New Anubis Plant With Snail And Leech In Help!

[maisy12345]

hI ,Im a newbie,so need advice in the simplest terms please.I bought an Anubis plant today from Pets at home ,and asked at the time whether there were any snails as i didn`t want a snail infestation.But when i got it home i found a leechy thing and a baby snail .Put the plant in a bucket of aquarium water and phoned up shop who said just to run it under cold water tap before putting it in water.She said that she couldn`t quarantee that i wouldn`t get an infestation ,but there were treatments i could buy if i did ,or fish that ate them ,or an assassin snail.
Also in the little pot there was cotton wool type substance in the roots and she said this wouldn`t harm my water in any way ,just to leave it in,and put it in the water,desperate for any advice please as freaking out with thinking of all those snails ,as i`m not even cycled yet ,doing a fish in cycle ,through wrong advice given?

 

[fluttermoth]

Don't freak out, it's not the end of the world!

A good wash under a cold tap will get rid of nearly everything, but it's a very rare fishkeeper that manages to keep their tanks completely snail free for ever.
If you really want to be sure, leave the plant in a bucket and treat it with a double dose of snail killer before you add it to the tank.

I'd take the rockwool that's around the roots off; it won't harm your water but the plants will grow better if they can spread their roots more freely.

 

[maisy12345]

Hi Fluttermoth,thanks for your quick reply ,didn`t want to pour cold water from the tap over it ,so swished it around in aquarium water and found a nother little snail and some eggs ,hope that`s all ,took most of wool off as looking through for snails ,i`ve now took the plunge and added it to tank ,but if i see any snails i`m going to freak out ,what`s the quickest way to get rid of them ,wiyhout harming my cycle

 

[fluttermoth]

Is it a fish-in cycle? If it is, use a piece of carrot, left in overnight; you can take it out in the morning with the snails stuck to it.

If it's fishless cycle you can use a snail killing liquid.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks a lot Fluttermoth,I really appreciate that.

 

[Ryefish]

You can rinse them in a very weak bleach solution, and then rinse a few times in dechlorinated water. As above, its rare to stop a snail infestation if you have live plants. Clown loaches are popular fish for snail removal but it depends how big your tank is because they can get big

 

[StandbySetting]

You'll only have a snail infestation if there's food for them to feed in, they feed on decaying matter, which is generally a result of over feeding, I wouldn't recommend snail killer, most of them are copper based, removing it fully from the tank is difficult, and may prevent you from keeping other invertebrates such as shrimp in the future. The 1 part bleach 19 parts water is a good option, but washing under cold water generally works.

I like snails, they're good at eating algae.

 

[fluttermoth]

I wouldn't recommend snail killer, most of them are copper based, removing it fully from the tank is difficult, and may prevent you from keeping other invertebrates such as shrimp in the future.

That's a very good point.

I like snails, they're good at eating algae.

Me too; they're cute as well; I love their feelers I already have 'pest' ramshorns, MTS and apple snails (purple ones!); thinking about a couple of nerites next

 

[StandbySetting]

I have pest snails too, my tank would be a mess without them, pretty beneficial additions in my opinion.

 

[Ryefish]

I have a colony of atleast 9 adult apple snails in my tank. I still hate the pest snails though

 

[Redfishmagazine]

I second the call for loaches, a loach or two in a well planted tank should keep most snails to a managable number.

Rf.