Quarantine plan to rid my snail issue

[C-Monster]

Not sure if I posted this in the right area of the forums, but I tried!

So I recently got a pond snail infestation from a plant I bought. Learned my lesson and will quarantine in the future. Not sure if this point matters but I want to note that I am killing them/removing them on site. Didn’t notice them, left for 3 day weekend, came back and noticed some. They could have been there before I left, but they’d have to have been very small because I pay attention to my tank and check on it frequently - mainly because I enjoy watching it. So there aren’t any adults in there currently or ever to my knowledge (I don’t think a 3-4 day old snail is considered an adult, but I also don’t know enough to say for sure.)

Timing worked out for me I guess because this week I was planning on starting the process of upgrading tanks anyways. 10g to 20g.

After a lot of reading and research, I came to terms with quarantining everything before putting it in the new tank, including the animals. Because even though I know they’re harmless, I REALLY don’t want snails. To be safe I figured I’d quarantine the fish/shrimp for 20 days to ensure no newborn snails or snail eggs hatch a ride.

I also plan on getting new substrate and a new filter for the 20g. As well as new everything else - heater, siphon, net.

For the plants I already have, I’m going to do a hydrogen peroxide dip and then quarantine in conditioned water (with periodical water changes etc.) also for 20 days. The reason 20 days is the number I landed on is because pond snails hatching time is 10-20 days. So I actually was thinking of doing 20+2 extra just in case - because with my luck, egg hatches on the final day but the snail is possibly so minuscule after hatching I can’t see it yet. So I’m giving the extra two days for fail safe..because I reeeeeally don’t want snails. Not sure if that’s been made clear enough. Lol.

For the hard scape (piece of wood and some dragon stone) my thought was dip in pure hydrogen peroxide rather than 50/50 like I’ll do for the plants. After hydrogen peroxide dip rinse really well, then boil everything as well, then let dry for a week. Maybe that’s overkill? I just don’t want any chance that eggs or something remain on a n y t h i n g.

Phew, finally done. Allll that being said. Is there anything I could be doing to make that process better? And yes, yes I am crazy.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Essjay]

Quarantining is always recommended for fish - at least 2 weeks with longer being better. And many people do quarantine plants for exactly the same reason as you suggest, to get rid of snails and snail eggs. Though I have no idea how long is the optimum time. Don't forget that eggs of all sorts take longer to hatch in cooler water, so heating the quarantine tank to a temperature safe for plants would speed things up.

Will the hardscape be brand new off a shelf at the store, or from a tank with water and potentially snails? If it's totally dry off a shelf there should be no eggs whatsoever on there, but if it's from a tank of water, quarantining that should work as well. Boiling wood breaks down the fibres so it doesn't last as long in a tank. And there is a theoretical risk to boiling rocks - there is a chance of air pockets inside the rock and heating it to boiling can cause the rock to explode. Though I've never heard of this actually happening which is why I say it's a theoretical risk.
There is also a risk to treating wood with any chemical as it can penetrate inside the wood and leach out when it's in a tank with fish. I would just quarantine the rocks and wood.

 

[C-Monster]

Quarantining is always recommended for fish - at least 2 weeks with longer being better. And many people do quarantine plants for exactly the same reason as you suggest, to get rid of snails and snail eggs. Though I have no idea how long is the optimum time. Don't forget that eggs of all sorts take longer to hatch in cooler water, so heating the quarantine tank to a temperature safe for plants would speed things up.

Will the hardscape be brand new off a shelf at the store, or from a tank with water and potentially snails? If it's totally dry off a shelf there should be no eggs whatsoever on there, but if it's from a tank of water, quarantining that should work as well. Boiling wood breaks down the fibres so it doesn't last as long in a tank. And there is a theoretical risk to boiling rocks - there is a chance of air pockets inside the rock and heating it to boiling can cause the rock to explode. Though I've never heard of this actually happening which is why I say it's a theoretical risk.
There is also a risk to treating wood with any chemical as it can penetrate inside the wood and leach out when it's in a tank with fish. I would just quarantine the rocks and wood.

<3 thank you

I will heat the quarantine tanks! Thanks for that suggestion.

I don’t mind just quarantining the hard scape (yes it was in the snail tank sadly) but if when I quarantine them and I get snails, how would I treat them then? Could I let the pieces dry for a week let’s say? Would that kill snail eggs? I had already booked this wood for a while before putting it in the tank to release some of the tannins, so maybe I already broke the rules there and started breaking it down, oops.

 

[Essjay]

If you let the hard decor dry out, and especially if you can leave it in the sun, for a week or so that would kill any snails and eggs I would have thought.

 

[C-Monster]

If you let the hard decor dry out, and especially if you can leave it in the sun, for a week or so that would kill any snails and eggs I would have thought.

I’m afraid of leaving it in the sun outside in Florida because of other insects etc. It’s pretty nasty here. I could let it dry indoors though by a window that gets good sun for a week and then quarantine it? I just want whatever would be most effective. #neveragain - I refuse to deal with snails again lol.

 

[Lynnzer]

I’m afraid of leaving it in the sun outside in Florida because of other insects etc. It’s pretty nasty here.

You mean Ron De Santis?
Yep, pretty nasty alright

 

[C-Monster]

You mean Ron De Santis?
Yep, pretty nasty alright

XD

I’m glad you know the insects I’m referring to. :3