Loaches Online Forum

Has anyone ever used Grapefruit Seed Extract to disinfect live aquarium plants? Those of us in the parrot community have been using it to disinfect toys and cages for years, and I have found a couple places on the internet where it is used as an algacide in tanks (with minimal toxicity to the fish, whatever the heck THAT really means), but I don't see anything about it being used for disinfecting plants. Thoughts?

Just curious, what type of plants are you wanting to disinfect, and why?

Tap water is usually pretty good, unless you have a particular target organism.

I use tapwater too. But not for any scary stuff. Then the plants are discarded.

Aren't you worried that your fish might get a disease from wherever the plants were bought?

Not so much if you quarantine your plants. Most parasites are not going to do to well without a host. For environmental opportunistic parasites, fish always have that possibility. A tap water rinse with chlorinated water can be pretty aggressive against many things too. You can give plants a quick dip in potassium permanganate or a bleach solutions as well.

I have found tap water pretty effective in eliminating the nnasties. I usually leave them in the tapwater week, mostly because I forget them.

I am lucky in that I get most of my plants directly frm the owner of a local plant farm, and it is very clean. And I also get many plants from people in my fish club and for the most part they are skilled keepers. I haven't had any nasties from either source.

I am under the impression Minn Finn can be used with plants and fish.
http://www.watergarden.org/Pond-Supplie ... h/MinnFinn