MTS in Sand

[Maltimomma]

My 55 gal tank has dozens of mts and I have moved the fish and assassin snails to other tanks. I have drained the tank as much as possible. My question is - will the mts eventually die on their own? Is there anything I can do to kill them off? I have even thought of taking out all of the sand and putting in gravel, but am affraid there would still be eggs in the tank. Any ideas? Please help.

 

[GodFan]

My 55 gal tank has dozens of mts and I have moved the fish and assassin snails to other tanks. I have drained the tank as much as possible. My question is - will the mts eventually die on their own? Is there anything I can do to kill them off? I have even thought of taking out all of the sand and putting in gravel, but am affraid there would still be eggs in the tank. Any ideas? Please help.

MTS do not lay eggs. They are livebearers. However their youbg are so small they are very hard to spot. It is very unlikely that you will ever get all the snails out of that sand. I would toss it.
HOWEVER they are an invasive species in many places so you still need to kill them! Soaking the sand in bleach works.

 

[phin]

You have a couple options you can try. They both involve "poisoning" the snails but making your tank easy to make safe for re-use in the future. You will end up killing the bacteria in the tank as well, so you will need to re-cycle. But I think is a better option than bleach.

1. Get some Kent Poly*Ox and use a very strong dose, several to many times what is called for. Mix the sand up well once the water is a nice deep purple. After a day the water will be yellow, which means the potassium permanganate has been oxidized. If the dose was strong enough it will have killed all the snails. do a couple water changes, and your tank will be good to go.

2. Dose the tank with extreme amounts of ammonia (the same stuff used for fish-less cycling - Ace 10% janatorial strength). If you add enough to your tank to smell it (that is smells like a janitor's mop bucket, you will kill everything in the tank. Give the sand a good stir and mix. Do lots of water changes and test the ammonia levels <4ppm and then you can start cycling right there.

Option 2 may be a bit more noxious, be sure to ventilate the room until you remove the ammonia water, but Option 2 costs less, maybe be easier to find than Poly*Ox, and starts your cycle right away. Option 1 is safe, oxidizes all suspended organic matter and will kill invertebrates (and vertebrates) at a high enough concentration. If you happen to spill some Poly*Ox on the rug or furniture or your pants just rinse with hydrogen peroxide and the stain will dissappear.

 

[Maltimomma]

You have a couple options you can try. They both involve "poisoning" the snails but making your tank easy to make safe for re-use in the future. You will end up killing the bacteria in the tank as well, so you will need to re-cycle. But I think is a better option than bleach.

1. Get some Kent Poly*Ox and use a very strong dose, several to many times what is called for. Mix the sand up well once the water is a nice deep purple. After a day the water will be yellow, which means the potassium permanganate has been oxidized. If the dose was strong enough it will have killed all the snails. do a couple water changes, and your tank will be good to go.

2. Dose the tank with extreme amounts of ammonia (the same stuff used for fish-less cycling - Ace 10% janatorial strength). If you add enough to your tank to smell it (that is smells like a janitor's mop bucket, you will kill everything in the tank. Give the sand a good stir and mix. Do lots of water changes and test the ammonia levels <4ppm and then you can start cycling right there.

Option 2 may be a bit more noxious, be sure to ventilate the room until you remove the ammonia water, but Option 2 costs less, maybe be easier to find than Poly*Ox, and starts your cycle right away. Option 1 is safe, oxidizes all suspended organic matter and will kill invertebrates (and vertebrates) at a high enough concentration. If you happen to spill some Poly*Ox on the rug or furniture or your pants just rinse with hydrogen peroxide and the stain will dissappear.

Hey. Thanks for the reply and help. I don't want to be stupid, but where
do I get the Kent Poly-Ox? The tanks are in my living room so I don't think I want the ammonia where my dogs, cats and birds are. I really appreciate the help.

 

[GodFan]

Hey. Thanks for the reply and help. I don't want to be stupid, but where
do I get the Kent Poly-Ox? The tanks are in my living room so I don't think I want the ammonia where my dogs, cats and birds are. I really appreciate the help.

Are you wanting to keep the sand?

 

[phin]

It isn't super common on the shelf, but call the local fish/pet stores in town. you might have luck finding some in the pond section, sometimes you will find it in stores that specialize in marine aquariums. if you can't find it around you you can order it online. kent poly ox - Google Search

If you have a chemical supply store around, you might be able to get a better deal on some straight potassium permanganate (KPMnO4), which is what Kent Poly*Ox is. I soak all my new plants in a KPMnO4 solution prior to adding to my tank to kill any unwanted snail/snail eggs.

 

[Rlavassor86]

Y don't you just make a live trap? Place some veggies in a soda bottle and submerge. Check after half hour empty and repeat. Not likely you'll get them all but helps keep the population under control. That's what I do in my planted tank and I only ever see 2 or 3 around the tank except when I put the food in to trap them. Save you a whole lotta headache. To me killing your entire BB colony over some snails is pointless when they can be easily controlled.

 

[phin]

Y don't you just make a live trap? Place some veggies in a soda bottle and submerge. Check after half hour empty and repeat. Not likely you'll get them all but helps keep the population under control. That's what I do in my planted tank and I only ever see 2 or 3 around the tank except when I put the food in to trap them. Save you a whole lotta headache. To me killing your entire BB colony over some snails is pointless when they can be easily controlled.

I guess its a matter of preference. If you get rid of them all at once then you never have to worry about them again, make traps regularly, etc. sounds like the OP has another running tank with an established filter, so the snail-free tank can be seeded and colonized in no time. I've been over-run with MTS before and I had to temporarily move my fish while I had a little MTS genocide going on. Everything was back to normal (minus the snails) in less than a week and never had to deal with them again.

 

[GodFan]

I guess its a matter of preference. If you get rid of them all at once then you never have to worry about them again, make traps regularly, etc. sounds like the OP has another running tank with an established filter, so the snail-free tank can be seeded and colonized in no time. I've been over-run with MTS before and I had to temporarily move my fish while I had a little MTS genocide going on. Everything was back to normal (minus the snails) in less than a week and never had to deal with them again.

Assasin snails can be very effective population control. Maybe 4 for every 20 gallons

 

[phin]

Assasin snails can be very effective population control. Maybe 4 for every 20 gallons

Yes assassin snails are very effective in controlling MTS.