# Hydrogen Peroxide as snail egg killer?



## Rusalka

Hey all,

I'm thinking of transporting several of my plants into my new tank but don't want to take along the evil ramshorn snails that are chowing down on several of my plants. I'm thinking of doing a hydrogen peroxide dip before putting them in the new tank - i've read this kills snails and algae and may do the trick. 

Does anyone have any experience with this technique? Any ideas how long I'd have to soak the plants before transplanting them?

Thanks all!


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## nfrank

I keep ramshorn snails in all my tanks. Do yours eat specific plants? Mine dont seem to cause any damage to mine and i generally would not expect them to harm healthy tissue. In fact, i recommend their use! Damage may be a symptom of already dying leaves.

For dipping plants to kill snails and their eggs, See KRIB FAQ -- Potassium permanganate and Alum are suggested. KRIB FAQ on Snails I would be surprised if hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) would be strong enough to kill the eggs in dilute solution and i would be concerned that a concentrated soak would hurt the plants.


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## DonaldmBoyer

I agree with nFrank; you would need concentrated peroxide to not only kill the snails but even more challenging would be to have the peroxide to eat away the mucus haboring said eggs.

Your best bet is to dose with copper in your tank to get rid of snails, but it will kill all invertbrates in there as well. I would leave it alone; snails (while a bit annoying) do not eat plant leaves that are healthy and do more good than harm.


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## Juergen

ramshorns can be collected by hand or baited easily.
I don't consider them a pest, because they are easy to control.
regards


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## Rusalka

I too am a fan of the 4 or so different types of snails I have in my tank - only 1 of which was actually invited! But these particular Ramshorn snails are totally pigging out on completely healthy plant tissue. They seem to target the rotala, sunset hygro, vals, and the e.tenellus - which is more than 70% of my tank! If I leave for a few days I come back to chewed leaves covering almost the whole surface of my tank! I scoop out the snails whenever I see them but I travel alot and am not around to keep up with their population explosion! Unlike the other snails, whose populations change depending on how much algae there is and how much I feed my fish, these snails eat the plants aggressively and haven't slowed their breeding. So, I have decided to try to get rid of them. I'm going to take all my fish and a bunch of the snails that I like and put them in the new tank - then I'll do the copper treatment on the old tank before transporting any plants.

I'm not sure what kind of ramshorn snails i have but they are not doing me ANY favors whatsoever, and they are breeding like crazy! I'm curious to know what they do for your tanks that they aren't doing for mine?


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## Tex Gal

I've read that copper can be highly toxic to shrimp - even at tiny levels. I've read that if you have ever used a copper treatment then you won't ever be able to keep shrimp in that tank. I don't know how true that is but it does seem like a big risk to take. Why not do the potassium permanganate treatment like NFrank suggested? It won't hurt your plants. It can dye fabrics and such so you will have to be extremely careful. You will also have to make sure you rinse well but it won't harm your tank forever. I wouldn't run it through my filter. You don't want to kill your good bacteria. They use it in ponds and such in nature. You can get small amounts on ebay and it's cheap.

If you don't want to go this rout why not just get some clown loaches and keep them in there for a while. When they have cleared them out for you trade them back to the LFS. That is what I would do. It's totally safe. They will however, eat the snail indiscriminately, but you can reintroduce the ones you like later.


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## Rusalka

Tex gal,

Thanks for that info - I will definitely go with your suggestion. I don't have any shrimp but I might want some in the future! 

I also think the clown loach option is good but I have vowed not to get anymore fishes. I recently had a problem with fish diseases that were expensive and a pain to get rid of. Luckily my guppies breed like crazy so I will never run out of new fish.


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## Rusalka

Hmmmm I was just reading about potassium permanganate, and it is not effective if there is a high organic load. Has anyone with an el natural used this in their tank before with success?

Also, there are warnings not to mix it with sulphuric acid. Are there any small quantities of naturally occuring sulphuric acid in the soil of an el natural. I'm worried about the odd sulphur-smelling gas bubble that comes up from the soil from time to time.


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## dwalstad

Rusalka said:


> Hmmmm I was just reading about potassium permanganate, and it is not effective if there is a high organic load. Has anyone with an el natural used this in their tank before with success?
> 
> Also, there are warnings not to mix it with sulphuric acid. Are there any small quantities of naturally occuring sulphuric acid in the soil of an el natural. I'm worried about the odd sulphur-smelling gas bubble that comes up from the soil from time to time.


I would use potassium permanganate as a plant dip (10 mg/l for 10 min). I would never add it to the main tank. The high concentration of manganese released by this treatment may cause future problems for plants and invertebrates.

That said, I think you are better off working with your snails rather than trying to kill them. I consider snails to be helpful in an NPT. They are great for cleaning plant leaves and recyclying fish wastes. If you feel you must get rid of them, you can bait them or get fish that will eat them.


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## Rusalka

Diana,

Thanks for the advice - nothing online said anything about the manganese, so thanks for passing that on! If I had been really smart I would have done the PP dip before I put the new plants in my tank! Hopefully only invited snails will make it into my new tank. If not I'll have to figure out what to bait them with....


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## 1aqumfish

Cut a round of squash and blanch it. Then put it in your tank and the snails come as fast as they can to eat it. Once they are on it you can pull it out, or just feed them the squash instead of your plants, but then you will get more snails.


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## Rusalka

Squash - who knew! I tried blanched spinach, and zucchini and they were not interested so I will go with squash next time!


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## Diana K

I have had good results baiting snails with sliced orange. The fish eat the same part we like, and the snails come to the rind. I have heard of other baits, too. Try all sorts of different fruits and vegetables. Lightly cook the vegetables, to the point that they sink, but not so mushy they fall apart in your tank. 
Good fish food, and you may find a certain bait that attracts the snails you specifically want to remove. 

If you want to try fish for snail control get smaller Loaches than Clowns, and always quarantine new fish. Most Loaches will eat snails, but if you are not so interested in getting any new fish, then it is better not to. Loaches are social fish, so if you decide to get any at all, plan on getting several.


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## Rusalka

Diana,

I would never have thought of sliced orange - I would have thought it was too acidic for the tank. Do you blanch it first? How much do you use?

Thanks!


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