# Sterilizing Petsmart Plants?



## rileymustang (Jan 13, 2014)

Hi all,

I am ready to take another step towards my first planted tank. There are no LFS around that sell plants, so I have to go to Petsmart. I'm going to pick out some good-looking vallisneria, anubias, or cryptocoryne, etc., but I don't know how to sterilize them. I read something about putting a potato in, but sadly I don't have any potatoes right now. Are there any other non-chemical ways to do this? Another food maybe? And how long should I quarantine them for?

Thanks!


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

No need to sterilize or quarantine plants. When I get new plants, I generally just rinse them off and plant )


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## rileymustang (Jan 13, 2014)

I'm just a bit worried about snails/diseases that may be on the plant.


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

IMO, snails are just kinda part of having an aquarium - lol. I check the plants for them when I rinse and remove them if I find any, but they can't always be found 'cuz some are sooo tiny. When I do see them in the tank, I use tweezers and remove them, they haven't been too big of a problem for me.


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## Tony2632 (Aug 30, 2013)

I never QT plants, I usually only buy plants from a reliable seller. A few months back I QT some dwarf sag from PetSolutions.com. Only reason I did that is the plants I got were in horrible shape. When I buy from a great seller, I just wash them under my sink and place them in my tank.

if you really don't want snails. Just ask them if it's snail free. I actually have tons of snails in my 37g and 10g planted tanks. During a WC, I just usually pluck a few out my tank when it gets a little out of control.


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## NorthernLights (Mar 2, 2012)

I only buy the plants in tubes from PetsMart and PetCo that are guaranteed snail-free. This pretty much limits me to anubias, the many types of java ferns, and wisteria (I could also get amazon swords but I run a bare-bottom tank), since most of the other plants are not truly aquatic. I rinse them very thoroughly under the tap and then I soak them in a bowl of non-dechlorinated water for 30 min to an hour. That way, most anything would either get rinsed off or get a good dose of chlorine (which kills most things pretty fast). I then dunk the plants in a bowl of water with some Prime in it and call it good. I've never gotten a snail that way, nor any kind of fungus that I know of.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

NorthernLights said:


> I rinse them very thoroughly under the tap and then I soak them in a bowl of non-dechlorinated water for 30 min to an hour. That way, most anything would either get rinsed off or get a good dose of chlorine (which kills most things pretty fast).


I just want to note for others who have the same "issue" I have, if you have well water, this method does not work obviously as there is no chlorine in our tap lol.


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## Fin Fancier (Aug 11, 2012)

As far as plants from Petsmart are concerned you won't need to quarantine them. Petsmart sells a majority of 'tube plants.' These are grown emersed and have not come from aquariums so there's no chance of pest snails being on them. The selection is not the best, but there are some good low light starter plants in the anubais and ferns.


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