buying snail-free plants?? plants, in general

[Rachelinwy]

Hi everyone

I'm somewhat new to the planted tank world, but being a botanist by trade, it's an area in which I'd like to (need to?) excel. Several aquarium plants are considered basal in the evolution of plants, so I'd like to have a nice spread. I'd love to have some really cool aquarium plants.

ANYWAY....

Before Thanksgiving, I purchased some live plants from the LFS, only to be inundated with pond snails. Aside from growing plants from bulbs, is there any way to get living plants that aren't infested?

I currently have two 10-gallon tanks for my bettas, Jerry and Bayard. I can get Aponogeton boivivianus to grow like gangbusters. The Ceratophyllum is taking a hit, and I can't get any Nymphaea bulbs to grow at all.

The temperatures in the tank range from 76-82 degrees. I wish I could be more specific about the lighting, other than the bulbs I have are the "plant growing" bulbs sold in the Wal-Mart fish section.

I would like to have more than just the Aponogeton in each tank. As Jerry and Bayard are my priorities, I'd like to have some variety that will work with their needs. I don't want to change the tanks too much just to suit the plants. Also, I'm a graduate student, so I don't have a lot of time to devote to this. I just want what's best for the fish.

Any ideas? Does anyone here have snail-free plants for sale? Would anyone like my extra snails?

Thanks!

Rachel

[BrianNY]

About the only method to assure snail free plants is to dip them in potassium permanganate solution (1 part pp to 10 parts water), for 15 minutes. Then rinse the plants well before putting them in your tank.

The standard strip lights provided with most set ups don't give you very many options for plants. I've had aponogetens do very well in low light too. You might want to do some research on low light plants to see what options are available Rachel.

[Purrbox]

If you have a planted tank, snails are pretty much guarenteed eventually. You can dip them as Brian suggested, or you can work to limit their population. Most oftem people have problems with snails because the overfeed the tank and/or don't remove enough the dead plant matter etc. By limiting the snail's food source you also limit their population. There are actually several varienties that are beneficial to keep in a planted tank.

[SparKy697]

I love my ramshorn snails. They really pose no problem and my tank is always kept clean of rotting plant debris as if I actually cleaned it all up. Honest, between the snails, and corys, you would be hard pressed to find a single leaf on the bottom.

There are a fair amount of pond snails in that tank too but again, they really pose no problem.