[wesly2007]

so lately i have been noticing alot of snails in the vivarium. not realy that big of a deal i just pick them out as i see them. well i come home today and i pick out about 15 of the little bastards off of a small plant that i have been trying to get to grow for the last couple of weeks. needless to say im not happy.

on top of this i bought a couple of coral frags for my saltwater tank a couple of weeks ago. If you know anything about saltwater tanks you know that its good practice to dip your frags before they enter the tank. the guy i got them from told me that he "use to have a problem with Flatworms but i dosed them and i havnt seen any" i get the frags home and dip them just incase with twice the amount of Flatworm Exit, acclimate them and put them in the tank. not an hour later i see a brown flatworm, start looking around and see about 50 more. I have dosed the tank 4 times with twice the amount of flatworm exit and i still have flatworms. im already tired of this crap and am thinking about starting all over with the tank.

 

[koolparrot]

Sorry but off topic but, DONT START YOUR SALTWATER OVER!!!!! Get a flat eating nudibranch. Look it up and you will find it and make sure it is not the white dots of aptasia... I mistoke it for flatworm. You can probly order them form your locally owned petstore for around $20-30.

As for your snails, if oyu have noting alive in the tank, try this.
How to Get Rid of Slugs and Snails With Yeast - wikiHow

Hope this helps.

 

[EntoCraig]

Have you considered Co2 gassing the tank? this will kill anything that breathes O2 so be careful. One option is a pressurized system, but an easier, more piratical way is to use Dry Ice. there is a how to on here somewhere, as well as a few how-tos online.

as far as the salt water goes, I have used a deworming powder for dogs on my freshwater planted tanks before to kill planaria and some other nematodes, but I'm not sure the effects on live coral...

 

[earthfrog]

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/56812-building-using-co2-generator.html

 

[koolparrot]

I would not use Co2. I have read on multi other places that it has a chance to kill your plants if it gets to hight... I would recomend the earlier solution I posted.. just make sure it is deep.

 

[stevenhman]

I'm not really sure that the amount of CO2 you could generate (with dry ice and baking soda/vinegar) and fill a tank with could kill any of the plants. Maybe if you completely sealed the tank and pressurized it with CO2 (more than one atmosphere of pressure) then left it sealed up for a couple of days.

If you're still leery of using a CO2 generator, you can try the yeast, a lettuce leaf, beer in a bottle cap, flashlight and tweezers, or maybe outfit your frogs with some dentures.

 

[EntoCraig]

Agreed! You aren't going to harm your plants. Its possible that some of the low growing, hyper sensitive plants might get a little wilty, but they will bounce right back (if you even have plants that sensitive, like crypts)

As long as the lights stay on, the co2 will be used by the plants, and you will likely notice a growth spurt in your tank if the plants have enough food to grow.

I have already gassed one of my tanks and the growth spurt was awesome! I plant on gassing my other tank (even though I dont see any pests) for the growth spurt and just for good measure. then the frogs go in

 

[candm519]

Does the CO2 actually reach and kill snails? They are pretty good at sealing themselves inside their shells to hibernate.

 

[EntoCraig]

Snails breathe by taking air into a visceral cavity. This is generally done when they are not inside their shell. They can only store O2 for so long though before they need to come back out yo breathe. Gassing your tank for a good 12-24 hours should do the trick, followed by another 1-2 gassings later in the week/month. this will help kill any eggs or pests that managed to escape death.

Just remember to leave the lights on so the plants can utilize the Co2. Plants breath O2 at night when there is no light for photosynthesis.

 

[Okapi]

Just remember to leave the lights on so the plants can utilize the Co2. Plants breath O2 at night when there is no light for photosynthesis.

It would actually be best to leave the tank dark for at least a day to insure that the CO2 displaces all O2 and and stays (isnt used up by the plants.) That way the snails will have no O2 at all.

 

[EntoCraig]

yes that would be the best way to gas the tank, but plants require O2 at night and they will intern suffer from the Co2 during a dark period. Seems that the gas killed all the bugs with the lights on anyways.

 

[johnyrocks]

If you have any frogs in there, take them out, then go and buy a few pounds or so of dry ice. Leave it there for a few days, and put your frogs back. It's good for the plants but will kill EVERYTHING else in the viv.