# New forum member & new betta owner, would love some answers to my questions!



## EmmaBlake (May 10, 2013)

Hello, my name is Emma and I've had my new betta for a week. getting him was unexpected, I attended a banquet and they used bettas as center pieces at the tables..(terrible, I know.) they gave them away at the end of the night. They had containers to put them in and gave everyone little envelopes of food (so at least they sent us home with food for the little guys.) so, long story short I just had to save him..he currently does not have a name, I just can't think one because I've been so focused on setting up the tank and making sure I'm doing the right things, I've been stalking this forum for like 4 days trying to soak up as much info as possible!

here is my set up right now --
2.5 gal tank
aquarium gravel
Tetra Whisper 3i filter
Tetra Heater 5-15 (2-15 gal) REALLY wish I had gotten an adjustable heater because this one barely keeps my tank at 76

I bought a log decoration for him to go hide in today because right now the tank is empty beside the gravel, heater and filter and he likes sleeping behind the heater so I know he will love the log. I also bought a Anubias Nana plant today, I had bought the little bulbs you plant in the tank but I am too impatient to wait for the to grow, and I think having a live plant in the tank will help to cycle the tank faster. 

Right now I only have Jungle 5 in 1 testing strips, I know they are not very accurate and I am going to get an API master test kit as soon as possible (I am ordering some things online soon.) but for now the strips are saying my Nitrate and Nitrite is 0, my water hardness is either hard or very hard..the colors are so similar I can't tell..I think my alkalinity is in the Ideal color zones but my pH is definitely high.

I am really sorry this post is so long, I've just been killing myself trying to do everything right for my fish and still trying to enjoy the whole process as much as possible, I must say..he is a really playful little guy!  here are my questions..

1) How do I introduce the Anubias Nana and the log decoration into the tank, anything special need to be done? Do I just stick the plant in the gravel similar to putting the bulbs in there? 
2) related to the plant, how do I make sure I don't get snails in my tank?! the package the plant is in says snail free but I do NOT trust that! and I really really do not want to deal with a snail infestation! 
3) How many water changes should I do while cycling my tank? I was doing daily changes of about 40% for 3 days but then I read that changing the water so much can slow down the cycling..(I've read so many different things, bottom line is I want my tank to cycle while keeping my water as safe as possible for my betta.) 
4) Is it safe to add water conditioner to the tank while my betta is in the tank?
5) I got the thermometer you stick to the outside of the tank, are those accurate? 

I would be so grateful to anyone for reading and replying to this LONG post lol. I would love any information you can give me! Thank you!! Oh I do have pictures of my tank and betta if you'd like me to post them.


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## veggiegirl (Nov 20, 2012)

Hi there and welcome to the forum!

Congratulations! You have already given your betta the best start by providing a suitably sized tank and a heater, two important points often overlooked when starting out with bettas so well done on doing your research.

I am no expert on live plants however I believe it would be fine to just plant your plant in the gravel. With the log just give it a good rinse under clean water and pop it into the tank. As to your snail concerns I am not too sure what your could do as I have never had this problem before. Maybe you could put your plant in another tank/clean container for a while and see if you notice any snails after a while? someone else may be able to offer more advice on that. As to cycling I am not sure if you can easily cycle a 2.5 gallon tank..... I think it is more important with larger tanks and as long as you are keeping a regular check on your ammonia and Nitrite levels you should be fine. If they begin to rise then do a water change but again someone else may be able to help you here because I have honestly never cycled a betta tank before and never had any problems as a result. I usually change the water pretty regularly at first though......every 2-3 days for the first couple of weeks (depending on the tank size of course). It is completely safe to add the water conditioner to the tank while your betta is in it. Some conditioners even have the added benefit of containing aloe Vera to help replace the fishes slime coat. It certainly will not harm your betta in any way. I am afraid that the thermometers that you stck on the outside of the tank are not very accurate at all....... the glass internal ones are the best.

Well I hope you find this of some help If you get a chance you should post some photos of your betta we would love to see him!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the forum!

The only thing I know about Anubis is they grow from rhizomes so must not be planted. You can let them float or you can tie them to something with fishing line but not too tight so it digs into the plant and not so your Betta can get caught in it. I have tied fishing line to a rock and buried it in the gravel so the Anubis sits on top.

Your Betta will love Cabomba. They are bunch plants and grow very well. They usually come with plant weights or you can let them float. Either way, your Betta will sleep/rest in them. Kinda cute.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Welcome! I'm glad that you saved him over someone that'd just keep the poor guy in the container, way to go!

Your set up sounds pretty decent, definitely try to get something for him to hide in/behind as well so if he's feeling shy, he can be shy.

Problem with test strips is that they don't test for ammonia, which is the most important test of them all for a tank so small. I honestly think that your filter is kind of pointless as well too as it is pretty hard to cycle such a small tank. Yeah, it may help you get some of the debris out of the tank, but depending on how strong the flow is, the cons may outweigh the pros. (You'll want to do a 50% and a 100% water change every week for that size as well, once you get more plants then you can move down to 2 50%'s.)

1) How do I introduce the Anubias Nana and the log decoration into the tank, anything special need to be done? Do I just stick the plant in the gravel similar to putting the bulbs in there? 
Rinse the log, that's all you need to do for that.
For the anubias, make sure that the rhizome (part the leaves grow from) is above the gravel. You can only plant the roots otherwise it'll rot. Those plants ideally should be tied to driftwood, rocks, or other hardscape elements.


2) related to the plant, how do I make sure I don't get snails in my tank?! the package the plant is in says snail free but I do NOT trust that! and I really really do not want to deal with a snail infestation! 
Get some algea killer that says it's not safe for snails, do a high concentration of it and let sit for an hour or so before adding to the tank. A better method would be a bleach, copper, or potassium permegranate(sp) dip.


3) How many water changes should I do while cycling my tank? I was doing daily changes of about 40% for 3 days but then I read that changing the water so much can slow down the cycling..(I've read so many different things, bottom line is I want my tank to cycle while keeping my water as safe as possible for my betta.) 
I already mentioned this above.

4) Is it safe to add water conditioner to the tank while my betta is in the tank?
Perfectly fine! It's better to add it before so it can get mixed in a bit before going into the tank, but it's fine to add it once it's in the tank too. I do this every w/c because I have an actual water changer that hooks up straight to the faucet so I could eliminate buckets, and haven't had any issues with the fish at all.

5) I got the thermometer you stick to the outside of the tank, are those accurate? 
Not accurate at all. They can tell you a range of temp, but since it's on the glass, it's reading partially the glass, water, and outside air temp at the same time. Kind of pointless IMO, best get a glass one that goes inside of the tank.


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## Juditko (Dec 28, 2012)

The OldFishLady sticky on water changes will be helpful to you. What kind of water conditioner are you using? Since you're researching cycling, you'll need to add conditioner each time when you do a water change. Many people here like Prime. (Available at Petsmart in my town.) By the way, a little bottle goes a LONG way as you dose it with an eyedropper. 

Welcome to the forum. It is a bit overwhelming to come home with a fish and find out what they need...but so many of us did it that way. Sounds like you're off to a great start! Ask as many questions as you need to...the community here has been very helpful to me and many others!


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## VJM (Feb 7, 2013)

There seem to be several people on the forum with small cycled tanks. Totally possible.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

VJM said:


> There seem to be several people on the forum with small cycled tanks. Totally possible.


You are right, it is possible, but a lot of work, easy to screw up, and takes a ton of time to do. Unless you fish less cycle it, with all the w/c's you need to keep the fish healthy, it'd be very hard not to ruin the cycle. 
You're going to have to do pretty much the same amount of w/c's per week anyways, so to me it's pointless to try.


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## sunlight (Apr 24, 2012)

welcome to the forum. I have a few 2.5 gall tanks and you can just do 2-50% and 1-100% water changes a week. I really think that it better to do it for 2.5 gall tank. Filter might be too strong for this size of the tank and bother your betta. 
I am going to give you acclimation instructions if you decide to do regular water changes check page 3 thead #26
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=158401&page=3


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I also want to give one link i think it a lot of helpful information there
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=142066


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## Backlash (Jan 9, 2012)

EmmaBlake said:


> Hello, my name is Emma
> 
> 5) I got the thermometer you stick to the outside of the tank, are those accurate?


Hi Emma, 

As the others have said, the stick on the outside of the tank thermometers are not that accurate, but they sure are handy to get a qiuck idea of the temperature of your tank..

The internal ones I have are the floating type that have a small suction cup that holds them to the glass.. The problem is that after a few months, the suction cup starts to fail, and the thermometer ususlly ends up floating around the tank and ends up under the filter or in some dark corner of the tank where you cannot read it.. This may not be that much of a problem on a 2.5 gallon tank, but it can be a real pain on a 30 -100 gallon..

So I use the outside one to get an idea of the tanks temperature, and if the temp is not where is should be (excessively high or low), I then use the internal thermometer to get a more accurate idea of what is going on..

Cheers
Mark..

PS.. please post a pic of him, we all love pictures..


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## EmmaBlake (May 10, 2013)

Thanks everyone so much for the replies  I have been very busy the past few days but I have been reading all of your replies and you all have given me some really good info, I've put the log in the tank and my betta seems to be liking it, he has even started making bubble nests! I'm going to do a bleach dip on my plant tomorrow and then put it in my tank, I hope that will get rid of any snail problems. I think I am going to keep the filter in my tank, my betta doesn't seem to mind the bit of current at all, he is very actively swimming all around the tank and even swims really close to the filter. I think for now everything is going well, with the supplies that I have. Although I will feel a lot better once I get my master test kit in the mail and can test for ammonia. I will also be getting a better thermometer. Again thanks everyone for the help, I'm starting to feel more confident in taking care of my betta, I have to admit I was really overwhelmed when I started researching and realized everything my betta needed. Now for the good stuff, PICTURES!! 2nd from bottom is before I put the log in, looks so empty! and the last one is the log which is now in the tank, I had to have my step-dad sand down the edges on the inside..they were really sharp. and also the plant that I got..lastly some betta food nobody should ever buy, the pellets are HUGE! my betta spit them right back out.


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## Juditko (Dec 28, 2012)

For some reason I haven't had any trouble with our internal thermometer with a suction cup. It's a Petsmart type. I use two in the tank and pull one out when it's time to match the water temp from the faucet.


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## Juditko (Dec 28, 2012)

Wow! He's a beauty!


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## EmmaBlake (May 10, 2013)

Thank you Juditko! I think so too  does he look healthy to you? I have been so paranoid about him getting sick because I don't have a master test kit yet. I put his plant in the tank tonight..here is a pic.


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## Backlash (Jan 9, 2012)

Wow Emma, he is a really handsome boy....

He looks really healthy and happy.. There is not a mark on his fins..

Your tank looks nice too.. Maybe another plant or two to give him a bit more cover so he has somewhere to hide and have some time to himself..


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## Juditko (Dec 28, 2012)

I'm a newbie, too, but he looks good to me! Happy to have you as an owner!

After some hit and miss with plants, I dumped plastic and went to silk (fabric). I've had some hit and miss with those as well...bought one at Petco and one at Petsmart that actually had WIRE in it...(wire rusts and is toxic to the fish, from what I've learned here...not all from those stores have it, but two did.) I have been happy with some Hagen Marina naturals that I ordered online from Ken's Fish (also very happy experience with that retailer.)

You're with a good forum...lots of info and helpful folks here. You've got a great start with a good-looking fish and nice-looking tank! Enjoy!


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

He looks healthy but for 2.5 gall i would really not recommend to cycle it. A lot of people on the forum not recommending to cycle 2.5 gall. 
If you really want to continue to have a filter make sure it not strong and you might need to baffle it up. Make sure you check water parameters daily, you need to vacuum the gravel weekly along with 50% weekly water changes, rinse the filter media once a week in the old water or dechlorinated water. Check this link 
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

Hi Emma, 

Welcome to the addiction  Your fish is beautiful, congrats on the new addition.

My King betta, Elvis - Loves his strong filter in his 10 gallon tank. It is much stronger than we anticipated but he actively plays in it and gets mad when i turn it off for feeding, sometimes going and sitting where the current should be and staring at me with a grouchy look. It's hilarious. Some bettas do not like currents but some do, just keep an eye on him and if he seems to be not happy with it, then you can change it then.

You can check your plants by hand, and look for small orange/yellow/brownish circleish things attached to the leaves for future plants you get. If there are snails, that is what it will look like, a tiny circle dot stuck to the leaf, you can feel with your finger. Or a clear, see through slime, that you can wash off with a strong current. All it takes is one snail and you can wind up with an infestation of pond snails. I did in my 10 gallon - just had to redo the entire tank because even an assassin snail couldn't take care of them all.

The anubis plant, you don't actually put in the gravel - leave the main "ugly" black brown roots above so that light hits them, they will die if they are covered up, google rhizome - I killed my first plant that had this because i didn't realize until afterwards I wasn't supposed to plant it.

We also have high PH in our tap water, straight off the bat. A piece of real driftwood as a decoration and/or peat moss in the filter are two natural ways to help that, try not to use chemicals to mess with the PH if you can help it.

You can get a turkey baster and suck waste/messy stuff off the bottom of the tank for in between water changes. It works well for small tanks. I also have a piece of tubing, a little bigger than the air line - start suction on it and when you do water changes, just suck from right above the gravel to get the dirty off. All vacuums i've purchased have been inferior to the 1 dollar tubing i already had for cleaning the bottom. Get what you can see off and don't worry to much about the bacteria that will accumulate as it's good for the tank to have a bit of that. Don't clean your filter media in tap water, swish it lightly once or twice a month in the tank water you just removed after a water change. You can tell by looking at a filter cartridge when you need a new one and mine usually last a bit longer than a month. After it needs replacing, I use panty hose and mix carbon media, peat moss and a layer of ammonia padding that pet stores sell and just make my own. ( the ammonia padding is because of my pure paranoid tendency of something happening to my tank while i am asleep and hurting my fish.) Much cheaper and exactly what my tank needs, rather than the pre-made cartridge. So long as your ammonia is at zero do a water change once a week. If your ammonia spikes, go ahead and do a 25 to 30% water change. I watch my betta closely and if I see stress stripes or they lose their coloring on them at any time, the first thing i do is test the water. 

Also from someone who has been reading this forum for months now and joined/posting just a little more frequently lately - take all "YUR DOIN IT WRONG" posts with a grain of salt, and move on to the next post. 

Feel free to PM myself or Stone if you have any questions or problems. We will gladly help if we can.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

sorry but i want to say that you don't want to wait until betta start loosing the color , that why i also think 2.5 gall really go with 50% and 1-100% water changes a week. But if Emma really ready to cycle your tank follow the instructions from Oldfishlady that Bettachkalove posted. Its really good link to follow instruction from.And peachii advice is good but the only think i would do more water changes then 30%. The tank is too small ...so more water changes is needed.


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## EmmaBlake (May 10, 2013)

Thank you everyone for the compliments on my fish I'm really glad you all think he looks good, I feel lucky that he was in such good health when I got him. I plan on getting a few more plants, I wanted to try one out and see how it went. I am a little worried because I saw a brown dot looking thing that could have been either fish waste or a snail, I tried to get it out of the tank but since I don't have a vacuum or a turkey baster yet I just tried to reach in and get it with my hand but it floated down into the rocks..hopefully I don't have snails because I did a bleach dip and everything, so not much more I could have done.

I did end up putting a baffle on my filter, I thought at first that he didn't mind the current but then I noticed he was struggling to swim in certain places in the tank and now that I've put the baffle on he is swimming around the whole tank and I can see he is more relaxed as well. 

I get worried sometimes because when he swims he looks like he might be trying to bite his tail but I check his fins every day and they look fine..I uploaded a video of him swimming on youtube, sometimes I think he might just spaz out a bit lol. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj_fP4WAX68&feature=youtu.be

Also, I am a bit confused because I didn't know it was a choice to cycle or not cycle a tank? I thought that the cycle was just something that happened naturally?


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

He looks healthy and very beautiful! Get siphon as soon as you can if you decide to keep the filter. You need to get those debris out from under the gravel. The brown dot probably was his poo. 
For 2.5 gall you need to do Twice weekly-1-50% water only and 1-50% with vacuuming.

If the filter "all-in-one" cartridge that is filter floss with carbon inside, just rinse it once a week in tank water or dechlorinated water. Most of the filters use those kind of cartridges. If the cartridge becomes too old or starts to fall apart, put a new cartridge in the filter but keep the old one behind it for a week and monitor for ammonia spikes.
When you vacuum-Unplug both the filter and heater-Then plunge the vacuum deep into the substrate and as the mulm/debris clear in a second or two-move and repeat.
Once you refill with like temp dechlorinated water and turn the filter back on the water should clear within the hour-even without a filter the water should clear. If not, you either missed a water change, over feeding or overstocked.

I don't cycle my tanks what i just wrote came from other people instruction. Just want to give you idea what you need to do. 
Yes its a few ways to do water changes . You can use the filer and you need to cycle the tank, which i think you don't need it for 2.5 gall and especially that you not experience with it.
Second choice you don't need the filer and you can just do also two water changes(1-50% and 1-100% a week). In this method you don't need to vacuum the gravel . 
But if you want filter you have him for about 11 days you need to get siphon as soon as possible to get all debris out. I don't think it healthy to keep it there. You really don't see what under the gravel. 
Whenever you buy anything live including the plant always quarantine it first. If you going to get live plant put it in the water with no water conditioner for a few weeks. 

And if you will decide to keep the filter you also will need to wipe the walls not sure how often since i don't have the filters in my tanks. But i think the link that you was given has those explanation.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi Emma,

I was asked to take a look at this thread. I see people have given you a lot of information.  You asked about cycling a small tank....

Personally, I don't try to cycle small tanks. It doesn't take much for the cycle to crash, and when it does, it can harm the health of the fish. For me, it's just easier to do two water changes per week: one 100% and one 50%. 

If you want to keep the filter, you can follow OFL's water change recommendation, which is that a 1-4 gal tank with a filter requires: _"Twice weekly-1-50% water only and 1-50% with substrate cleaning by vacuum or stir and dip method. Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month."_ (Link is here.)

If you don't have a vacuum or siphon, you can do the "stir and dip" that OFL mentions, but personally, I prefer having my tanks cleaner than this. (I feel like stir and dip leaves too much "stuff" in my tanks.)

Another option for creating a cycled tank is to set up a Natural Planted Tank (NPT), with lots of live plants. If you're willing to do this, the NPT tanks can look really good. Here's a link to a good thread: How to: Natural Planted Tank.

You could also consider a sponge filter. Beneficial bacteria builds up on the sponge, which helps maintain good water quality. You'd still do one 100% and one 50% water change per week, but just give the sponge a quick squeeze so that it keeps its beneficial bacteria. Here's a link to a great thread about using sponge filters: What is a sponge filter?


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## EmmaBlake (May 10, 2013)

I really appreciate everyone's help!

I have decided to keep the filter and do 2 50% water changes weekly using a vacuum once a week, I ordered a vacuum along with some other things from amazon and they should be here Friday. I am going to do the stir and dip method until the vacuum arrives, I am also going to get a few more plants when I have the money.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Don't forget to quarantine the new plants in the water without water conditioner for about 2 wks before you put it in the tank. And rinse the filter media
Good luck!


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## VJM (Feb 7, 2013)

Just as a plug, I do one 50% water change per week ( it could be less, I am just paranoid) with a cycled NPT. That's it. Vacuum the substrate lightly while siphoning and good to go. Takes about 5 minutes per tank.


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## EmmaBlake (May 10, 2013)

Thanks for all the info..I have a few questions because I didn't quarantine my first plant before I put it in the tank. I did a bleach dip and made sure it didn't smell like bleach before I put it in the tank, is it bad that I didn't quarantine it? what are the benefits to quarantining? 

Also when I did my 50% water change today I put Marvin (I named him!) into his little cup for the water change and he was very angry for the first time in the cup..when I was floating him he would thrash himself against the bottom of the cup like he was trying to break through the cup. and he continued to do this until I finally just put him in his tank..I was worried he would hurt himself so I put him in the tank after only about 3 minutes floating but I always make sure the new and old water temps are the same before I add new water so I think its fine. Anyone have their betta do this and will they ever hurt themselves? Mine was very worked up and breathing hard. I'm sure it was stressful for him.


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## VJM (Feb 7, 2013)

I Leave mine in the tank for water changes. Less stress for everybody.


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## Taeanna (Apr 2, 2013)

Bettas have a jumping instinct. When they get into a tight corner or are otherwise way too optimistic for their own good they will try to leap into the wild blue yonder in search of a better home.
My own boy has thankfully never jumped...but he DOES have a tantrum when the cup comes out for cleaning day. Likely little Marvin loves his new home so much he was angry about having to sit still and wait.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I know if you quarantine for a few weeks in the water it will kill any parasites , no host they die. Not sure if quarantining can kill bacteria or fungus. I know completely dry out will kill a lot of bacteria.
I though that you need to keep plants in the water for a while though after you disinfected with bleach. Hopefully no bleach left and you rinse it well . I would think it it would be something wrong your betta would be already sick. So you did a good job. 
I found this instructions from someone on this forum lilnaugrim and just want to put them for you , even though you already did it I actually learning right now. I was so afraid to recommend to bleach dip plants to other people. So now since you did it and your betta is fine i know i can recommend it to other people. So there is instructions from lilnaugrim:
You can bleach Live plants. What you do is just a dip.
Make the 1 parts bleach 19 parts water solution in one container.
Turn the plant upside down, or so that no roots get into the mixture.
Hold plant in for 30 seconds (Some of the more delicate plants will not survive without melting, so be careful which plants you put into this)
After 30 seconds, take out and rinse under tap water.
Place into a Container of Aquarium Temp. Tap water to sit for a while.
You can QT these plants for a day up to two weeks, depending on the severity of the disease or if you just want to be safe 
I believe you have to acclimate them like you would fish to go back into the aquarium so they don't melt as badly, it is still possible they will melt though, it depends on the plant.
And voila, you've now disinfected your plants!


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