need to rinse plant before putting in aquarium?

[wigglejaggles]

hey Now,

I just bought some java moss at my lfs. I have had a three gallon eclipse going for about a week. No fish in it yet. I bought an aquarium rock and i took the java moss out of the bag of water, and tied it to the rock with regular dental moss and just put it in the tank. All kinds of debris came off of it but the filter has done a good job clearing it out of the tank. I am worried I shoul dhave rinsed it with water first, but I didnt want to get chlorine on the plant and then placed into the tank.
The java moss is very dark in th emiddle, almost brownish. Is that ok? I hope its still alive. the egdes are still birght green. Is that normal for the inside of the java moss to be brownish?

thanks so much!

take care,
Jared

[djlen]

It shouldn't hurt most any plant to rinse in 70° - 80° water. In fact I wouldn't consider not rinsing at the least.
I bring my plants home and give them a thorough checking over, a good rinse and an Alum(aluminum sulfate) bath to kill snails. Then after that I rinse again and pick off any algae that might be on them.
I think the off color in the center might be die back from lack of light penetration. It won't kill the plant, but looks unsightly.
In a newly set up tank you want to try and introduce as little algae as possible, not to mention other critters that may be in or on the plant.

Len

[yashinfan]

I tank my plants and prepare a 1 gallon rinse for them. I add 2mL of bleach and the rest all regular tap water. I put the plant in for about 2-5 seconds and then rinse. This kills any thing living on my plants but does not harm my plants. I have yet to have a snail infestation because of this trick.