Good way to kill possible snail eggs on tank decor

[Jacky12]

Found some terrific fake log hides on FB. I need to make certain they are not harboring snail eggs, as I suffer yet from eggs on plants. Would soaking them in hydrogen peroxide work? The husband is saying he could use compressed air. Would that work? Thanks

[Andy Sager]

I prefer chlorine unless you can see the egg mass then I just siphon them out with a siphon tube. Another way is to soak in some hot water for a few minutes to cook them.

[Colin_T]

let them dry out for a couple of weeks, that will kill any snail eggs on them.

[Jacky12]

A pair of terrific ideas, Andy & Colin! Thanks. I love them. The FB guys were suggesting chemicals I barely remember from my college inorganic chemistry days, or bleach. They said hydrogen peroxide would be ineffective as commonly sold: the solution is too weak. These are super nice looking realistic acrylic logs. They will be an upgrade for current Clown Loach hides.

[m.j.gomez]

Originally Posted by Jacky12

Found some terrific fake log hides on FB. I need to make certain they are not harboring snail eggs, as I suffer yet from eggs on plants. Would soaking them in hydrogen peroxide work? The husband is saying he could use compressed air. Would that work? Thanks

Hello, like you I use peroxide. When drys it breaks down into water & oxygen so won't contaminate tank.
I like to put in sprayer bottle at full strength. Spray soak & dry outside. I do this about 2+ times till satisfied. Hope this helps you!!!!!

[Jacky12]

Yeah, H2O2 was my first thought until some FB guys said I’d need industrial strength.
Colin’s comment led me to recall the seller said these hides were from a collection of fish stuff his daughter left behind a year ago after selling her tank, fish and other equipment. Since Andy’s suggestion was easy, I went with that as well.

The other day I saw a FB post that said Clown Loaches will eat pest snails. Have you ever heard that? These hides are for my CLs. But hopefully the eggs, if any, are dead and gone.

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by Jacky12

Yeah, H2O2 was my first thought until some FB guys said I’d need industrial strength.
Colin’s comment led me to recall the seller said these hides were from a collection of fish stuff his daughter left behind a year ago after selling her tank, fish and other equipment. Since Andy’s suggestion was easy, I went with that as well.

The other day I saw a FB post that said Clown Loaches will eat pest snails. Have you ever heard that? These hides are for my CLs. But hopefully the eggs, if any, are dead and gone.

Yes, Clown loaches will eat snails but of all the loaches, they are not the "snail vacuums" other species are. I've found Yo-yos and sidthimunki loach to be better snail eaters than Clowns.

[Jacky12]

Interesting, Andy. I didn’t know that. I’m still in search of some yellow Dojo loaches. Very difficult to find. My pair are both brown and I like color. These are very active fish, fascinating to watch. My LFS gets all her fish from NYS where Dojos are banned as an invasive species. Can’t find any anywhere, except from some guy on eBay who has bad reviews.

[Colin_T]

Try not to buy a fish to control something. Most loaches will eat some species of snails if the snail is small enough and easy enough for the loach to eat. But adding fish to control snails or algae or whatever, isn't the best option. You try to find out what is causing the outbreak and deal with the cause, otherwise you are simply putting a bandage on the problem and not fixing the underlying issue.

If you see snails in the tank and you don't want them, pick them out and chuck them in the garden. They will dry out and die. You can step on them too if you like but they leave a mess on your foot. You can get assassin snails to kill other snails. You only need 1 or 2 assassin snails and they will gradually wipe out the other snails in the tank. One or two assassin snails are easier to deal with than a group of loaches, and cheaper to buy.

Most loaches are brown or have brown, black and cream markings. This is because they are bottom dwellers and need to blend in with their surrounds. Clown loaches are an exception but grow too big for most aquariums.

Most loaches do best in groups of 6 or more. They develop a pecking order with a female in charge of the group. Females get bigger and fatter than males and the dominant female will be the biggest fish in the group.

[Jacky12]

i agree, best not to buy a fish to control pests/algae. This tank already contains 6 Clowns.



i would love to add more Dojos to my pair, but none to be found. The salt water store has me on their wait list. They said a nice white one was traded in recently and sold the next day. Never saw a white one, but as I recall mjgomez has some awesome yellow ones; that's what I want. These Dojos are not bottom dwellers, although my Clowns tend to stay low. The Dojos are incredibly active and all over the tank.


I set up new lighting yesterday for my 125 G severum tank. What an algae mess I had & it developed suddenly. I placed a 48" LED strip half on this tank and the rest on a 125 fancy goldfish tank. This awful brown algae was directly under the section of light on the severum tank. I replaced it with a pole lamp that has 5 LED light bulbs & it's working out nicely. I can simulate sunrise/sunset now with a $20 Walmart lamp. Works as well as the $132 Fluval Aquasky. Yay!