# How to remove snails from new plants



## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

Hi everyone! 
Recently I got some moss which has snails on it... Not that theres anything wrong with snails but I dont want them in My tank so what could I do to remove them before I add the plant to My tank? Is there some kind of dip like salt/water i could make at home to dip the plants in to remove them, or would i have to physically remove them by hand? Theyre real tiny so that might be kind of hard to do... 
Any suggestions? The plants are moss actually-i have it in a bowl of tank water for now...


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

I would try to physically remove as many of the snails as possible. If you leave the moss floating in a container and put some food at the other end of the container, you should be able to bait the snails away from the plant.

Unfortunately, a bleach dip is likely to kill your moss along with the snails, so it won't really work.

You may be able to use a potassium permanganate dip, but it is dependent on whether or not you can find it.


----------



## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks for the info, im trying to bait them to one side of the container now and see what I get.... So far none of them are interested in the food but maybe I need to be more patient, they are snails after all lol  
I dont quite know where id find potassium permanganate or if its really expensive or not...


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

I got mine from a source that has since gone out of business.

I am pretty sure you can get some at Big Al's; it is marketed as Jungle Clear, I believe.

However, it may be exorbitantly expensive.


----------



## MrCollings (Aug 13, 2010)

if you don't plan on keeping any invertebrates you can always add a penny to your tank, the copper will kill them without harming the fish....

You could also use a glass bottle, put a bunch of sinking food pellets (best being shrimp pellets), or vegetables in it, and leave it overnight. In the morning they should all be in the bottle and ready to take out. Might take a few tries to get them all out though.

Another alternative, if you don't have a lot of fish in a tank with the snails already, is adding a loach (botia loach or clown loach work wonders).

Or, again alternatively, the *Best* fish at getting rid of them are puffers!! If it's a freshwater tank, add a few dwarf puffers, but they are NOT community fish, so chances are if you have other fish in there, they WILL eat/kill them!! If it's a salt water tank, add green spotted puffer fish.


Hope this helps!!


EDIT: Sorry, read your post quickly and just assumed they where in your "actual tank". My fault for assuming. Throw in a penny or two, the copper will kill them. Or, again, use the bottle trick.


----------



## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

would the copper from the penny effect the moss after the penny was removed?


----------



## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

Ya its in a bowl right now, but it will eventually be in my shrimp tank... The penny is an easy idea if it works, but will it possibly leave leftover traces of copper in the moss that could harm the shrimp once i add it to the tank?


----------



## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

U beat me to the question lol


----------



## bae (May 11, 2007)

On another board I read the suggestion of putting the plants in carbonated water for an hour or two. The poster recommended San Pellegrino. The idea is that the CO2 will kill any animal life.

I'd be very interested to know whether this actually works. If nothing else it might stun the snails to the point that you can shake them out of the moss. If you try it, let us know what happens.


----------



## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Darkblade48 said:


> I got mine from a source that has since gone out of business.
> 
> I am pretty sure you can get some at Big Al's; it is marketed as Jungle Clear, I believe.
> 
> However, it may be exorbitantly expensive.


Yes Jungle brand has a product with in it. IIRC I saw it being sold at Walmart. I remember it clearly as I was checking many of thier products in the fish isle and knowing of the potassem pomgranate (total sp  ) was listed on there when I saw it. Did not take note of the price but know Wallys is one place to find it.


----------



## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

you could CO2 them to death. i know snails are pretty susceptible to gassing


----------



## juanitow (Jun 21, 2008)

This comment will not be helpful, but have you considered just letting snails run wild and free?

There will always be instances where despite what biology class teaches you, spontaneous generation of snails is the only logical explanation for their presence. Snails are very resilient, and the thought of them invading your tank might keep you up at night.

Enter the assassin snails!

Yes, these are snails, but they're compatible with most fish, but they provide you a great service. The benefits are mostly psychological. When you have an unwanted visitor, instead of questioning why, you can rejoice that your assassins now have life food!

Natural harmony for the win!


----------



## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

i saw a pond snail enter my tank today by way of big als.

oh well, I think my tank is clean enough. if they get over run i will turn this into a puffer tank. lol


----------



## notarookie (Jul 8, 2010)

i would give the plants a bleach dip with a 1:50 bleach mix for a minute or 2. everything will be outta there. shake off the solution and follow with a clean water dip about the same temp. add a bit of de-chlor when you put the plants into the tank, you don't want to add any bleach to your tank.

if you don't want snails you don't need to have them in your planted tank.

rick


----------

