New plants can occasionally carry hitchhikers — pest snails, snail eggs, or algae. A quick quarantine routine protects your tank, especially sensitive shrimp setups. Here’s a simple, plant-safe approach.

Why quarantine?

Even healthy, hand-picked plants live in water and substrate before they reach you. Quarantining catches any unwanted snails or algae before they spread in your display tank.

Step 1: Inspect and rinse

Look over the leaves and rhizome, remove any damaged leaves, and rinse the plant gently in dechlorinated water to wash off debris and snail eggs.

Step 2: A short isolation (optional)

If you want to be thorough, keep new plants in a separate container of dechlorinated water for a week or two and watch for snails or pests before adding them to your main tank.

A note on dips

Some keepers use plant dips, but many are harsh and risky for delicate plants and unsafe for shrimp tanks. For most hobbyists, a careful rinse and inspection is enough — and far safer for soft plants like mosses.

Shrimp-tank caution

Never add anything to a shrimp tank that you wouldn’t add to your shrimp. Stick to a rinse and quarantine rather than chemical dips. Start with healthy stock from our aquarium plant collection to make quarantine quick and easy.