly, I have just had a bad past with SDS and he is not happy with me. I tried to be friends after I gave the situation some time and I tired my best to sincerely apologize, the friendship was immaturely ignored. I also set him a polite PM to see if he ever got the request, but yet again I was childishly ignored. so I am a little touchy about his incessant disagreeing attitude. sigh.