*What method do you use to get rid of unwanted hitchhikers on your aquarium plants?* Comment below to share your experiences, and subscribe if you want to see more this videos like this! goo.gl/4q2idY
I didn't do anything and have a tank full of pond snails. They don't bother me too much but occasionally I do have to scoop out a few or they over run the tank! I will definitely do the alum method in the future.
Can you please run this test specifically for the Planira and detritus worms, I’ve been told to use alum to treat those and given this video as a suggestion of how I’d like to know on your tests which Would be the best for this clearly Not copper 😅 which means the parasite treatment option is pointless
This is by far the best and most information driven video about this subject. Not just talking about it, but actually showing the process and results. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much! This experiment video isn't really that popular compared to my other videos so I wasn't sure if anyone liked it, but I personally learned a lot through the process. :)
I am blown away by the quality of this video. It's like a very expensive professional production video. I wanted to watch it because my daughter hates snails, and true your advice is golden. On the other hand, the production quality of this video is mind blowing. No joke. You really out to think about going into this sort of thing for a living. WOW!
This vid needs more views! So far, the BEST vid on how to keep aquarium plants snail-free. Thank you Gamer's wife for taking the time to show us the process and results of your experiments, highly appreciated and shall be shared!
My pleasure! I find it super helpful as well. I need to set up part 2 of these tests one day, but right I'm committed to doing some cycling experiments and I only have so mch space. :P
I love this woman. I'm a newbie so of coarse I spend way to much time researching on youtube. The face you made (hilarious) on the video intro and the word snails made me look. I didn't watch it then, but it stayed on my mind so naturally when I bought my first 7 plants I knew I had to dip them first as I always error on the side of caution when starting a new hobby or adventure. Low and behold the 7 beautiful plants I received from a very popular online store had some little odd orange color tiny pebble looking things around my Java Fern pot and I noticed a stringy white thing that almost looked like a root next to my Anubias Golden Coin and I thought all crap. Luckily I had them all in my 10G plant holding tank while I was working on the theme of my 1st 15G planted tank. I went back and found your video which was easy since I'm a happy subscriber :) Alum it is and I was just in the grocery store earlier..if only I knew then..lol Thanks again and your da best :)
Your video was recommended to me by Greg Sage. I asked him if worms and parasites can be introduced to our aquariums on new plants and he said, "Yes." I had never considered horrible parasites being introduced into our aquariums, not only with new fish, but also new plants. ~ I DO like snails, but I'm concerned now, with how to quarantine new plants, to kill parasites. I have recently had an outbreak of Callamanus Worms and Greg has been very helpful teaching me how to treat this. Although I quarantine all new fish, with Aquarium Co-op's Quarantine trio, it doesn't kill Callamanus Worms. Once I get rid of these horrible red worms, I don't EVER want Callamanus Worms again!! Perhaps we have more to fear, on new plants, than just snails :o( ~ Your video is EXCELLENT and very professional! Thank you!!
Oh I love Greg Sage! So glad to hear he was able to help you with callamanus worms - they sound absolutely horrid. Glad you enjoyed the video; hopefully I'll be able to do some more experiments and release a part 2. :)
I got some Red Root Floaters on Etsy after looking for a long time. They came with bladder snails and eggs. 😕 I decided to use alum in the stronger dose for 3 hours on about a third of them in case the plants were sensitive. Interestingly the alum bleached the red roots to white! The plants are growing just fine but I now have White Root Floaters. LOL LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! Keep up the great work.
What about fish parasites that hitch rides from plants? What do you recommend for that without killing the plants? I tried potassium permanganate on water lettuce and water hyacinths for my koi pond. That didnt go well at all. They never bounced back. Now that im getting back into tropical fish tanks, id like to have live plants but would like to know whats the best way to treat the plants without killing them.
Great test! Please do more tests on new plants for parasites and bacteria, algae and anything else 👍👍👍👍 Buying new plants is a real gamble. Supply chains are having a tough time in the UK, brexit and covid have affected supply of Tropica plants which have been reliable for me. I have bought plants from other places, and despite rinsing them, and looking at them carefully, I have had a recent outbreak of snails, hydra, planaria and bba! Ive also been feeding more live food, and I’ve narrowed down small mistakes, like removing some floating plants, and feeding wafers on substrate instead of in a feeding dish. It’s alarming after my two tanks have been doing so well. Thanks! 💕
Interesting . Alum is pretty old school. I remember using alum to soak plants before putting them in my aquarium 50 years ago. Another one that I have been hearing about is Tea Tree Oil. Am curious is that works or not. Anyway, great video :)
Wow I had no idea about alum's long history! Ok I'll definitely look into tea tree oil next. Let me know if you have a favorite recipe I should consider. :)
Yup! In a concise form, here are the instructions: Prepare a soak of 1-2 Tbsp of alum (found in spice section of grocery store) per gallon of water. Soak for 2-4 days in the bucket, then rinse well before adding to tank. Gets rid of snails and snail eggs (and planaria apparently). Optional: quarantine the plants for a month to make sure parasites are gone.
You are a GODDESS for doing this! I just noticed a snail infestation and I ripped all my newly bought plants out. I’m immediately doing the 3 day alum treatment on them!
Can I just say, THANK YOU for this video. I really needed some more info on how to kill off snails because a lot of people who didn’t rinse their plants got them from the sellers I am buying from. Just got in some java moss that is mostly healthy, came in slightly brown, examined and found ONE single egg. Going to do a strong alum soak for a few hours to see if it gives any results!
Now that is a thorough tutorial, well done. I'm informed and know exactly what to do next, this is the standard we all should aspire for when people rely on people for quandaries they need help on. I am at the pet stores getting all exchanges on the 4 live plants and dumped my tank in the backyard lawn, let em deal with that scorching sun, they ruined my aqua plant scape with brown rot everywhere so I tipped over their world. Maybe that wild backyard frog will make use.
Hi Gamer's Wife. We've been subscribed for a few months now, and are thoroughly enjoying your channel. We just set up a new tank over the weekend and were fully prepared to do the dreaded bleach dip on all the plants we were moving from our 10- and 20- gallon tanks, as they are infested with pond snails. At the very last minute, I decided to do ONE more search on the subject and found your video. Your experiment was very well documented and easily understood. Thank you for that! We did use the alum, doing the 3-hour dip method that I found recommended elsewhere. We dipped java moss, hornwort, ruffle swords, moneywort, wisteria, vesuvius and one more that I can't remember right now. The eggs in the eggsacs all turned white, just like they did for you. I will try to come back in a few weeks and let you know if it indeed killed them all. It did kill all the live snails. So THANK YOU for your video! It was so much easier to use the alum than to deal with bleach and it's been 3 days and my plants still look awesome.
That's so awesome to hear! Yes, I use the 3-hour dip method as well nowadays and so far haven't had any issues. Best of luck with all your new plants. :)
@@GirlTalksFish I'm sorry to tell you that the 2.5 hour dip did not work for me. I already have snails in my new tank & haven't even added the fish yet. I'm so sad about that. I think I will still try the alum dip again, but for a longer period of time. We've popped our assassin snails into the tank & wished them "Happy Feasting!"
This video is a keeper🙏👍. I have java fern and Italian val in my tank. The val never did well with the bleach dip. Now using alum to pre-soak all plants as well as when algae gets out of hand. Thanks!
@@GirlTalksFish Will do.👍 I have used bleach in a 1 : 19 ratio, which definitely works to get rid of algae, but even my java fern seems like they aren't too happy after this. I found the steps on the fishlore forum. 3 tbsp alum to 1 gallon water, soak for 4 hours, rub off algae after it turns white. After dip, soak in dechlorinated water for 30 minutes, then rinse again in dechlorinated water, then return to tank.
Hello Irene Thank you so much for this video , I always wanted live plants but no snails .. but with this video I got some Alum and bought some plants from Aquarium Co-op I now have 6 plants if they survive .. The Alum does work there was a few not many snails .. and I have them in quartine to be sure there no eggs or babies Thank you for all your videos and information it is helping this plant beginner allot Bless you
I heard that you can also use snail leeches - leeches that apparently only attack snails. But I don't know if this would be replacing one problem with another.
Have you experienced leeches yet? I just had the unpleasant experience of finding a few in my tank and they dive so deep into the substrate that they can't be picked out. I'm going to take the substrate out and dry it but I want to make sure there are no eggs on my plants. Any tips? Have you tried alum baths on leeches before?
Hello! A young fishkeeper currently seeking urgent advice! I wanted to try out a planted setup for my betta fish and moved too quickly. Few weeks later I see wiggly worms, algae everywhere and white debris (eggs?) freely floating. First plant I have is amazon frogbit, I plopped in all the floaters without even cleaning them (mostly because I didn’t know how to specifically clean those.) I stressed that was a dumb move but I didn’t think that much about it. Second plant was Anubis and I used hydrogen peroxide, diluted it with fish tank water a little. I scrubbed it off well so I doubt it came from the Anubis but it’s a possibility. Any idea on how I could get rid of it anyone? This will honestly help me a ton as I love my betta a lot and it would kill me to lose him. Tank information: Volume: 5 gal Filter and heater: yes (heater is at the required temp) Plants: Amazon frogbit, Anubis (both from separate stores) Cycled: I cannot tell as my tests reads as 0 mostly if not that ammonia is a little on the yellow-green side on the API results. 1 cartridge out of 2 is usually replaced monthly. Tests: last time I checked my PH is 7.5-7.6 Amonnia is a little on the yellow-green side everything else is 0 Sorry for this random comment with possibly terrible grammar I was in a hurry. Any advice is greatly appreciated!! 🙏🙏
I quite like snails, as long as I don't get a population explosion. I always think it's a good way to know if you're over-feeding. BUT I am just so impressed with your experiment! So clear and helpful.
i found hot water from the faucet works fill up a bucket and dip the pants in about 5 to 10 times the hot water shocks the snails and they fall off - it has worked for me with water lettuce
We've used bleach on Java fern and anubias and it was successful. Plants are still going strong around two months after treatment. We used alum rocks broken up with mortar and pestle and soaked for 6+ hours. Last time, used powered alum ( from Krogers, like you), and soaked same amount of time, a little over six hours. We prefer alum, either crushed or powdered form, wait for it, tra la laaaaaa. Very good video and methodology. Thanks.
Sorry to go off topic but is your tap water hard or soft...please? And.....do you think Alum works well against any bacterial infections in our fish tank?
I am team: KILL WITH FIRE! Thank you soo much for this video! I've tried many methods and nothing worked, then I tried alum and it worked perfectly! I love your channel, keep up the great work :)
Yes, I totally want to do a part 2 to this experiment! I actually tried a 1:1 ratio of 3% H2O2 and water on a delicate stem plant, and it did eliminate the snails while not harming the plant. Not sure if it's effective on snail eggs though, so need to get some more java fern from Greg Sage to officially conduct the experiment. :)
Great point! Since alum performed the best, I've used it exclusively to dip all my new plants - including floating plants, moss, crypts, hygrophilia, water sprite, tiger lotus, Brazilian pennywort, etc. - and they've all survived the procedure. I'm very pleased with it as a snail deterrent. 👍
Dear girl talks fish, I did 3 days alum dip and my new floating plants seem to be dying/brown leaves after I cleaned them off and put them in my new cycling tank. I am cycling with ammonium chloride and the water test ammonia nitrite readings got way high. I wonder if that could be the reason for the floating plants to die off? Anything I can help with that? I did put Seachem flourish ferts.
I bought a bunch of plants about a month ago and felt like I checked them over enough that I didn't want or need to dip them. They were all fairly small and I figured there couldn't be much if anything on such small plants. Today I finally saw a bladder snail. I pulled it out and killed it and checked the whole tank trying to find any others but haven't yet. I hate the idea of pest snails. My next plant order is shipping soon and you bet I'll be dipping them in alum. I'm guessing post alum you also added ferts to that clean water?
I have a question- I have a Betta and also bought a tiger snail in a 3 gallon take(I'm in process of buying a bigger tank) and now I found 2 small bladder snails, now many times a week should I do a water change? I Normally do it one a week but I do a 50% change. I'm new to this!
I'm more team in-between. I originally added a couple small snails to mine and my wife's aquariums to keep algae down. They multiplied so quickly it was unbelievable. I had to do a complete tear down of both tanks and used a bleach soak on everything. My advantage was only having fake plants at the time and soaked everything for 2 hours. I now have Nerite snails in both tanks and love them. They are great for algae control and do not breed in freshwater. I will be using your Alum dip for live plants.
WOW, I've never heard of Alum before and I'm pro snails they are in all of my tanks and I sell them ;). I have been told (here in Australia) that if you want to eradicate snails and eggs on newly purchased plants, you can use a small amount of Seachem Flourish Excel and use a paint brush to brush the Excel onto the leaves of the plants, leave for approx 5 mins, then rinse with clean tap water. They can then be placed into the tank as normal. Seachem Flourish Excel is also useful for the removal of blackbeard algae used in the same format as described.
Can you do an experiment on what will kill worms and worm eggs? I assume what will kill a snail will kill other unwanted guests but I'm curious for some good data. I'm thinking specifically for freshwater leaches, tubafex or black worms- you know the ones that will turn your dirted tank into a mud box.
I am steam snail, successfully managed to hatch 170+ of them, now left with 130 of them. Does snail eggs hatch later on? Suddenly seeing baby snails again
What about a planted tank with fish? Will the alum harm the fish? How do I get rid of snails while not removing the plants? I fear my whole tank may have a snail problem😵
I know this is an old one. I for the most part like snails but there are tanks that I do not want them. I do not want them anyway near or in my shrimp tanks they end up out competing my shrimp for food. I like the Alum method as it is the most natural the copper one I would not use as I will forget what plant has been treated I also have shrimp so cant risk it. Thank you for taking the time to do this
I have a question for you...can I use ALUM in my tank with a established plants/fish/cycled ? Will it be at all harmful to my tank with the exception of those pesky pond snails ?
Would alum kill the snail and other things off of subwassertang without kill that plant. Cause they say you can't do dips on them?? I'll be watching for you to do update on subwassertang .
@@GirlTalksFish Absolutely! I am definitely pro snail, except in my bare bottom tanks. My dad just gave me a huge portion of java moss and I want to put it in one of those tanks, however it was infested with snails so this information is exactly what I needed right now! You are awesome!
Do you have to treat the plants for 30 days? or is it alright to treat once then put in? New to live plants. While I have a few tanks i don't care if they get snails. I have one tank that can not have snails in it.
HEADS UP: HORNWORT WILL NOT SURVIVE THE ALUM METHOD AS DESCRIBED HERE. I am starting to put in some plants in my tanks. I was looking for ways to sterilize them and did a saltwater dip from the instructions (1C of aquarium salt in 1 Gal. of H2O, then dip the leaves for 20 secs. and then rinse) that I saw on RUclips and online. It was for the first batch of plants that I got. I did Jungle Val, water sprite and a Dwarf Sag. Only the Sprite survived. My Vals all melted away and the Sags that "survived" barely have any greens left. That's why I asked Aquarium Coop for advice and they referred me to your video. I initially wanted to try the bleach method before I got my plants. And changed my mind to the Alum one when I saw your video. I did your Alum method as described here which is excellent. I had Anubias, Hornwort, Sags, Crypts, Java Ferns. I did the full 3 days. And when it was time to rinse it, the hornwort was just a pile of "needles" at the bottom of the container. The only thing left floating was its main stem. The other plants I believe did survive this alum method. They still looked fine last night when I was rinsing them. Now I got them for further quarantine. Maybe if I did the Alum for a shorter time frame on the hornwort. Maybe, IDK. A lot of what-ifs. But yeah don't do the Alum for 3 days on hornworts. It will kill them.
i used a high doses 2 times potassium permanganate (water was really dark pink) and this did not kill pestsnails, eggs and ostracods. So alum is maybe a better solution. I'm not really worried about my snails, but i don't like to spread the seedshrimp (ostracods) to my other tanks.
Just want to say, outstanding video. I know it has been some time since you made this but I just came across it when I typed in the search bar for ways to get rid of snails in my aquarium. I know I may have to try it out and see what happens, but by chance would you know how to treat an aquarium with pest snails using the alum? I currently have one tank with this issue as I put new plants in here about 3 months ago. Typically I have not had snail hitch hikers in the past when I have purchased them from one of my local fish stores but this time their java moss must have had them. My thoughts were to catch all of the fish and move them into another tank, then treat my 10 gallon tank with the alum. Here, I am not sure if I should keep the sponge filters running or turn off the air. I see in your video you treated the plants themselves in small containers but I need to go ahead and treat the entire tank. I guess I can treat the tank (minus the fish) and keep in the sponge filters and plants for 3-4 days then do a water change and then turn back on the sponge filters and observe things for a another week or so before I place any fish back in. Any thoughts? Thanks
Hmm, I don't have much experience with treating an entire tank that already has snails, but I've heard people have good luck with using hydrogen peroxide. (I've never used it so not sure of the concentration.) Prime Time Aquatics also has a great snail removal video too: ruclips.net/video/2OGKjSH6fRw/видео.html. Hope that helps!
@@GirlTalksFish Great. Thank you and congrats and good luck at Aquashella in Chicago. I am still debating if I am going. I am not too far from the event but will see. Thanks
@@Mrdds1520 Aww thanks! Hope to see you there if you can make it. I'll be at the FishTube booth and of course at the presentation stage at 2 pm on Sat. :)
@@GirlTalksFish NP....I truly enjoy your videos and the content you produce. I will admit, I only breed the red-eye cauliflower hi-fin red albino swordtails and super red plecos but you have some interesting topics and info, that in my opinion, is a great benefit to the fish hobby/community. Shucks....if I did end up going to the event, I was going to go on Sunday. Will see what happens. Thanks
Hahahaha, I enjoy snails in a tank with a balanced bioload. They really keep the algae off of the plants in a heavily planted tank, and are quite good at eating everything that is decaying, including fish poop. Although, it is quite difficult to find the perfect bioload to plant load, to nutrient load and so forth... once you get there, it's excellent and the snails are a great addition and no longer a pest.
I mean, nothing is eating the fish poop. Your plants are what are utilizing the fish poop, breaking it down into useful parts. The snails will eat other things like algae and decaying plant matter, sure, but they won't eat fish poop. Otherwise people would never have to clean their unplanted tanks, and just add snails! But I agree that snails can be beneficial. I plan to remove the bladder snails that have come on my plants because the paludarium I'm setting up is going to be a specific biotope that bladder snails are not native to, otherwise I wouldn't care as much, as I think bladder snails are actually quite interesting!
This video is great! I do have a few questions on the alum method however. First, while soaking the plant in alum do you use chlorinator? Also the brand of alum I bought (McCormick) is definitely not a cornstarch consistency. It looks more like how aquarium salt looks but with smaller grains. Will this affect the efficiency? Thank you!
Awsome, thank you!!! I had written alum off because it didn't work for me. But now I realize you have to soak it for three days. I will definitely do this with my next plant purchase.
I've actually been trying a stronger concentration of alum for 3 hours, and it seems to work as well. Do you mind letting me know what concentration and soaking time you used previously and why it didn't work? Would love to make a Part 2 to this video someday.
Ty for the experiment I didn’t know about Alum! You should revisit with a salt dip, prob similar results to bleach or copper. I’m glad I finally found your channel, gives me hope in humanity.
I can’t find alum anywhere in Australia nor can I find any on online stores that shop here, are there any other treatments for snails on plants? I just got new plants for my Axolotl
Please do not change how you do your videos! Super informative and I am a visual learner! Do you have a how to plant different types of plants video? lol Anyways, thank you for this!
Ah, I don't have a video for this yet, but I should make one. Here is a blog post I made about that very topic: www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-plant
You know, I may try an experiment like this myself; I usually swear by dirted tanks and water changes. It's my "magic" ingredient - Foxfarm Ocean Forest (organic) soil. Thus, I was thinking, why not put dirt (or some substrate) in the bottom of the tubs? Cover with gravel, like a mini dirted tank... but for quarantining. No need for any special lighting either, for my experiment. If you use dirt in ANY tank, I kid you not - only bright indirect light is necessary. I've grown vividly red Alternanthera reineckii, in soil, with only ambient window light! Not to mention the swords, crypts, crinums, microswords...the nutrients in the dirt seem to rule out the need for higher light and co2. Not saying you WANT to be doing this, but I have had 110% success. Mostly though, I do have moderate lights with dirt, never had co2 or needed it. That could change. I digress... This is SLIGHTLY more work, I know, but my choice. I'm thinking that it gives the plants a chance to get growing, & develop some healthy new roots, before being planted. Maybe the nutrients will beef up the plants a bit more? I think it's no surprise your Vallisneria didn't do too well, anything that requires nutrients in the soil will likely fail without dirt. I don't know how people grow plants successfully in sand, or by root tabs, or just dosing the water column. Do they have CO2? Many times no they don't. So, is it the T5 HO lights?? JK. I know lights are more important than CO2, in the end...but dirt! DIRT DIRT DIRT!! lol
Got to admit, the thumb nail threw me off. Finally clicked video and DAMN was i happy I did. An awesome test. Love the side by side comparison. Great video and very informative. Thank you. Edit: new subscriber here also 😁
Do you think this would work on removing potential diseases from plants as well? I had a ton of Java fern in what turned into a quarantine tank and now I want to use the plants in other tanks because it’s very healthy but all the fish died because of a bacterial infection so I am a little concerned about moving them into another tank?
Oof, I'm so sorry to hear that! I rarely hear of plants passing on diseases, but of course that can happen. I imagine you'd have to use one of the harsher chemicals (bleach, potassium permanganate, or hydrogen peroxide) to disinfect plants. There's just a higher risk of killing the plants along with the bacteria.
I liked the snails at first but now they are out of control. How would you recommend getting rid of them in an established tank? I also have shrimp that I don’t want to kill. I have heard of getting assassin snails but I don’t really want to add snails to kill snails to have a different kind of snail problem.
Good question! So I personally haven't had to deal with getting rid of snails in a tank, but Prime Time Aquatics has an awesome video on the topic. Hope this helps! ruclips.net/video/2OGKjSH6fRw/видео.html
If your so called pest snails are breeding out of control its because they have lots of food, Clean the substrate dont over feed and the snail population will stabilise.
Can a 5 gallon Alum solution be kept in a covered bucket and reused? I'm replanting 2 aquariums and it would be nice to always have the solution on hand.
Great question! I've never tried it before, but unlike bleach, the alum solution shouldn't break down or go bad. I might be concerned about any rotting dead snails in the water though. 😅 Alum is really cheap, which is why I just make a fresh batch each time.
Great video! I just found this and I’ve been looking for ways to get rid of my hitch hikers on my plants! Just a question I’m running shrimp tanks is alum safe for my shrimp?
@@GirlTalksFish - Okay... So I had a huge melt back but I don't know if the melting was from the dip or from the lack of nutrients in the new tank. I dipped Guppy grass too but it did not do well either. I lost all of it. Again not sure if it was the dip or the tank. I plan on trying again next week and see how it goes. Will let you know if you want.
Thank you for a very well done experiment. One I feel I can really trust. So after destroying so many plants with other methods I will now happily try Alum!
@@GirlTalksFish Thank you! I just received plants today from Aquarium Co-op & put them in Alum Water Solution. I did not add Seachem Prime, but wanted to check on this! Thanks again. :)
I found it in the spice aisle at the grocery store. It looks like this: www.amazon.ca/Club-House-Quality-Natural-Powdered/dp/B00HVVRLDU/ref=sr_1_5?sr=8-5
*What method do you use to get rid of unwanted hitchhikers on your aquarium plants?* Comment below to share your experiences, and subscribe if you want to see more this videos like this! goo.gl/4q2idY
Pea puffers! No survivors left...
My Pet snails are eating snails
I didn't do anything and have a tank full of pond snails. They don't bother me too much but occasionally I do have to scoop out a few or they over run the tank! I will definitely do the alum method in the future.
Can we try alum on moss?
Can you please run this test specifically for the Planira and detritus worms, I’ve been told to use alum to treat those and given this video as a suggestion of how I’d like to know on your tests which Would be the best for this clearly Not copper 😅 which means the parasite treatment option is pointless
This is by far the best and most information driven video about this subject. Not just talking about it, but actually showing the process and results. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much! This experiment video isn't really that popular compared to my other videos so I wasn't sure if anyone liked it, but I personally learned a lot through the process. :)
I am blown away by the quality of this video. It's like a very expensive professional production video. I wanted to watch it because my daughter hates snails, and true your advice is golden. On the other hand, the production quality of this video is mind blowing. No joke. You really out to think about going into this sort of thing for a living. WOW!
Thank you so much! That truly means a lot to me. I hope I can keep improving and upping my game for my viewers. 😊
@@GirlTalksFishreading this comment in 2024 and she made it a career. Nice
This vid needs more views! So far, the BEST vid on how to keep aquarium plants snail-free. Thank you Gamer's wife for taking the time to show us the process and results of your experiments, highly appreciated and shall be shared!
My pleasure! I find it super helpful as well. I need to set up part 2 of these tests one day, but right I'm committed to doing some cycling experiments and I only have so mch space. :P
I thoroughly enjoyed both your presentation and experiment. Well done.
Thank you! I hope to one day test some more plant dips in the future.
I love this woman. I'm a newbie so of coarse I spend way to much time researching on youtube. The face you made (hilarious) on the video intro and the word snails made me look. I didn't watch it then, but it stayed on my mind so naturally when I bought my first 7 plants I knew I had to dip them first as I always error on the side of caution when starting a new hobby or adventure. Low and behold the 7 beautiful plants I received from a very popular online store had some little odd orange color tiny pebble looking things around my Java Fern pot and I noticed a stringy white thing that almost looked like a root next to my Anubias Golden Coin and I thought all crap. Luckily I had them all in my 10G plant holding tank while I was working on the theme of my 1st 15G planted tank. I went back and found your video which was easy since I'm a happy subscriber :) Alum it is and I was just in the grocery store earlier..if only I knew then..lol Thanks again and your da best :)
Your video was recommended to me by Greg Sage. I asked him if worms and parasites can be introduced to our aquariums on new plants and he said, "Yes."
I had never considered horrible parasites being introduced into our aquariums, not only with new fish, but also new plants. ~ I DO like snails, but I'm concerned now, with how to quarantine new plants, to kill parasites. I have recently had an outbreak of Callamanus Worms and Greg has been very helpful teaching me how to treat this. Although I quarantine all new fish, with Aquarium Co-op's Quarantine trio, it doesn't kill Callamanus Worms. Once I get rid of these horrible red worms, I don't EVER want Callamanus Worms again!! Perhaps we have more to fear, on new plants, than just snails :o(
~ Your video is EXCELLENT and very professional! Thank you!!
Oh I love Greg Sage! So glad to hear he was able to help you with callamanus worms - they sound absolutely horrid. Glad you enjoyed the video; hopefully I'll be able to do some more experiments and release a part 2. :)
Irene - i went back into the archives for help with a snail outbreak. Your videos are so valuable! Thank you!
Happy to help! 🐌🔥
Excellent experiment! Happy you took the time to do this study!
I got some Red Root Floaters on Etsy after looking for a long time. They came with bladder snails and eggs. 😕 I decided to use alum in the stronger dose for 3 hours on about a third of them in case the plants were sensitive. Interestingly the alum bleached the red roots to white! The plants are growing just fine but I now have White Root Floaters. LOL
LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! Keep up the great work.
I think this is one of the best vids I've seen on this issue. Well done and thank you.
Thank you so much! I hope to follow it up with more experiments in part 2 some day.
Thank you this is the best video for getting rid of snails and snail eggs. No one had the answer fully! I appreciate this video thank you!
My pleasure! I totally need to get more snail-infested java fern and do a follow-up video with more methods.
What about fish parasites that hitch rides from plants? What do you recommend for that without killing the plants? I tried potassium permanganate on water lettuce and water hyacinths for my koi pond. That didnt go well at all. They never bounced back. Now that im getting back into tropical fish tanks, id like to have live plants but would like to know whats the best way to treat the plants without killing them.
Great test! Please do more tests on new plants for parasites and bacteria, algae and anything else 👍👍👍👍
Buying new plants is a real gamble. Supply chains are having a tough time in the UK, brexit and covid have affected supply of Tropica plants which have been reliable for me. I have bought plants from other places, and despite rinsing them, and looking at them carefully, I have had a recent outbreak of snails, hydra, planaria and bba! Ive also been feeding more live food, and I’ve narrowed down small mistakes, like removing some floating plants, and feeding wafers on substrate instead of in a feeding dish. It’s alarming after my two tanks have been doing so well. Thanks! 💕
Interesting . Alum is pretty old school. I remember using alum to soak plants before putting them in my aquarium 50 years ago. Another one that I have been hearing about is Tea Tree Oil. Am curious is that works or not. Anyway, great video :)
Wow I had no idea about alum's long history! Ok I'll definitely look into tea tree oil next. Let me know if you have a favorite recipe I should consider. :)
So in theory i only need to quarantine plants for 3 days in Alum ? This is going by your experiments.
Yup! In a concise form, here are the instructions:
Prepare a soak of 1-2 Tbsp of alum (found in spice section of grocery store) per gallon of water. Soak for 2-4 days in the bucket, then rinse well before adding to tank. Gets rid of snails and snail eggs (and planaria apparently). Optional: quarantine the plants for a month to make sure parasites are gone.
@Yu Yao It was probably a teaspoon because that's all that would fit in the alum jar, but the total amount is 1 tablespoon or 15 ml.
You are a GODDESS for doing this! I just noticed a snail infestation and I ripped all my newly bought plants out.
I’m immediately doing the 3 day alum treatment on them!
Can I just say, THANK YOU for this video. I really needed some more info on how to kill off snails because a lot of people who didn’t rinse their plants got them from the sellers I am buying from.
Just got in some java moss that is mostly healthy, came in slightly brown, examined and found ONE single egg. Going to do a strong alum soak for a few hours to see if it gives any results!
Awesome, let me know how it goes and if the egg turns bright white!
Now that is a thorough tutorial, well done. I'm informed and know exactly what to do next, this is the standard we all should aspire for when people rely on people for quandaries they need help on. I am at the pet stores getting all exchanges on the 4 live plants and dumped my tank in the backyard lawn, let em deal with that scorching sun, they ruined my aqua plant scape with brown rot everywhere so I tipped over their world. Maybe that wild backyard frog will make use.
Hi Gamer's Wife. We've been subscribed for a few months now, and are thoroughly enjoying your channel. We just set up a new tank over the weekend and were fully prepared to do the dreaded bleach dip on all the plants we were moving from our 10- and 20- gallon tanks, as they are infested with pond snails. At the very last minute, I decided to do ONE more search on the subject and found your video. Your experiment was very well documented and easily understood. Thank you for that! We did use the alum, doing the 3-hour dip method that I found recommended elsewhere. We dipped java moss, hornwort, ruffle swords, moneywort, wisteria, vesuvius and one more that I can't remember right now. The eggs in the eggsacs all turned white, just like they did for you. I will try to come back in a few weeks and let you know if it indeed killed them all. It did kill all the live snails. So THANK YOU for your video! It was so much easier to use the alum than to deal with bleach and it's been 3 days and my plants still look awesome.
That's so awesome to hear! Yes, I use the 3-hour dip method as well nowadays and so far haven't had any issues. Best of luck with all your new plants. :)
@@GirlTalksFish I'm sorry to tell you that the 2.5 hour dip did not work for me. I already have snails in my new tank & haven't even added the fish yet. I'm so sad about that. I think I will still try the alum dip again, but for a longer period of time. We've popped our assassin snails into the tank & wished them "Happy Feasting!"
@@obtainingmercycroft Oh dear! Thanks for letting me know. Ok I may have to go back to the longer dip too then.
This video is a keeper🙏👍. I have java fern and Italian val in my tank. The val never did well with the bleach dip. Now using alum to pre-soak all plants as well as when algae gets out of hand. Thanks!
I've actually never tested alum on algae before (just snails), so let me know how it goes!
@@GirlTalksFish Will do.👍 I have used bleach in a 1 : 19 ratio, which definitely works to get rid of algae, but even my java fern seems like they aren't too happy after this. I found the steps on the fishlore forum. 3 tbsp alum to 1 gallon water, soak for 4 hours, rub off algae after it turns white. After dip, soak in dechlorinated water for 30 minutes, then rinse again in dechlorinated water, then return to tank.
@@PhilMargolies Ooo, that's great to hear! Going to definitely try that the next time I have algae-covered plants.
Hello Irene Thank you so much for this video , I always wanted live plants but no snails .. but with this video I got some Alum and bought some plants from Aquarium Co-op I now have 6 plants if they survive .. The Alum does work there was a few not many snails .. and I have them in quartine to be sure there no eggs or babies Thank you for all your videos and information it is helping this plant beginner allot Bless you
Do you know if the plants will be safe for the snails i DO want in my aquarium after treatment?
I heard that you can also use snail leeches - leeches that apparently only attack snails. But I don't know if this would be replacing one problem with another.
I saw that on Foo the Flowerhorn's channel! And he said that the leeches die out when there are no more snails to eat. 😲
Have you experienced leeches yet? I just had the unpleasant experience of finding a few in my tank and they dive so deep into the substrate that they can't be picked out. I'm going to take the substrate out and dry it but I want to make sure there are no eggs on my plants. Any tips? Have you tried alum baths on leeches before?
Just had to comment that this is a great and well presented video. Very impressed with your experiment- thanks for taking the time to do this!
Thank you so much! I know it helped clear up things for me personally since I've always heard so many contradicting statements about these plant dips.
Hello! A young fishkeeper currently seeking urgent advice!
I wanted to try out a planted setup for my betta fish and moved too quickly. Few weeks later I see wiggly worms, algae everywhere and white debris (eggs?) freely floating. First plant I have is amazon frogbit, I plopped in all the floaters without even cleaning them (mostly because I didn’t know how to specifically clean those.) I stressed that was a dumb move but I didn’t think that much about it. Second plant was Anubis and I used hydrogen peroxide, diluted it with fish tank water a little. I scrubbed it off well so I doubt it came from the Anubis but it’s a possibility.
Any idea on how I could get rid of it anyone? This will honestly help me a ton as I love my betta a lot and it would kill me to lose him.
Tank information:
Volume: 5 gal
Filter and heater: yes (heater is at the required temp)
Plants: Amazon frogbit, Anubis (both from separate stores)
Cycled: I cannot tell as my tests reads as 0 mostly if not that ammonia is a little on the yellow-green side on the API results. 1 cartridge out of 2 is usually replaced monthly.
Tests: last time I checked my PH is 7.5-7.6 Amonnia is a little on the yellow-green side everything else is 0
Sorry for this random comment with possibly terrible grammar I was in a hurry. Any advice is greatly appreciated!! 🙏🙏
I quite like snails, as long as I don't get a population explosion. I always think it's a good way to know if you're over-feeding. BUT I am just so impressed with your experiment! So clear and helpful.
i found hot water from the faucet works fill up a bucket and dip the pants in about 5 to 10 times the hot water shocks the snails and they fall off - it has worked for me with water lettuce
Oh interesting! I have never tried heat before; thanks for sharing.
what about the eggs?
We've used bleach on Java fern and anubias and it was successful. Plants are still going strong around two months after treatment. We used alum rocks broken up with mortar and pestle and soaked for 6+ hours. Last time, used powered alum ( from Krogers, like you), and soaked same amount of time, a little over six hours. We prefer alum, either crushed or powdered form, wait for it, tra la laaaaaa. Very good video and methodology. Thanks.
Lol! Glad you enjoyed my little experiment. Love the Captain Underpants reference. 😂
after you dip plants in alum is it safe to put them in a shrimp tank?
Thank you!! Just bought Alum & started the dipping process yesterday!!
Yay, good luck with your new plants!
I'm not a fan of pest snails but my nerite snail in my 5 gallon beta tank keeps the algae down so I like him.
Does the Alum dip work with stem plants also? Is 3 days the minimum or did you ever test 2 days? Thanks for the great info!
Sorry to go off topic but is your tap water hard or soft...please?
And.....do you think Alum works well against any bacterial infections in our fish tank?
Thank you so much for all the videos you make. They are so helpful to me. I have one question can this method Māori with driftwood?
Fantastic video, but I found it too late. Unfortunately I now have snails all over my yard. How do I get rid of them?
Like your experiments, very professional and informative!
I am team: KILL WITH FIRE!
Thank you soo much for this video! I've tried many methods and nothing worked, then I tried alum and it worked perfectly! I love your channel, keep up the great work :)
This was well done. I would have liked to see how H2O2 and KMnO4 would have worked.
Yes, I totally want to do a part 2 to this experiment! I actually tried a 1:1 ratio of 3% H2O2 and water on a delicate stem plant, and it did eliminate the snails while not harming the plant. Not sure if it's effective on snail eggs though, so need to get some more java fern from Greg Sage to officially conduct the experiment. :)
would love to see this test again with less sensitive plants
Great point! Since alum performed the best, I've used it exclusively to dip all my new plants - including floating plants, moss, crypts, hygrophilia, water sprite, tiger lotus, Brazilian pennywort, etc. - and they've all survived the procedure. I'm very pleased with it as a snail deterrent. 👍
Dear girl talks fish, I did 3 days alum dip and my new floating plants seem to be dying/brown leaves after I cleaned them off and put them in my new cycling tank. I am cycling with ammonium chloride and the water test ammonia nitrite readings got way high. I wonder if that could be the reason for the floating plants to die off? Anything I can help with that? I did put Seachem flourish ferts.
I bought a bunch of plants about a month ago and felt like I checked them over enough that I didn't want or need to dip them. They were all fairly small and I figured there couldn't be much if anything on such small plants.
Today I finally saw a bladder snail. I pulled it out and killed it and checked the whole tank trying to find any others but haven't yet. I hate the idea of pest snails. My next plant order is shipping soon and you bet I'll be dipping them in alum.
I'm guessing post alum you also added ferts to that clean water?
Like nerite snails for cleaning, mystery snail...although kinda dirty, dont like little pest snails like the mini ramshorn or pond snails.
I have a question- I have a Betta and also bought a tiger snail in a 3 gallon take(I'm in process of buying a bigger tank) and now I found 2 small bladder snails, now many times a week should I do a water change? I Normally do it one a week but I do a 50% change. I'm new to this!
Do you have a video on how to get rid of them once in the tank? I've heard no plantara could be an option that is copper free
I'm more team in-between. I originally added a couple small snails to mine and my wife's aquariums to keep algae down. They multiplied so quickly it was unbelievable. I had to do a complete tear down of both tanks and used a bleach soak on everything. My advantage was only having fake plants at the time and soaked everything for 2 hours. I now have Nerite snails in both tanks and love them. They are great for algae control and do not breed in freshwater. I will be using your Alum dip for live plants.
Nice compromise! Nerite snails are so beautiful too. I'm more of a shrimp person myself, so that's what I ended up using for algae control.
Is Aluminum Sulphate the same thing? I can't find alum at the grocery but saw aluminum Sulphate in the plant section/! Gardening
WOW, I've never heard of Alum before and I'm pro snails they are in all of my tanks and I sell them ;). I have been told (here in Australia) that if you want to eradicate snails and eggs on newly purchased plants, you can use a small amount of Seachem Flourish Excel and use a paint brush to brush the Excel onto the leaves of the plants, leave for approx 5 mins, then rinse with clean tap water. They can then be placed into the tank as normal. Seachem Flourish Excel is also useful for the removal of blackbeard algae used in the same format as described.
Oh interesting! Thanks for sharing that method; I'd never heard of it. :)
Can you do an experiment on what will kill worms and worm eggs? I assume what will kill a snail will kill other unwanted guests but I'm curious for some good data.
I'm thinking specifically for freshwater leaches, tubafex or black worms- you know the ones that will turn your dirted tank into a mud box.
I am steam snail, successfully managed to hatch 170+ of them, now left with 130 of them. Does snail eggs hatch later on? Suddenly seeing baby snails again
What about a planted tank with fish? Will the alum harm the fish? How do I get rid of snails while not removing the plants? I fear my whole tank may have a snail problem😵
I know this is an old one.
I for the most part like snails but there are tanks that I do not want them. I do not want them anyway near or in my shrimp tanks they end up out competing my shrimp for food. I like the Alum method as it is the most natural the copper one I would not use as I will forget what plant has been treated I also have shrimp so cant risk it. Thank you for taking the time to do this
My pleasure! I really should do a part 2 to this video since people seem to really like this experiment.
I have a question for you...can I use ALUM in my tank with a established plants/fish/cycled ?
Will it be at all harmful to my tank with the exception of those pesky pond snails ?
Would alum kill the snail and other things off of subwassertang without kill that plant. Cause they say you can't do dips on them?? I'll be watching for you to do update on subwassertang .
Another Great video Irene! thanks for the update from the last video.
Would you put alum in an established tank with no live stock in it? Debating on taking all fish and shrimp out then blasting the tank with alum
This is an excellent video with great information, thanks! Would love to see you test an aquarium or kosher salt solution in the future.
Wow!!!! What an incredible experiment! I can't thank you enough.
My pleasure! Glad it was worth it. :)
@@GirlTalksFish Absolutely! I am definitely pro snail, except in my bare bottom tanks. My dad just gave me a huge portion of java moss and I want to put it in one of those tanks, however it was infested with snails so this information is exactly what I needed right now! You are awesome!
Do you have to treat the plants for 30 days? or is it alright to treat once then put in? New to live plants. While I have a few tanks i don't care if they get snails. I have one tank that can not have snails in it.
HEADS UP: HORNWORT WILL NOT SURVIVE THE ALUM METHOD AS DESCRIBED HERE.
I am starting to put in some plants in my tanks. I was looking for ways to sterilize them and did a saltwater dip from the instructions (1C of aquarium salt in 1 Gal. of H2O, then dip the leaves for 20 secs. and then rinse) that I saw on RUclips and online. It was for the first batch of plants that I got. I did Jungle Val, water sprite and a Dwarf Sag. Only the Sprite survived. My Vals all melted away and the Sags that "survived" barely have any greens left.
That's why I asked Aquarium Coop for advice and they referred me to your video. I initially wanted to try the bleach method before I got my plants. And changed my mind to the Alum one when I saw your video.
I did your Alum method as described here which is excellent. I had Anubias, Hornwort, Sags, Crypts, Java Ferns. I did the full 3 days. And when it was time to rinse it, the hornwort was just a pile of "needles" at the bottom of the container. The only thing left floating was its main stem. The other plants I believe did survive this alum method. They still looked fine last night when I was rinsing them. Now I got them for further quarantine.
Maybe if I did the Alum for a shorter time frame on the hornwort. Maybe, IDK. A lot of what-ifs.
But yeah don't do the Alum for 3 days on hornworts. It will kill them.
i used a high doses 2 times potassium permanganate (water was really dark pink) and this did not kill pestsnails, eggs and ostracods. So alum is maybe a better solution. I'm not really worried about my snails, but i don't like to spread the seedshrimp (ostracods) to my other tanks.
I don't know if it'll kill seed shrimp, but it's worth a shot!
Wonder how a alum dip followed by levamisole/fenbenzedole would work.
Just want to say, outstanding video. I know it has been some time since you made this but I just came across it when I typed in the search bar for ways to get rid of snails in my aquarium. I know I may have to try it out and see what happens, but by chance would you know how to treat an aquarium with pest snails using the alum? I currently have one tank with this issue as I put new plants in here about 3 months ago. Typically I have not had snail hitch hikers in the past when I have purchased them from one of my local fish stores but this time their java moss must have had them. My thoughts were to catch all of the fish and move them into another tank, then treat my 10 gallon tank with the alum. Here, I am not sure if I should keep the sponge filters running or turn off the air. I see in your video you treated the plants themselves in small containers but I need to go ahead and treat the entire tank. I guess I can treat the tank (minus the fish) and keep in the sponge filters and plants for 3-4 days then do a water change and then turn back on the sponge filters and observe things for a another week or so before I place any fish back in. Any thoughts? Thanks
Hmm, I don't have much experience with treating an entire tank that already has snails, but I've heard people have good luck with using hydrogen peroxide. (I've never used it so not sure of the concentration.) Prime Time Aquatics also has a great snail removal video too: ruclips.net/video/2OGKjSH6fRw/видео.html. Hope that helps!
@@GirlTalksFish Great. Thank you and congrats and good luck at Aquashella in Chicago. I am still debating if I am going. I am not too far from the event but will see. Thanks
@@Mrdds1520 Aww thanks! Hope to see you there if you can make it. I'll be at the FishTube booth and of course at the presentation stage at 2 pm on Sat. :)
@@GirlTalksFish NP....I truly enjoy your videos and the content you produce. I will admit, I only breed the red-eye cauliflower hi-fin red albino swordtails and super red plecos but you have some interesting topics and info, that in my opinion, is a great benefit to the fish hobby/community.
Shucks....if I did end up going to the event, I was going to go on Sunday. Will see what happens. Thanks
@@Mrdds1520 No worries, I'll be there on the first half of Sunday too! You can probably catch me at the FishTube booth. Hope to see ya there.
Can this process be used for floating plants (water lettuce)??
I hate all the snails. I pretty much know all of this but I needed a good review, great video.
Hahahaha, I enjoy snails in a tank with a balanced bioload. They really keep the algae off of the plants in a heavily planted tank, and are quite good at eating everything that is decaying, including fish poop. Although, it is quite difficult to find the perfect bioload to plant load, to nutrient load and so forth... once you get there, it's excellent and the snails are a great addition and no longer a pest.
I mean, nothing is eating the fish poop. Your plants are what are utilizing the fish poop, breaking it down into useful parts. The snails will eat other things like algae and decaying plant matter, sure, but they won't eat fish poop. Otherwise people would never have to clean their unplanted tanks, and just add snails! But I agree that snails can be beneficial. I plan to remove the bladder snails that have come on my plants because the paludarium I'm setting up is going to be a specific biotope that bladder snails are not native to, otherwise I wouldn't care as much, as I think bladder snails are actually quite interesting!
This video is great! I do have a few questions on the alum method however. First, while soaking the plant in alum do you use chlorinator? Also the brand of alum I bought (McCormick) is definitely not a cornstarch consistency. It looks more like how aquarium salt looks but with smaller grains. Will this affect the efficiency? Thank you!
Will the alum method work on driftwood? 😊
snails are adorable and i love em- BUT those flatworms made me shiver
Do I put de-chlorinated water with the Alum or just plain tap water?
Awsome, thank you!!! I had written alum off because it didn't work for me. But now I realize you have to soak it for three days. I will definitely do this with my next plant purchase.
I've actually been trying a stronger concentration of alum for 3 hours, and it seems to work as well. Do you mind letting me know what concentration and soaking time you used previously and why it didn't work? Would love to make a Part 2 to this video someday.
@Girl Talks Fish what is your new concentration? Did you just add more or did you get a different brand?
Is Alum AL2O3 ? I find it listed as aluminum sulphate not aluminum potassium sulphate are these the same ?
Wow! How do I get those tweezers?!?
Is alum safe for plants that will go to invert tank?
Ty for the experiment I didn’t know about Alum!
You should revisit with a salt dip, prob similar results to bleach or copper.
I’m glad I finally found your channel, gives me hope in humanity.
Yes, I'd love to do a part 2 with this experiment someday! Glad you like my channel; let me know if there's any topics you'd like me to see. :)
I’ll try soaking in Chlorine once and submerging in Alum for a few weeks
Can the alum penetrate a marimo ball and kill any eggs that may be deep in the moss?
So the bright white eggs in the alum tub are dead?
I can’t find alum anywhere in Australia nor can I find any on online stores that shop here, are there any other treatments for snails on plants? I just got new plants for my Axolotl
Hmm, not sure if any are as gentle or effective as alum. I need to do more experiments on this!
Please do not change how you do your videos! Super informative and I am a visual learner! Do you have a how to plant different types of plants video? lol Anyways, thank you for this!
Ah, I don't have a video for this yet, but I should make one. Here is a blog post I made about that very topic: www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-plant
@@GirlTalksFish Thank you very much! I'm going to look into it.
@@sarayparay My pleasure!
Do you need to get rid of the snails for the plants health or is it just a personal preference?
Can you use the alum method on mossballs?
You know, I may try an experiment like this myself; I usually swear by dirted tanks and water changes. It's my "magic" ingredient - Foxfarm Ocean Forest (organic) soil. Thus, I was thinking, why not put dirt (or some substrate) in the bottom of the tubs? Cover with gravel, like a mini dirted tank... but for quarantining.
No need for any special lighting either, for my experiment. If you use dirt in ANY tank, I kid you not - only bright indirect light is necessary. I've grown vividly red Alternanthera reineckii, in soil, with only ambient window light! Not to mention the swords, crypts, crinums, microswords...the nutrients in the dirt seem to rule out the need for higher light and co2. Not saying you WANT to be doing this, but I have had 110% success. Mostly though, I do have moderate lights with dirt, never had co2 or needed it. That could change. I digress...
This is SLIGHTLY more work, I know, but my choice. I'm thinking that it gives the plants a chance to get growing, & develop some healthy new roots, before being planted. Maybe the nutrients will beef up the plants a bit more? I think it's no surprise your Vallisneria didn't do too well, anything that requires nutrients in the soil will likely fail without dirt. I don't know how people grow plants successfully in sand, or by root tabs, or just dosing the water column. Do they have CO2? Many times no they don't. So, is it the T5 HO lights?? JK. I know lights are more important than CO2, in the end...but dirt! DIRT DIRT DIRT!! lol
What substrate is in the tank featured in the video?
Every plant i bought from PetSmart had snails despite the label saying "snail-free" :/ glad i found this
Got to admit, the thumb nail threw me off. Finally clicked video and DAMN was i happy I did. An awesome test. Love the side by side comparison. Great video and very informative. Thank you.
Edit: new subscriber here also 😁
Do you think this would work on removing potential diseases from plants as well? I had a ton of Java fern in what turned into a quarantine tank and now I want to use the plants in other tanks because it’s very healthy but all the fish died because of a bacterial infection so I am a little concerned about moving them into another tank?
Oof, I'm so sorry to hear that! I rarely hear of plants passing on diseases, but of course that can happen. I imagine you'd have to use one of the harsher chemicals (bleach, potassium permanganate, or hydrogen peroxide) to disinfect plants. There's just a higher risk of killing the plants along with the bacteria.
A Gamer's Wife thanks for getting back to me!! I may try hydrogen peroxide!
@@EzioCovone Good luck to ya!
Can fish survive alum if you treated the tank with fish?
I liked the snails at first but now they are out of control. How would you recommend getting rid of them in an established tank? I also have shrimp that I don’t want to kill. I have heard of getting assassin snails but I don’t really want to add snails to kill snails to have a different kind of snail problem.
Good question! So I personally haven't had to deal with getting rid of snails in a tank, but Prime Time Aquatics has an awesome video on the topic. Hope this helps! ruclips.net/video/2OGKjSH6fRw/видео.html
If your so called pest snails are breeding out of control its because they have lots of food, Clean the substrate dont over feed and the snail population will stabilise.
Does bright white eggs mean they are dead?
Can you use alum on pothos?
Can a 5 gallon Alum solution be kept in a covered bucket and reused? I'm replanting 2 aquariums and it would be nice to always have the solution on hand.
Great question! I've never tried it before, but unlike bleach, the alum solution shouldn't break down or go bad. I might be concerned about any rotting dead snails in the water though. 😅 Alum is really cheap, which is why I just make a fresh batch each time.
@@GirlTalksFish Thank you, I didn't even consider the rotting snails. Guess I'll be making fresh solution each time.
@@rickszafranski2573 My pleasure! Have a Merry Christmas!
Great video! I just found this and I’ve been looking for ways to get rid of my hitch hikers on my plants! Just a question I’m running shrimp tanks is alum safe for my shrimp?
I haven't had any trouble with alum and shrimp, as long as you rinse and soak your plants in clean water beforehand. :)
@@GirlTalksFish Thank you!
A quick question if you have the time. Do you know if the floating plant Wisteria would do well with the Alum method?
I haven't done it with wisteria yet, but I used alum with water sprite and it did great!
@@GirlTalksFish - That's awesome. Giving it a go, will know soon. They come out of the dip tomorrow (Saturday) evening.
@@jlathem56 Okay, lemme know how it goes!
@@GirlTalksFish - Okay... So I had a huge melt back but I don't know if the melting was from the dip or from the lack of nutrients in the new tank.
I dipped Guppy grass too but it did not do well either. I lost all of it. Again not sure if it was the dip or the tank.
I plan on trying again next week and see how it goes. Will let you know if you want.
Thank you for a very well done experiment. One I feel I can really trust. So after destroying so many plants with other methods I will now happily try Alum!
When doing the alum soak, do I also add Seachem Prime?
Good question! I never add dechlorinator, since the plants don't seem affected by chlorine compared to animals. 👍
@@GirlTalksFish Thank you! I just received plants today from Aquarium Co-op & put them in Alum Water Solution. I did not add Seachem Prime, but wanted to check on this! Thanks again. :)
Does it have a different name in Canada? Can't find Alum anywhere.
I found it in the spice aisle at the grocery store. It looks like this: www.amazon.ca/Club-House-Quality-Natural-Powdered/dp/B00HVVRLDU/ref=sr_1_5?sr=8-5
Great experiment
Love the video , you should try the same method but only on attack algae
Yes, I need to make an anti-algae video soon! :)