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I definitely understand that. 

The one place that I get rather militant in the hobby is the direct result of my sis working for NC G&W. Between having to convince Canada geese they don't lay eggs before returning north, capturing feral cats for the spay/ neuter program to protect songbirds, and removing invasive mantis and plants due to irresponsible gardening/aquatic gardening.... my sister has been loud, vocal, and adamant that colonization destroys ecosystems and negatively impacts genetic diversity. 

Now that I am in the desert, the plants are quite grateful that I dump all aquarium water, etc around the desert plants.😅

We are not near any acequias or other waterways, and even a hard rain doesn't move anything around these high desert bushes and scrubs.

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New plants came today. With the Co-Op notification, I used my lunch break to bring them inside:

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I also found out that I have Malaysian Trumpet Snails in my Askoll 20, after finding them at the top of the bucket from removing sand. I threw them back in, and added water to save more. Later, I took it to the next level:

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I rescued about twenty more MTS from the sand that I removed. I used my sifters to separate by size, and looked through what I found.

Then I put the sand in the small bucket, dumped my sorted gravel into the big bucket, inverted the sifters, and ran some water through.

Tomorrow, I will check for more snails.

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On 2/1/2022 at 8:21 PM, Streetwise said:

I tried planting with my tongs by dragging the roots in like boat anchors and then opening the tongs and pulling away to the side.

Looking good!  That’s going to grow in beautifully.

I will also give my tongs a little jiggle as I pull them out so that substrate can fall down into the gap they leave more quickly.

Edited by Odd Duck
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On 2/4/2022 at 12:08 AM, Torrey said:

didn't you keep some of the pennywort

No I put it in with the baby pleco and they were rough on it. It looked ragged. I got frustrated and could not find a place for it that it looked right and tossed it. Not one of my brighter ideas 🙄

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On 2/4/2022 at 7:20 PM, Streetwise said:

Someone (raise your hand), recommended MTS for my soil. Every new snail has helped my tanks. I haven’t cleaned my glass in years because of snails! I look forward to seeing what these MTS do!

My other current snails are bladder and ramshorn.

I’m too scared to add MTS’s to anything but a pea puffer tank.  I know I can manage bladders and ramshorns, but MTS’s, . . . . . . . . . I just don’t know if they’ll explode on me.  I do tend to be a heavy handed feeder.  😆 

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On 2/4/2022 at 6:36 PM, Odd Duck said:

I’m too scared to add MTS’s to anything but a pea puffer tank.  I know I can manage bladders and ramshorns, but MTS’s, . . . . . . . . . I just don’t know if they’ll explode on me.  I do tend to be a heavy handed feeder.  😆 

They have not reproduced as fast as bladder snails can... and absolutely still reproduce in my tanks where the fish approve of snail caviar (greatly limiting the reproduction of any other snail).

Neither my turtle, nor my assassin snail, have complained about my putting the colors of MTS I don't like in their tanks.😁

@Streetwise I was looking for MTS, and you had recommended another type (that ended up being impossible to get due to shipping interruptions) that wouldn't reproduce as quickly. 

My endlers keep the MTS under control in the 4' tank.... but neither guppies nor danios seem willing to keep them in check in their tanks. So I just pick out snails that I don't like the pattern or color, and add those snails to the turtle pond, or whatever tank the assassins are doing snail patrol in.

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I had MTS take over in my 55 gallon even with two yoyo loaches in there and many attempts on my part to scrape as many as I could reach off the glass at night. Getting two assassin snails helped. Those MTS absolutely thrive in a soil-based substrate.

 

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They must have been in this tank for a while, and I have seen shells in other tanks. All of my snails are hitchhikers.

I replied to @xXInkedPhoenixX in another thread about organic substrate layers. I like a gravel cap for organic soil because it supports a bidirectional exchange, with mulm, gasses, invertebrates, worms, etc. Sand creates a barrier of density when soil is trapped below it. Root health is better with breathable substrates.

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That totally makes sense (I just liked a similar comment) gravel allows stuff to fall between it (breathing makes even more sense). My Parent tank only has gravel at the front and some caribsea eco complete under it (gravel) at the back (where I planted when I first set up the tank). Though not totally ideal I actually feel like the gravel in the tank is easy to spot clean in front for aesthetics sake (read: for ME) but I know it's got all sorts of mulmy goodness trapped at the back of the tank which credit must be given for my GIANT Amazon Sword. Tank parameters are steady and great so mulmy-ness is not a bad thing!

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