I have heard people say that you should bleach dip plants you get before putting them in your tank to avoid snails and such. Is this true and if so, what is the amount of bleach to water ratio and do you just dip in and then out or do they have to sit for a minute or so? I am just starting to get into plants and wanting to avoid snails and saw that and thought I would ask all you experienced planted tank owners. Thanks in advance!
Bleach dipping plants
- Thread starter jlink17
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I think it is usually something like 1 part bleach to 20 parts water or something like that, if you do dip them remember to not dip the roots. Personally I wouldn't worry about it snails are inevitable in a planted tank population control is rather easy also through gravel vacs and feeding only enough for other inhabitants.
Bleach is tricky because you can accidentally melt your plants. You can use alum instead of bleach and your plants will not melt. You can buy alum at the grocery store in the spice section for about $2 a bottle. I add a tablespoon of alum to a gallon of water in a bucket and mix it up with my hand. Let the plants sit in the solution for at least 24 hours to kill the snail eggs.
It is very easy to keep pest snails out of your planted tanks if you do this each time you add plants. I only have pest snails in one of my tanks and that's because I intentionally added them.
It is very easy to keep pest snails out of your planted tanks if you do this each time you add plants. I only have pest snails in one of my tanks and that's because I intentionally added them.
whoops! I dipped mine with the roots for about 5min. then rinsed/soaked for another 5min. but that may explain why I am having some browning leaves. or is it too much light for my medium to low light plants? I hope I didn't condemn them to death...
What kind of plants did you dip? Some plants can take it but others will melt. Sometimes they don't melt immediately. I dipped some hygro that looked good for a few minutes but over the next hour it completely turned to mush.
or you can get some potassium permanganate and mix a few grains with water so the water is a hot pink and soak the plants in there for around 20 min
To each their own I guess. I am just not a snail person. Never have been. I prefer to NOT have snails in my tanks and I have never had an algae problem so no big deal.