OK so I don't have any live plants but would like to get some moss balls as I think they look neat and, more importantly, I've read they are very low maintenance.

As I've never had a live plant, I was wondering what I need to do with the plant before putting it in my tank as far as QT. I don't want to add any nasties to the tank along with the plant.

What should I do to disinfect/clean the moss balls before adding it to the tank?

Thanks guys!

Dip your plants in a somewhat concentrated salt soltution before adding them to your tank, that's how I do mine. Moss balls are lovely and require basically nothing, though my goldfish have started eating mine, though they left it alone for a few weeks (I suppose they didn't know they could eat it )

Moss balls are not too hard to care for, and the goldies usually seem to have fun pushing them around and playing with them lol. They do well in high light, but can survive in low light. It ends up collecting debris, so a casual squeeze and rinse of the plant would be good. They also like room to roll around, to keep there round shape.Thats about all I could think of , Good luck

So a salt dip is all they need before adding them to the tank? I thought there was more involved but if that's all--great!

Yeah, one of the reasons I wanted to try the moss balls is they are described as being "easy to care for" which is right up my alley. I think my lighting should be OK too. If it doesn't all work out that's OK. I just thought it'd be a fun easy way to dabble in plants!

Thanks for your replies.

Ooh, I've been thinking of getting a moss ball as well, they're so cool looking! And I heard that they sometimes float up and down in the water when they go through their photosynthesis cycle.

How concentrated do you have your salt dip and how long do you dip it before adding to the main tank?

hi when i got my moss ball i didnt disinfect it really just rinsed it out thoroughly, but salt is a good idea and i will remember that if i get another, kill any baddies that might be lurking.

I'm no expert but anything around(or above) 0.3% concentration salt dip should disinfect it and kill most bugs. The stronger the better i suppose, as you can rinse it a lot after disinfection so as not to leave any salt residue on it. for more info on measuring salt concentration check out some of the other threads on the site.

Moss balls are lovely 'plants', easy to care for (well, not much to do really!) they just need some light and some areas without too much current so they stay still.

Some goldies have been known to eat them but that is largely dependent on the size of the goldie and their particular personality and taste (mine dont eat them, so they must be lazier or fussier than others!!).

note: although high salt solution is good for killing bugs, too high will kill the plant. so around 0.3-0.5% will prob b best