Best place to buy plants?

[dougall]

Tropica is a nursery, they supply plants to your local store. I don't think their website is best at locating dealers, but they are one of the most commonly available in the US. Their plants available in the US are pretty much all grown in Canada.

Other large commercial options in the US are Florida Aquatic Nurseries, Ultum Nature Systems and there are other smaller options too. It really depends on price and the specific plants.

I'm a big proponent of local aquarium clubs, specifically plant related ones. They will likely be able to assist with the growing of them, and be able to tell what the required water parameters are.

The AGA (aquatic gardeners association) has a decent list of clubs, pages, forums and businesses that will be of use to you.

Aquatic Gardeners Association : Aquatic Plant Links

www.aquatic-gardeners.org

If you say where you are in the US you are, it will make it easier to suggest somewhere to go in person.


Personally, I don't want to introduce any fauna to my aquarium via the flora; some plants may not take well to bring dipped in bleach or potassium permanganate or whatever, depending on how fragile they can be. And it's far easier to not put anything extra into your aquarium than it will be to remove it afterwards. Fish eggs, snail eggs, duckweed, Gibba, parasites can all be transferred via plants.

 

[the loach]

First you state no snails eat plants, Now you state that some snails eat plants

I didn't claim that. I wrote:

The only hitchhikers you typically have is snails, but that is because I and many other hobbyists see them as beneficial. Unlike terrestrial snails, they do not eat plants.

I am talking in the context of a planted tank here, with hobbyists keeping snails cause they consider them beneficial. Unless you think people who are growing nice aquatic plants consider it beneficial to have their plants eaten first by an apple snail before they can give them away or sell them.

I don't know how the apple snail got in your tank but I do know this for sure: it did not evolve there from another life form nor was it created by god in your tank.

It's a rather weird argument to say not to get plants from a hobbyist cause it might have an apple snail egg somewhere. That is pretty much like don't get in a car cause you might end up in the hospital.... it's a remote possibility.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Any reasonable person can conclude a few things when you say " The only hitchhikers you typically have is snails, but that is because I and many other hobbyists see them as beneficial. Unlike terrestrial snails, they do not eat plants."

1. The only typical hitchhikers are snails. You do not qualify which snails nor do you eliminate any species either. So one must reasonably conclude yo mean all aquatic snails. What we might assume here is that you mean only freshwater snails.
2. Over the years I have had various fish eggs and the occasional leech hitchhike in. Other things that do this but which I have not gotten would be argulus, daphnia plus other small copepods and decapods.
3. Terrestrial snails are the ones which eat plants. So that again implies aquatic ones do not.
4. That is not the only reason you have hitchhikers. Plenty of plant keepers have them and did/do not want them.

In terms of dips, I have always used bleach, but that wont kill snail eggs. PP is nasty stuff, I do not keep it and have never used it. I have never used salt on plants as some will not like it especially for an extended dip. I do not know it if will kill snail eggs.

Almost no snails are beneficial, imo. They make waste, they get into equipment and most multiply like crazy. I started with a few pond snails and ultimately they were everywhere. They are especially troublesome in my tanks with fry which get a lot of food. So I got assassin snails. I got 10 from one friend and 5 from another. That was about a 8-10 years ago. To date I have I've given away over 100, sold about the same and my best guess is I now have several hundreds in any tanks where I do not have breeding plecos. I have probably accidentally thrown out another few hundred. I remove the pest snails from tanks with fry and drop them into tanks with assassins since those tanks long ago were rid of pest snails.

Nowhere did I ever say not to get plants from hobbyists. For one, those from whom I have gotten plants over the years would call me a liar. What I did say is just because a hobbyist tells you their plants are free of hitchhikers does not necessarily mean this is the case. First, they can be mistaken, second they may not be telling the truth. My experience is that most hobbyists will tell you just the opposite. They will tell you hitchhikers will come at no extra charge.

 

[fishorama]

Many big box stores & specialty shops sell hydroponically grown plants. They have never been in contact with fish or snails, etc. or any of their possible diseases. That is why they are expensive & sold in sealed plastic pots & sleeves. It may be worth it to you...I said this before...

I belong to a plant club & happily trade plants. But I don't believe, other than pest snails & mosses, I have much to worry about. I have some of both already...

In a vague way, where do you live? State? City? I don't buy online since I have an awesome club, but maybe we can help you find a safe source for plants.

 

[the loach]

Over the years I have had various fish eggs and the occasional leech hitchhike in. Other things that do this but which I have not gotten would be argulus, daphnia

I wrote:

as long as they are from an aquarium, not a pond.

Really, no hobbyist with a planted community tank has leeches and fish lice and what not in them. At this point you're just trying to scare John to not get plants from a fellow hobbyist or club.

The only typical hitchhikers are snails. You do not qualify which snails nor do you eliminate any species either. So one must reasonably conclude yo mean all aquatic snails. What we might assume here is that you mean only freshwater snails.

You can assume anything, but I already clarified that above; the common "pest" snails that hobbyists keep in their planted tank.
Some people don't like them, but if you say you have too many snails you're feeding too much.

First, they can be mistaken, second they may not be telling the truth.

No one in a plant club is going to lie and try to get whatever parasite or disease in the tank of another member. Folks that grow aquatic plants that well that they have lots of cuttings generally know what they are doing. Like people don't even know whether they have snails in their tank.This is all far fetched stuff.

If you have snails in the tank put a piece of cucumber or broccoli in the tank for a couple of nights. Really it's not like they are hard to catch.

 

[fishorama]

Yeah, but tl, they may not know they have any issues. My club is based on as best as we know at the time, with no guarantees...you take your freebies & if you're worried, you treat for...whatever...however you deem best. I'm not that paranoid...

Hydroponically grown plants come with the implied lack of snails, eggs, etc. or exposure to fish diseases...they "should be" "clean" & you'll pay for that implication...I don't know if they come with any guarantees of that or how you might prove it.

In my area we all know if you buy from certain shops you may get scuds, etc...but it's not necessarily bad...They mostly quarantine their fish, & sell mostly hydroponic plants...like I said there's no guarantees in plants... or in life.

 

[the loach]

But it is not possible to grow all plants hydroponically. Most LFS's have a separate tank for plants, John could just buy from that without worries. However when they sell plants between the fish... I would dip the plants.
I agree there are no guarantees in plants or in life but the idea that we have to be more careful now with the plants as the fish (who always do carry diseases and parasites) and hobbyists aren't even aware that they're having snails in their tank (not even apple snails), and they have leeches and fish lice on their neons, is really out there, far fetched.

 

[fishorama]

Not so far fetched, that's the whole point of hydroponically grown plants. What plants can't be grown that way? I've seen gazillions! & most lfs have fish &/or snails (etc.?) in their plant tanks around here & where I've lived before...not to say they're diseased...but who can say?

You can quarantine plants like some of us do fish, or "sterilize" them in some other ways, but that comes with some risks too. Hydroponic plants come without those risks...at a price...It depends on one's comfort or paranoia level, or depth of wallet. It's all relative

 

[the loach]

Plants like for example hornwort, cabomba, guppy grass can not be grown emerged. It used to be common here for folks to recommend plant clubs and trade with fellow hobbyists and such, since when did that change to you need to get hydroponically grown plants, (even by a non-US company... that doesn't do retail?), cause they might have a snail or a parasite? It must have been recent, I must have missed that memo. I guess up next is we can't recommend getting a used tank or filter, cause it might get a leak...

 

[Sprinkle]

I'm not gonna intervene into this "fight" over snails or plants ? But I'm just gonna say that my local Maidenhead Aquatics gets their plants from Aquafleur. Got my amazon sword and anubias from them, no pests or anything though I kept these plants in their original pots from the store and my anubias heterophylla could grow outside water if there was moisture outside the water. The only pest snails I got came from the anacharis I bought from my local store.