Plant dips?

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Copper sulphate. Just get a bucket of tap water and double dose with copper sulphate. Put the plants in and stir them up. Let them sit in the solution for 5 minutes and then remove the plants and rinse off well in a few clean buckets of water.
The snails will feel the copper in the water and let go of the plant to close their operculum and fall to the bottom of the bucket. Other things in the plants (planaria) will drop off and die.

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You can also use bleach. I use straight "White King" bleach (3% sodium hypochlorite) at room temperature. Put the plants in for 5 minutes then wash off really well. After washing well with fresh water I put the plants in a bucket of water and double dose with dechlorinator. Leave them in the dechlorinated water for a while before rinsing again.
The plants should have no bleach smell when they are added to the tank.
 
Just so you have both sides of the story...I would not recommend any "treatment" for snails. Java Moss is a delicate plant that likely will react to any substance like excessive copper or bleach. Most will tell you never to use copper-based medications in a planted aquarium for good reason. Additionally, most snails lay eggs, and these would not be killed unless the copper/bleach was so powerful that it would seriously damage the plant if not kill it as well.

Snails are not a problem, though I understand many have a dislike to them for some reason. But the sort of snails that are likely to arrive with plants are the small species that are very beneficial in your aquarium, your "best friend" in fact, and worth having.
 
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Just like snails. Dipping can crash a tank. If your tank is healthy you shouldn't see more than a single snail here n there. They may be there but you shouldn't see them. If you have a lot of snails it could be an indicator of something else such as over feeding or dying plants. I like knowing there's a thriving ecosystem in my tanks. I welcome microfauna of all kinds snails are great but also scuds and a tiny bivalve I forget the name of. I've also hatched fairy shrimp and triops. They make a great secondary food source and clean the plants/decor - hey at least they aren't freeloaders right?

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Copper sulphate.
More bad advice, you suggest Copper sulphate without knowing what fish or inverts the OP has, What if the OP has Shrimp or Mystery snails?
 
I do actually have shrimp, amanos and ghost. I've worked hard to keep it snail free, I've read alum is a safe alternative.
 
I have to third the snails. They are a good thing in the tank. They eat leftovers and waste in the tank. I wish I could get copopods in mine and I’m really curious about the bivalve @Chief Brody mentioned.

Do not use copper, if even a tiny amount gets in your tank it could kill your shrimps and may do nothing to keep snails out.
 
I have to third the snails. They are a good thing in the tank. They eat leftovers and waste in the tank. I wish I could get copopods in mine and I’m really curious about the bivalve @Chief Brody mentioned.

Do not use copper, if even a tiny amount gets in your tank it could kill your shrimps and may do nothing to keep snails out.

I knew to not use copper with my shrimp. I just don't like snails, have had too many bad times.
 
I knew to not use copper with my shrimp. I just don't like snails, have had too many bad times.

If they are common peat pond snails, you could get some assasin snails. They breed very slowly and will rid the tank of them. However they aren’t too effective with Malaysian trumpet snails. I think they are an attractive snail to have as well.
 
If they are common peat pond snails, you could get some assasin snails. They breed very slowly and will rid the tank of them. However they aren’t too effective with Malaysian trumpet snails. I think they are an attractive snail to have as well.

Not sure think it's a more common snail than trumpets. Prolly ramshorn or pond snail.

Does peroxide work? It'll be for java moss on wood and some sags.
 
More bad advice, you suggest Copper sulphate without knowing what fish or inverts the OP has, What if the OP has Shrimp or Mystery snails?

Copper sulphate. Just get a bucket of tap water and double dose with copper sulphate. Put the plants in and stir them up. Let them sit in the solution for 5 minutes and then remove the plants and rinse off well in a few clean buckets of water.
The snails will feel the copper in the water and let go of the plant to close their operculum and fall to the bottom of the bucket. Other things in the plants (planaria) will drop off and die.
I said put the plants in a bucket of water with copper sulphate and rinse well after. I did not say put copper sulphate into the tank.
The OP was asking about "Plant dips", which usually means putting the plants into a small container of something, not treating the tank.

And copper sulphate will not affect Java Moss and neither does a 5 minute bleach bath. I have used both on numerous occasions.

As for snails, in an aquarium without predators they breed freely and prolifically. If the OP wanted snails and other creepy crawlies getting into their tank, they would not have posted this thread. :)
 
I forth the snails especially with shrimp, A tank without snails is not as clean as it could be. All my tanks have Malaysian Trumpet snails , Ramshorns and because I think they are cool Mystery snails.

Pet or Pest? A Questionable Reputation
Malaysian Trumpet Snails may be called Malaysian Burrowing Snails, Malaysian Live Bearing Snails, Malaysian Sails, MTS, Trumpet Snails, or simply Trumpets.

As a pet: Malaysian Trumpet Snails can make interesting pets for some aquarists. Under the right conditions, Trumpet Snails can be an asset to an aquatic environment. This is especially true in tanks with live plants. Malaysian Trumpet Snails are so common that pet stores may throw a few in for free with another purchase. If purchasing Trumpet Snails, look for specimens that appear to be moving or affixed to hard surfaces. Avoid snails that are lying motionless or upside-down on the tank bottom. Also avoid purchasing snails kept in display tanks with dead, dying or diseased tank mates.

As a pest: To some hobbyists, Malaysian Trumpet Snails are an unwanted, invasive and annoying pest. They are quick to reproduce and their numbers can increase in no time. Malaysian Trumpet Snails can find their way into tanks inadvertently, most often as hitch hikers catching a ride on live plants. Whether Malaysian Trumpet Snails are considered pet or pest depends on each individual hobbyist and the tank they are trying to keep.


If your MTS population is out of control its because they have food to sustain them.
 
Thank you. I'm open to any ideas except keeping snails I've had them take over too many tanks. Plus I bought shrimp to cleanup instead of snails.
 
I said put the plants in a bucket of water with copper sulphate and rinse well after
I know what you said, but the plants will absorb some of the copper sulphate and there is nothing you can do to remove it short of quarantining the plants for at least a few weeks to make sure there is no copper in them before adding them to the tank.

I know shrimp as soon as you put new plants in the tank they will be all over them especially moss,

Now heres my question.
Would you want shrimp munching on moss that has been in copper sulphate? And remember some shrimp are worth lots of money like up to $1000 USD for 1 shrimp, and when you suggested copper sulphate you had no idea if the OP had shrimp let alone what type and grade.

When giving advice like that ask the poster what stock is in the tank first.
 
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So ill ask again, what is the best dip to do then put them in tank with my shrimp.
And the best way to do it.
 

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