# scared of snails



## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

I want to add a live plant to a small piece of driftwood in my 125, but I have this OCD issue with snails. Right now in my 55, I have all plastic/silk. What's the chances I add a live plant to my 125 and end up with snails? Which is/are the best plants to get for mbuna that will be LEAST likely to cause an infestation?

It'll be a 125 mbuna mix tank running an XP4 and AC110


----------



## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

Calm down, relax. lol Snails aren't that bad, actually they're good theres nothing wrong or bad about them. YES, some can over populate a tank but its all fixable. The most common snail to overpopulate a tank is the MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snail). These are also the snails that usually come with plants.

Here's some good things about them:

They eat alage
They eat old food
They clean up the tank
There pretty fun to watch
They mix up your sand bed

Here's some bad things about them:

They can overpopulate a tank

The best way to fix that is to get one assassin snail per 10g and the assassin snails will eat all the other snails in the tank. I purposely put MTS in my tank for all of the good reasons, once they got out of hand I put an assassin snail in there and i picked them out when i was doing a PWC.

So there's no reason you need to worry about snails. Buy your live plant and enjoy it.


----------



## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Ok. 
Obviously you don't want snails. -Can't blame you because I wouldn't want snails either, regardless of the benefits.

For a mbuna tank, you'll probably have the best luck with java fern and anubias. But, I can't tell you which of those plants are more likely to have snails because I don't know. -I'm guessing that it depends on a variety of factors, including the environment, etc...

Assuming they all have the same probability of carrying snails, best way to tackle it is by dipping a plant in a bleach solution: approx. 20pt water: 1 pt bleach


----------



## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I was thinking same as DanniGirl, dip the plants upon arrival. Potassium permangenate is also sometimes used to rid plants of snails. You just have to be careful with this stuff. If you do end up with pest snails, there's a real pretty snail called an 'assassin snail'. It'll clear a tank of hundreds of pest snails in no time. And it doesn't become a pest itself. At least mine haven't.


----------



## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

Will the bleach solution kill the plant?

I dunno..... I hate them lol. Every time I see something in my tank, I have to get real close and convince myself its not a snail (which it cant be.... no live plants).

Ill have to think long and hard about this one.... it would look great, but....not sure if its worth it :?


----------



## dwl0222 (Mar 6, 2011)

Where can you purchase these "assasin snails"?


----------



## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I'm in the "no snails wanted" group. The plant dips are a dangerous way to go. It is a pretty careful shot to be able to fully kill all the snails and eggs without killing or maiming the plants. I favor a QT period for plants just as if they were fish who might carry disease. If you put the plant in a small tank and no snails come out in a couple weeks you and the plants are better off.

One note on snails. They CAN come in on used equipment as eggs or small ones tucked away out of sight. Used filter pads that stay wet can harbor snails for weeks!


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You can also get snails "in" fish. :thumb:


----------



## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

buy top fin plants from petsmart guarentee not to have snails =p


----------



## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

lilcountrygal said:


> Will the bleach solution kill the plant?


It depends on the plant. It will kill vallisneria but not anubias or java fern. At one point I had a lot of plants in my tank and I did a bleach dip with every one of them because I didn't want snails. I know the LFS I bought the plants from had snails on their plants because I could see them in their tanks.

I used a 1:20 bleach solution that I dipped the plants in for 3 minutes (the last minute included the roots). After dipping I immediately immersed them in a bucket of heavily dechlorinated water to stop the bleaching action. I then just rinsed them once more in lukewarm tap water and then put them into the tank. Anubias and java fern are tough plants. They didn't seem worse for wear from the treatment and I've never seen any snails in my tank (I actually saw some fall off the plants into the bleach bucket though).


----------



## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

dwl0222 said:


> Where can you purchase these "assasin snails"?


Lots on Aquabid.com.


----------



## 748johnd (Jun 30, 2007)

Plants can bring in more than snails. You can get worms or hydra and critters like that. I always disinfect my plants either with potassium permanganate or bleach. Bleach can kill fine leaved plants such as hornwort. If you use potassium permanganate put in just enough to color the water a dark pink. I soak the plants in that solution for about 15 to 20 minutes. You can also use alum, but you have to soak the plants for about two days. I haven't had snails in years except nerite snails and I want those.


----------



## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

Welll... The OCD/phobia has kicked in and I'm scratching the live plant thought. At least for now. I figure I can change that at any point in time, but for now, I'll pass.


----------



## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I have to say that plants are a really nice additon to my tanks but they are also a whole different realm to deal with all the potential problems they bring. Having cichlids and plants is like trying to raise rabbits in your carrot patch! Seems like there is always some problem.


----------



## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

PfunMo said:


> I have to say that plants are a really nice additon to my tanks but they are also a whole different realm to deal with all the potential problems they bring. Having cichlids and plants is like trying to raise rabbits in your carrot patch! Seems like there is always some problem.


It's definitely a challenging combination and adds a layer of complexity to fish keeping.

Aside from the way plants make a tank look nicer, they also provide a lot of other benefits to maintaining water quality. If you want to take advantage of the latter aspect without worrying about snails, an option may be to have terrestrial plants growing from your tank. I've been experimenting with using golden pothos over the last month to help control the nitrates in my overstocked tank.

I took the photo below the day I set the plant up about a month ago. It's probably grown a third bigger in that brief time and my nitrates don't get as high despite the same water change schedule.


----------



## AmishDude (Apr 5, 2011)

lilcountrygal said:


> Welll... The OCD/phobia has kicked in and I'm scratching the live plant thought. At least for now. I figure I can change that at any point in time, but for now, I'll pass.


I wouldnt worry too much about them.
I've bought plants from Petsmart that visibly had snails on them.
I just drained the water from the bag when I got home, and put in some H202 (hydrogen per oxide). Shake well. Rinse with cool water, H202 shake again. Rinse and plunk them in your tank.

No problems.....yet :lol:

Besides, if you salt your tank...it shouldnt let the buggers live for long. (correct me if I'm mistaken)


----------



## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Snails are not bad at all, depending on what snails you have. I have in my tank the olive nerite snails, they don't reproduce in fresh water tanks, they eat algae like crazy...keep my rocks clean. I also have Malaysian trumpeter snails, they eat all the uneaten food that is left behind, move the sand so you don't have those trap air pockets, and if they come too much, just buy a clown loach, the will take care of them because they love to eat the trumpeter snails.

Other sanils...I don't know, but these guys, I truly love them because they save me a lot of work.


----------

