Snails?

[Sarasein]

I like live plants. And last time I ended up with a snail issue. My friend said to get a Clown loach and they would eat the snails. SO I did and it did. That fish hid in the rocks and I never saw him again, till I took him and gave him away. But, he did take care of my snails.

So, I am starting back up. Looking to get plants and worried about snails. Are they something I want or how do I get rid of them? I don't really like my tank covered in snails. That is what happened last time till my loach helped me out.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I like live plants. And last time I ended up with a snail issue. My friend said to get a Clown loach and they would eat the snails. SO I did and it did. That fish hid in the rocks and I never saw him again, till I took him and gave him away. But, he did take care of my snails.

So, I am starting back up. Looking to get plants and worried about snails. Are they something I want or how do I get rid of them? I don't really like my tank covered in snails. That is what happened last time till my loach helped me out.

Use an H2O2 dip and that should do it.

Hydrogen peroxide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Sarasein]

ok, So dip the plants in H2O2 as they come in? What is the % h2o2 to water for the dip?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I do 100% H2O2 (cheap stuff at walmart is fine) in a tub, swish them around for 30 seconds or so and then run them under the spray head on our kitchen sink to give them a good rinse and knock anything off.

Some say use diluted bleach (5% solution), but it's a bit harsh IMO. I used to QT plants for 10 days (boring lol) but switched to H2O2 and haven't had any issues since.

 

[Sarasein]

Thank you so much.

 

[AquaOne]

This sounds good to me, I too dislike being over-run with snails so I'll try the H2O2 myself. When I first had a snail problem I tried a chemical treatment, but it only made the snails 'sleepy' for a while so I could collect them up. Didn't seem to affect already despatched eggs, so same problem not long after ! It has to be best to erradicate the problem before it get's in the tank, but if you do get one or two sneak in, another option (posted on AA elsewhere) is a piece of lettuce in the tank for an hour or two and the snails can't resist. Then you simply remove the lettuce with the 'problem' attached !