Treating New Plants

The last time I bought plants from my LFS, my aquarium turned into a bladder snail farm. What's the best way to treat new plants prior to adding them to my aquarium so this doesn't happen again?

 

YouTube has a lot of videos on dipping plants. That’s where I would check first.

 

I don't treat plants. I just chuck them right in. Bladder snails are a beneficial part of a healthy ecosystem and the best clean up crew you can get in a planted tank. They will only breed to the available amount of food. Cut back on the amount of food available to them and the population will balance out. This excess food could be algae, dead plant matter, a fish that died, etc. Doesn't necessarily mean you're overfeeding the tank, they can still have excess food. Once they work their way through it, or you remove it, they'll start to balance out.

 

Dipping Plants to Eliminate Snails

 

It's not just snails. Algae and parasites are concerns to think about as well.

 

I don't treat plants. I just chuck them right in. Bladder snails are a beneficial part of a healthy ecosystem and the best clean up crew you can get in a planted tank. They will only breed to the available amount of food. Cut back on the amount of food available to them and the population will balance out. This excess food could be algae, dead plant matter, a fish that died, etc. Doesn't necessarily mean you're overfeeding the tank, they can still have excess food. Once they work their way through it, or you remove it, they'll start to balance out.

It's been pretty much balanced out for a long time and I hate them. You can have a healthy ecosystem without bladder snails. Last time I visited the same shop he had a few tanks with an abundance of ramshorn snails. I don't want them either. I like to support my LFS but I don't need any surprises in my aquarium.

You chuck yours right in and I'll dip mine. Thanks for the link JettsPapa.

 

The last time I bought plants from my LFS, my aquarium turned into a bladder snail farm. What's the best way to treat new plants prior to adding them to my aquarium so this doesn't happen again?

Here's an article by me on this topic. Bleach Dip