How To Disinfect Aquarium Plants

How To Disinfect Aquarium Plants | Treating Live Plants:

Live plants are a good source of filtration for fish tank & offer beautiful places for the aquarium inhabitants to hide & rest which helps stressed fish to avoid bullies. New fish or shy fish does not like your presence & when they see you, they try to hide behind objects. If your aquarium has live plants, then it provides hiding spots for your fish. Some fish needs hiding places because they are lazy & do not like to swim that much. Plants are good for almost every kind of fish because fish likes to have natural environment. Live plants also help in filtration because it can help in absorbing ammonia, nitrites & nitrates that are released from fish waste & clear your aquarium water.

Make sure you keep your live plants healthy by wiping out algae & other dirt from your tank plants. If your plants are infected with fungi or illnesses, then they need quarantining & needs a number of methods to remove dangerous algae & other substances.

It is very important to clean live plants so in this article I have mentioned multiple methods to disinfect aquarium plants.

Method 1: Bleaching Aquarium Plants:

Step 1:

Prepare a five percent bleach solution. Dissolve five percent hypochlorite bleach in ninety-five percent clean water in a container.

For a little more than one gallon of the solution, we suggest dissolving two tablespoons of bleach into one gallon of clean water. Avoid using scented or gel bleach.

Bleach can be used to get rid of algae, parasites or hitchhikers from plants. Bleach can be used for cleaning artificial plants too.

 

Step 2:

Soak plant in the solution after taking it out of fish tank. Only soak it just for five minutes. It is suggested to soak a delicate live plant for less than five minutes because bleach can damage it.

 

Step 3:

Take out the plant from the solution & then it is time to soak it in conditioned water. When you remove plant from bleach solution then remove the leftover algae using your fingers. The next step is to soak your plant in a bucket of water for ten 10 minutes. Now take out the plant from the water & submerge it in water treated with sodium thiosulfate-based water conditioner for five to ten minutes to wipe out the remaining bleach. It is suggested to wash the plant carefully before adding it to your fish tank.

If water conditioner is not available, then you can let plant dry out before adding it to your aquarium.

 

Method 2: Quarantining Plants:

Step 1:

Take out the plant from the aquarium. If you find a plant having a sickness, bacteria, or fungi, then it is recommended to remove it from the tank ASAP. It is suggested to get rid of the disease using one of the methods mentioned below:

 

Step 2:

It is suggested to clean your plant with vinegar which is a simple way of treating diseased plant. It will allow you to get rid of calcium if it has built up on the plant. Mix half cup of white vinegar with half gallon of distilled water for preparing vinegar solution. Take out the plant from fish tank. Next step is to soak it in the solution for only five minutes. It is suggested to wash the plant with water before adding it back to the fish tank.

Note: Some live plants can’t bear vinegar well.

 

Step 3:

Add a salt & lemon juice paste to silk plant. Mix one tea spoon of non-iodized salt with three teaspoons of lemon juice. Take out the plant from the tank. Use a toothbrush & rub this paste on the full plant. Wash the paste & remove algae from the silk plant with warm water. Ensure you carefully removed the paste & algae before adding this plant back to the aquarium.

 

Step 4:

Hydrogen peroxide is used to treat algae in live plants. Take out the plants from the aquarium. Add hydrogen peroxide to spray bottle & use it to spray live plants. It will help remove hard algae including bear & hair algae from live plants. Allow hydrogen peroxide to sit on the live plants for ten min. or more, then wash the plants carefully to remove all hydrogen peroxide & algae before adding plant to the aquarium.

 

Step 5:

Submerge your plants in potassium permanganate which is the best cure. Buy potassium permanganate from store. Prepare a ten milligram / Liter solution & soak your plants in it for ten min. Wash your plants thoroughly before adding it to the aquarium.

I hope you liked our solutions for getting rid of algae, bacteria & fungus from plants. Please leave your comments below if you need something. Also don't forget to leave your feedback & please subscribe Fishaholic Youtube Channel. Take Care!