Chaetomorpha question

[HalR]

I have ordered some Cheato for my refugium and am wondering if I should quarantine it. I have QT'd everything else I have put in my tank and have been pretty pest/disease free so far. Should I be concerned about the cheato? Could I get some bad hitchhikers or diseases in my tank from cheato?

Thanks,

Hal

 

[GL]

Where did you get it?

Keep this in mind:

If the source had anything like red bugs, flat worms, aptasia, etc they could very well be in the cheato!

Personally I would treat it like any other livestock.

Greg

 

[bheron]

You know, i never heard of this one before. But good question. I guess it could always harbor some unwanted stuff. As far as unwanted critters, its would be good to get them out before putting them into your tank. As far as any diseases, im not sure QTing it would help.

Then, come to think of it, its probably being shipped with little or no water, right? if so, not much will live except the chaeto itself (its a plant).

In summary, i probably wouuldnt worry about it.

 

[Blown 346]

I ordered half of mine off the net and the other half from a member here. I just floated the bag in the fuge to let it get to temp and just dumpd it in.
You should be fine, like said above everything else wont survive.

 

[GL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7367391#post7367391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Blown 346
I ordered half of mine off the net and the other half from a member here. I just floated the bag in the fuge to let it get to temp and just dumpd it in.
You should be fine, like said above everything else wont survive.

I don't understand: If you search the forums you will see thread after thread of cheato sales and giveaways that involve shipping and they talk about all the life, the pods, brittle stars, bristle worms, etc that are in it. I personally received some shipped via USPS that had pods and stars in it.

If this life survives like all the threads are saying it does wouldn't there be just as much of a chance of getting the bad with the good if it existed, especially if you don't really know the source?

Just a curiosity question.

 

[Bri Guy]

?Could you rinse it with freshwater? Like they said b4 its a plant, it should be able to handle a little bath?

 

[bheron]

Gl - good points. i guess you'd have to know first what critters or "bad" stuff you think might make it. ive gotten chaeto twice and always shipped 2 days or so USPS and nothing ever made it. if you get it next day, maybe.

pod - also a good point. its a plant so it should work. might be a good idea.

 

[austin552]

Were did you order it from?

 

[HalR]

I ordered it from premiumaquatics.com Anyone ordered cheato from them?

 

[UrbanSage]

Play it safe and quarantine it. My fauna got kickstarted with my chaeto. I doubt it would bring in ich and such but if it is a concern of yours and you have the quarantine setup.... Go for it

 

[SaltyMember]

I once ordered caulerpa for my old seahorse tank and ended up with a seahorse with some sort of marine leech stuck to its face.

I don't think I would go to the trouble of actually quarantining it next time but I would certainly inspect in closely for any obvious nasty hitchhikers.

 

[Kabong]

Give it a fresh water dip.
Ive done it with some of mine with no problems.

 

[tylorarm]

I got some chaeto from LFS and dumped it in refugium. Lots of amphipods and such. Just found a transparent flat worm crawling on the glass of my refugium. Yikes. Luckily my refugium output goes through a sock filter so I think isolated.