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Quarantine tank for plants! What is going wrong?


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I quarantined two Amazon Swards and a Crypt a few months ago. I really don’t want snails. They are now in my display tank doing great. Never really had any die back and seemed to transition well! 
 

This second batch of plants is another story. I did as I did prior - put treated water (with Seachem Prime) and some aquarium water in a vented tote with an air stone. I had ordered some root tans from the co-op and pressed one in each of them a few days into quarantine. I have done a small water change on it also0534FF57-2365-4658-8DE8-66988FE9F97D.jpeg.5098daea36712c21f97f022846d9dae8.jpeg

This is how they look now. Kinda sad and almost slimy/mushy.. the one more than the other. What am I doing wrong? 
 

*Disclaimer, for about 4 days, the plants only had natural sunlight for around 5 hours a day from a window and ambient light in a room. Could this be a contributing factor? 
Is this the “if you see it die back don’t panic and throw it out, it will likely come back” scenario? 
 

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Are those crypts? Pretty normal to have die back on them at first, even with submerged growth just going from tank to tank even. Most of the crypts I buy will melt back, and then I will see distinctly different (submerged growth) leaves growing slowly after that. But it's a slow process with them.  As long as they still have strong roots, they should be fine. Are these from the Co-Op? If so, I believe they are snail free from the get go, but someone is welcome to correct me!

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On 7/17/2021 at 11:06 PM, Ben C. said:

Are those crypts? Pretty normal to have die back on them at first, even with submerged growth just going from tank to tank even. Most of the crypts I buy will melt back, and then I will see distinctly different (submerged growth) leaves growing slowly after that. But it's a slow process with them.  As long as they still have strong roots, they should be fine. Are these from the Co-Op? If so, I believe they are snail free from the get go, but someone is welcome to correct me!

Coop plants do indeed have snails

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On 7/17/2021 at 10:06 PM, Ben C. said:

Are those crypts? Pretty normal to have die back on them at first, even with submerged growth just going from tank to tank even. Most of the crypts I buy will melt back, and then I will see distinctly different (submerged growth) leaves growing slowly after that. But it's a slow process with them.  As long as they still have strong roots, they should be fine. Are these from the Co-Op? If so, I believe they are snail free from the get go, but someone is welcome to correct me!

These are crypts! The plants are from another fish store but the root tabs are from the Co-Op. I am assuming you are correct as they do seem to have “melted.” 
 

Know I’m unsure of where or not I keep them in quarantine or place them in my main tank. I feel like that may put additional stress on them but I’m unsure. I have had them in quarantine for a week today (Sunday). I have seen no signs of snails or eggs just looking at them but I know they can be difficult to find sometimes. 
 

Should I take a chance and plant them now that they are pretty well melted back? Or keep them in quarantine? 

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Personally I wouldn't quarantine plants.  If I was concerned about pest snails I'd dip one of them in one of the several available solutions to kill snails and their eggs, then put them directly in the display tank.  If you put them into a quarantine tank for an extended period then they have to acclimate twice.  I know they'd probably be getting the same water in both tanks, but it's difficult to duplicate the lighting.

By the way, the so-called pest snails are rarely numerous enough to be a problem if you restrict their food by not over feeding your fish and promptly removing decaying plant matter.  Even if you do seem to get an initial population explosion it will generally level out over time.

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Sometimes I’ve found plants to be hit or miss. Crypts melt, sometimes all the way back to the root before recovering. I don’t know if water parameter changes play a roll or not in how they react. I’ve had some just not make it and others thrive, really long shipping times beyond 5 or 6 days kill more plants than any I get faster.  Plants sourced locally, sometimes pulled directly next to each other out of same tank, respond differently once planted in identical setups. The best way I’ve delt with snails is getting a few assassin snails if pest snails appear. They help diminish populations over time. I must have had like 100+ ramshorns in a small tank. About 6 months after adding a few assassins, the population was diminished with lots of empty shells. I like assassin snails as population controllers, even if they are slower than other possible solutions.

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I appreciate the feedback from everyone! 
Considering the information I’ve gathered here, Id like to plant them in my display display tank considering they will likely do better & won’t have to re-acclimate again! What’s the best route to take? I’ve read some people cut them back, plant the roots, apply root tabs and hope for the best.. others plant the melted plant, gross leaves & all. What have you seen work best?

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On 7/20/2021 at 6:49 PM, FreshwaterFacet said:

I appreciate the feedback from everyone! 
Considering the information I’ve gathered here, Id like to plant them in my display display tank considering they will likely do better & won’t have to re-acclimate again! What’s the best route to take? I’ve read some people cut them back, plant the roots, apply root tabs and hope for the best.. others plant the melted plant, gross leaves & all. What have you seen work best?

I don't claim to be an authority, but I remove any decaying leaves, if any, and plant what's left.  Removing all the leaves and planting just the roots may work well, but I'm curious about the reasoning behind it.  Why remove healthy leaves?

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