# MTS: I'd like them gone



## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

Or at least controlled. What's the best way to get rid of these damned snails? I don't mind a few, but the population I have is way out of control. Most are very small/tiny. If clown loaches will eat the small ones, I've got 4 good-sized hungry loaches in another tank ready to go. I think trying to net or trap the snails would be futile at this point.

I was thinking that if I drop the GH to 1 or 2 using RO water, maybe they wouldn't have enough calcium to create shells. I'm not sure how that would effect my plants though.  

Also, I'm going to set another tank up soon using mostly new stuff (substrate, etc). How can I keep them from invading this tank when transferring plants, or buying plants from stores/hobbyists?


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

Avalon said:


> Or at least controlled. What's the best way to get rid of these damned snails? I don't mind a few, but the population I have is way out of control. Most are very small/tiny. If clown loaches will eat the small ones, I've got 4 good-sized hungry loaches in another tank ready to go. I think trying to net or trap the snails would be futile at this point
> 
> I was thinking that if I drop the GH to 1 or 2 using RO water, maybe they wouldn't have enough calcium to create shells. I'm not sure how that would effect my plants though.  .


Either drop a clown loach and see if it eats the snails. 
Also you might try a trap with zucchinni a couple of days. You can out some vegetables in a coke bottle and use it as a trap.



Avalon said:


> Also, I'm going to set another tank up soon using mostly new stuff (substrate, etc). How can I keep them from invading this tank when transferring plants, or buying plants from stores/hobbyists?


Use potassium permanganate solution or a 1:19 bleach bath for your plants.(1 part bleach, 19 part water).

Cheers,
Pedro


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

I have 4 clown loaches and they do not eat the small MTS in their tank. They are well fed. So, maybe if you stop feeding them they might eat the small MTS. I think it will be difficult to eliminate MTS with loaches.


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## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

milalic said:


> Use potassium permanganate solution or a 1:19 bleach bath for your plants.(1 part bleach, 19 part water).


Which would be safer for more sensitive plants?

As for the loaches, I may have no other option for them. I'll eventually sell the 100g tank they are currently in. I'm still open to any other MTS elimination methods!

Thanks!


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## Krisybabe9 (Mar 21, 2006)

I don't mean to hijack your thread....but I have the same issue and will be redoing a tank soon and wanted to know how you make a potassium permanganate solution? 
(sorry if this is a no brainer...but I've never done it before)


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## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

Krisybabe9 said:


> I don't mean to hijack your thread....but I have the same issue and will be redoing a tank soon and wanted to know how you make a potassium permanganate solution?
> (sorry if this is a no brainer...but I've never done it before)


Me either...shoot! No harm, no foul!


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

I used to dip plants for two seconds in pure Hydrogen Peroxide with no ill effects. The snails would drop instantly to the bottom of the cup...literally took a second. Some of the plants that were dipped without negative side effects were Limnophila Aromatica, Downoi, Hydo Poly Sunset, Ludwiga Palustris, Ludwiga Ovalis and Blyxa Japonica. I'm not sure if the snail eggs got killed too but the snails themselves were "kaput". (It was actually kind of cool to see them drop like rocks so quickly).


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## RTR (Oct 28, 2005)

Plant dips will do nothing for existing MTS in a tank, the majority are in the substrate. Poisons in the water will do nothing either, unless maintained for more tha weeks, which have negative effects on both the fish and plants.

MTS have evry effective trap doors, which they can and will shut to bad conditions and estivate until water conditions are better for them. Control them by contolling the food supply - don't overfeed at all and control algae, especially soft green coating algae. If they do not have food, the population will be small.

If that will not do the job, use loaches but as already note they must be hungry or they will not control the MTS. They will not usually eradicate them, but will control the population id the tank keeper cannot..


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## T_om (Dec 23, 2004)

I found Yo-Yo loaches MUCH better at snail control of every type than Clown loaches.

YMMV.

Tom


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## EcoPit (Dec 29, 2005)

T_om said:


> I found Yo-Yo loaches MUCH better at snail control of every type than Clown loaches.
> 
> YMMV.
> 
> Tom


I'll second that. I had a tank with a small population of MTSs--I added three _Botia almorhae _(yo-yo or Pakistani loach), and never saw a snail again. I was actually pretty upset about it, because the snails were not over-populating and looked neat.


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

I've never known any loaches to eat MTS, most go for pond snails or ramshorn snails. That trapdoor that the MTS have prevents the loaches from eating them, unless the loach is just really tallented. 

As far as getting rid of them goes... good luck with that. I worked at a store where we had a huge problem with BBA, so a few years back we went through and stripped the tanks down and did a 1:10 bleach solution in the tanks for 3 days. After nuking the tanks with bleach and dechlorinating, the algae died, but somehow there were MTS crawling around with bleached white shells. They're invincible.


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

wow thats amazing.....


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