# question about Aquarisol.



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

How much do you have to use to kill snails?
it warns that it will kill snails but at the rate I use it it has no effect on the little bums.( 18 drops bi weekly)


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## FishMatt (May 12, 2010)

you gaze at your aquarium and notice a small snail on the glass. It looks harmless enough. A week later the snail has half a dozen companions. Before you know it, the tank is crawling with them.

Where did they come from? How do they multiply so rapidly? What can you do to get rid of them? Anyone who has fought snails knows it is a tough battle, but there are things you can do to keep them at bay. 

Where Do They Come From?
When you set up your tank there were no snails in it, so where did they come from? Snails usually arrive in the tank on plants, either as grown snails, or as packets of eggs. Sometimes they arrive with the fish, having been scooped up when the fish was netted. All it takes is one stray snail, or a few eggs, and you have a resident snail population in your tank.

How Do They Multiply?
Perhaps the most astonishing thing about snails is how easily they multiply. I've often heard the common, “but there was only one”. Truth be told, it literally only takes one snail, as most snails don't require a mate to reproduce. No need to find a snail matchmaking service, the lone snail simply fertilizes its own eggs and voila, a couple of weeks later it becomes a single parent!

Furthermore, it is not unusual for snails to spend their day buried in the substrate, coming out only at night to forage for a meal. That cute little snail you saw on the glass probably has dozens if not hundreds of siblings hanging out under the gravel. Each one of them can have children all by itself. It’s not surprising that your snail problem can mushroom out of control in no time at all.

Controlling Snails
Even though the snail has the advantage of reproducing quickly, and is able to easily hide, you can still win this battle. All you have to do is use your superior brainpower. Snails can be lured out by simply clipping a lettuce leaf to the glass before you go to bed. In the morning there will be a whole family of snails feasting on the lettuce, which you will scoop out of the tank and dispose of. You won't eliminate every snail that way, but you can keep their numbers under control. 

Another option is to put snail-eating fish in your tank. Any respectable Clown or Yo-Yo loach would give their right fin for a snail dinner. They will sift through the gravel, sucking any snail they find right out of its shell. Loaches will even dive under the substrate in their snail hunting quest. Labyrinth fish, such as Bettas and Gouramis, will also eat snails. However, they are not as adept at tracking them down in their home under the gravel.

Lastly, remember the equation, less food = less snails. Reduce the amount of food your fish are given, and there will not be as much leftover for the snails. 

Prevention
Obviously the best way avoid snail problems is to never let them in the tank in the first place. When you purchase a fish, make sure nothing that is in the bag (including the water) is dumped into the tank. If you purchase live plants, treat them before adding them to the tank. Plant soaking options include:
Alum – Prepare soak using one gallon of water and two tablespoon of alum. Soak plants for two to three days, then rinse well before planting in tank.


Bleach – Prepare soaking solution using one gallon of water and a cup and a half of bleach. Soak plants for five minutes, then soak for another five minutes in plain water with a de-chlorinating agent, and rinse well. Be aware that fragile plants may be damaged by bleach solutions. However, bleach is the most effective way to kill snails and eggs.


Potassium Permanganate – Prepare soaking solution using one gallon of water and a half tablespoon of potassium permanganate. Soak for fifteen minutes, then rinse well before planting in tank.
Remember that having a few snails in your aquarium isn't necessarily a bad thing, as they eat algae and eliminate food that isn't eaten by the fish. As long as you keep them at bay, they can work in your favor.


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## FishMatt (May 12, 2010)

I pasted this from a fish website it dosn't mean its right.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

Ignore them thats what I do lol. Snails taking over your tank indicate you have a issue. Snails are just a symptom, not the problem itself. The problem is excess waste. You can have an explosion of snails if you have lots of food. Likewise you can get things that compete with snails, cherry shrimp do a pretty good job of this IMO. For example I use to have lots of cherry shrimp in my 55gal, till my angles ate them all. This left an open spot. Snails could of taken it, but for some reason it was planaria IDK where they came from but I just cleaned my canister and its a planaria party in there. I use to pull about 30 live shrimp out of my filter... but alas the angel fish:fish: But yeah ramshorn snails, pond snails, MTS I got them all. They are present, but not in major numbers. Just there cleaning stuff. 

BTW now that you have treated the tank with lots of copper wait a few months before introducing any invert. I tried a long time ago to rid a tank of snails using copper. It didn't even have any fish and I went copper crazy. LOL a month at mega dosing aquariasol. Soon as I removed the med the snails where back out and about. I'm so happy I learned to deal with them... If you really want them gone you can't play nice. Drain the tank, toss the plants, change the substrate, bleach everything TWICE. Fill back up and pray you didn't miss one tiny tiny speck of a snail.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

My question was really for 'scientific' curiosity.
have had pond snails for a good many years. little buggers prefer my plants to anything else.
I have been using aquarisol for a few weeks for another issue but the snails seem immune to it thus far. The warning on the bottle is not totally true--kills invertebrates and snails.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

mousey....you would have to at least quadruple dose the aquarisol to affect the snails.i have used it for 35 years...not much effect.but some snails and inverts are very sensitive to copper;hence the reason for the warning.
best thing to do is get botias..


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

mousey said:


> My question was really for 'scientific' curiosity.
> have had pond snails for a good many years. little buggers prefer my plants to anything else.
> I have been using aquarisol for a few weeks for another issue but the snails seem immune to it thus far. The warning on the bottle is not totally true--kills invertebrates and snails.


No the warning is true. It can and will kill snails/inverts. Perhaps not the very hardy pond snail, but things like mystery and other larger non-pest snails that are more sensitive to the normal dosage. Treatment at normal dosage will kill almost all shrimp.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

Thanks for that info.
Yup the pond snails are pretty tough.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

My experience also, Loha


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