View Full Version : Killing snails on planted driftwood
goldfish freak
08-19-2003, 11:57 PM
I would please like to know the best way to kill off snails and snail eggs and disinfect planted driftwood. I don't want to use a bleach and water solution for fear of bleach being absorbed into the wood. Can someone please advise me on this? Thank you.
Hebdizzle
08-20-2003, 2:21 PM
do you have any more room in your tank for some loaches ? :)
goldfish freak
08-20-2003, 10:56 PM
Nope and I don't want to keep them with my goldfish.
Tempest
08-21-2003, 5:51 AM
If the driftwood isn't too large you can soak it and the plants for a couple of days in alum water. I used about a tablespoon per quart of water with no harm to the plants. You'll have to take it out of the tank of course. :D
Geeky1
08-21-2003, 9:55 PM
what about one of the commercial snailicide (is that a word? :rolleyes: ) products?
Tempest
08-22-2003, 5:59 AM
re: snailicide.. I don't like putting something that is essentially a poison in the tank with livestock. I treat plants before I add them to the tank. Alum water is mild but effective for that. I think it's probably even more effective than bleach for snails and eggs at least. If you are afraid it might soak in to the wood, you can soak the planted wood in plain water overnight before you put it back in the aquarium.
Timmain42
08-22-2003, 11:13 AM
I hate to be the first person to post this, but might you consider a bit of finger-finger pressure on the snails as you do your weekly pruning? If you're having problems with the standard pond snail, this will be simple.
Yes, that's what I mean, squish them. Just don't do it against the glass, as that tends to be a prime spot for sudden and immediate algae growth. Grab the lil' freaks and pop 'em out in the water. I have a pack of 8 black-blushing barbs who follow my hand around on Sunday mornings, waiting for me to provide them with a bit of protein.
Now, if you aren't able to crush them, put them back. Pond snails are awful, but the Malaysian Trumpet Snails are wonderful for planted tanks.
http://www.bioimages.org.uk/MWSt/BW9630SP/1996/96-06/96-06-23/96F23B_1.jpgPond Snail
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/mts022600a.jpg Malaysians
goldfish freak
08-23-2003, 12:12 PM
Why do you say that MTS are wondeful for a planted tank?
CHINABOY1021
08-23-2003, 12:19 PM
they wont hurt your plants, also most of them stay in the gravel most of the times.
im not sure why they're good, i guess because they help put movement through the gravel bed.
MTS are considered beneficial because they eat soft green algaes off the plants and glass without damaging the plants and because they do scarf up any food missed by the fish - even down between the gravel grains. The staying mostly out of sight in the day is a freebie bonus. They do not, contrary to popular aquarium mthology, dig very deeply.
goldfish freak
08-23-2003, 5:15 PM
Okay, but I have read that they reproduce very rapidly and in large numbers and can be quite a nusciance due to them getting into filters and other equipment and just by their sheer numbers.
Is this information incorrect?
Folks who moan about snail overpopulations suffer from overfeeding. Snails do no grow on water, they require food. I have snails in all my tanks but puffer tanks (for obvious reasons) and I have no overpopulation, nor have I ever had. I set tanks aside to grow more snails to feed puffers, and am amazed at how much I have to overfeed to get a heavy population.
http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/snail.shtml