# treating riccia for snails



## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

Hi...contrary to some advice, I went ahead and bought some riccia for my tank. I wanted to see for myself if it would survive or not. I'm a hardhead, what can I say??? Anyway, I just received my shipment in the mail and it is totally infested with snails. How can I treat it prior to adding it to my tank??? I dont want or need these snails and I kinda thought that the usual 19:1 water bleach might be too harsh for this delicate plant. Any advice on getting these little pests out?


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Ah, this is something I've been experimenting with for a week now. One thing I can tell you - do NOT use potassium permanganate in any strength solution. It will either not kill the riccia and the snails or it will kill the riccia and the snails. There's no happy medium with it. I had good luck this past weekend using alum at a strength of 3 tablespoons (TABLE) per gallon of water. Mix that in a 5gal bucket, make sure the plants are completely submerged and let them soak for three hours or more. This worked really well for Java ferns, Hygros, Limnophila, Rotala, and Elatine triandra. There were lots of -really- dead snails in the bottom of the alum bucket, where as some snails seem to be able to survive the 30 or 60 minutes in potassium permanganate. I have NOT tested my riccia with it yet, though I would take an educated guess and say it will work to rid you of the live snails. I'm a bit skeptical as to whether or not the snail eggs are actually affected to the point of not being able to hatch because I still found some egg sacks on the java fern. That doesn't mean it doesn't work, it's just that the eggs won't drop off like the live snails will. Time will tell. You can find alum in the spices section of the grocery store, that's where I found mine (Kroger brand.) Another thing I like about the alum dip is that you can shake out any duckweed without having potassium permanganate stain your hands.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Whoa....hold your horses! All the snails are doing is helping you in this case by eating either dead riccia or hair algae. You kill the snails, you may eventually end up killing the riccia as it won't have any other way to defend itself against the hair algae! Think long about killing something that could be helping you in this case......


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I already have some snails in the tank, and I also have a bunch of shrimp..so I'm not too worried about that, however, I am worried about having TOO many snails. When I say that this Riccia is infested, I mean this Riccia is INFESTED  

I have 4 sandwich bags full of riccia (which i got for $20!!!!) and there are tons of snails in each one. Very unsightly. I really dont want them. any other ideas???


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

How about swishing the riccia around in a bucket of plain water to knock some off? Or letting it sit in a bucket of water until some crawl off? If you're just trying to reduce the number of snails (rather than obliterate them all) it might work.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

The natural way to get rid of them would be to employ the services of a few loaches. They will get rid of them pretty quickly.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Or, they'll die after they've exhausted their food supply.....


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I'd love to employ any of those, however these are my problems:

1) Loaches will also eat my shrimp
2) Too many just to "swish around in a bucket"
3) Too many to wait for them to kick the bucket

I guell I'll just get out my tweezers and start pluckin' :icon_hang


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

What are your tank conditions? Snails can't survive long in very soft water since they can't properly produce their shells.


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

Many people have had success in catching snails by putting a piece of blanched zucchini or cucumber in their tank. The next day it will be covered in snails which can be easily removed.


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I've never tested my waters hardness.....I know, I know,....I should be dragged out back and shot. However, I live in NY and know that we have very soft water. Again, the current population in the tank isnt bad at all, I'm just trying to avoid adding more. So, my original question comes up again:

How can I treat the Riccia shipment that I just received that is totally covered with snails. I've had these poor plants in the same bags that they came in for two days now waiting for some kind of solution. If I cant get some kind of chemical resolution, I will revert to the mechanical....hunt and peck.

Any takers???


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

I'm telling you - float a *test patch* of riccia in the alum solution I mentioned above. MIX THIS SOLUTION IN A SEPARATE BUCKET! Don't misunderstand me and go adding this stuff directly to your tank. During the 2 or 3 hour soak, while you're off doing something else productive, the snails will drop to the bottom and the riccia _should be fine_ (though you have left it in the bag for quite a bit...the riccia could already be damaged.) Rinse and place into the tank. If all goes well, go ahead and throw the rest into the bucket. A bottle of alum only costs a few bucks at most, it will take care of your problem, and you can move on with life.

Another trick would be to throw everything in a bucket and bait them away with something that tastes better than riccia - cucumber, zucchini, an algae wafer, etc.


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

ok Troy....I'm gonna give it a shot. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks again.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Right on! I'll be doing the same thing tonight...


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

crispo - How did your test patch turn out? I've got a 2x2 soaking right now...even added a few sacrificial larger snails to make sure they drop off. I floated the riccia but added a plastic mesh over the top so no riccia was exposed to the surface.


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## ianmoede (Jan 17, 2005)

Put a dwarf puffer in with them?


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I couldnt find the alum. I tried the Zucchini method. I think they may have already been dead. There were a few live ones, but most of them dropped to the bottom and werent eating or even moving. I guess problem averted. However, I will continue to look for the alum and try it with my next additions to the tank. Let me know how it worked out for you.

Thanks again.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

One more note.

I have a mostly crypt tank that had some snails eating holes in good/healthy crypt leaves. I used the copper Snail-a-cide stuff. The copper killed not only the snails, but the floating duck weed and riccia as well.


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

That would work, but the copper would kill my shrimp too. i think I have the situation under control


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

if your snail population is growing out of control you are over-feeding. Simple as that.


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