Adding used plants?

[cyanide]

Right now I have silk plants in my tank but my friend who has a million real plants told me that she will give me a few from her tank. Is there a chance that her plants could be tainted from her fish and make my fish ill if i put them in my tank, or is there a way to clean them so they are safe for my fish?
Thanks.

 

[TankGirl]

The things that plants from another tank can do is transfer snails and certain types of algae. Many plants can be dipped in a very weak bleach solution for a minute or two, especially those with tough leaves like java fern. I know folks will chime in with their methods, but it is really a great idea to clean them thoroughly before putting them in.

I would not worry about transferring dangerous organisms to your fish, provided the tank where they are coming from are housing healthy disease-free fish.

 

[malkore]

the bleach solution should be 1 part un-scented, straight bleach, to 19 parts water.
1 minute is plenty to kill any parasites, as well as algae spores and most snail eggs. if it's ambulia, give it a 20 second dip...this plant is somewhat sensitive to bleaching

it's then a good idea to soak in water that's been triple dechlorinated for a few mins afterwards, after rinsing in some plain tap water after the bleach dip.

I just like to be super cautious when bleaching things before they get added to the tank.