Hi everyone,

Just a few questions. I have an Amazon Sword Plant and a Water Sprite (and a brand new, but not in the tank yet Wisteria). I didn't know anything a few weeks ago when I started my tank and I didn't quarintine my plants. A few days ago I lost both fish (there is a long story in the 911 section). From what we have all concluded it seems like a poisoning, but it could have been disease. It is hard to know for sure.

Tonight I am going to break down the tank and completely clean it and then start my cycle over. I want to clean the plants as well. Is a mild bleach solution or vinegar better? I have Parasite Clear as well. Should I put them in a bucket with that to be safe?

Is it safe to then put them in the tank for the next weeks or month until the tank is cycled? I'm going to do a fishless cycle by adding ammonia. Should I get food for them during the cycling or will they live on the ammonia I'm adding? I could quarintine them seperately in a bucket with a light.

And this may be a really dumb question, but with no fish in there to display sypmtoms of disease, how do I know when it is safe to add a fish to the tank (after being fully cycled) or when the plants are safe for my fish?

Thanks!

Amy

A good option would be using PP (see this post).

This treat is about sterilising plants so that they can be safely put in a tank

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=35594

You'll have to scroll a bit to get the stuff you need though

Thanks, everyone. The only information I haven't found is when you know they are okay. But I think I finally figured it out for myself. After two baths and a quarintine in a bucket for a week you can assume that most has died off. My other plan is that if I buy anymore live plants I'm going to only buy them from shops that have them in plant only tanks (or in those little containers with the gel packs). I still will treat them, but at one of my LFS I've noticed plants in with unhealthy fish. One had a whole tankfull of plants (I can't remember the name, but it starts with an A, is easy and grows fast and goldfish love to eat it) in with an adult goldfish covered in ick. That was the type of plant I went in there looking for, but no way was I going to buy that.