HelplessNewbie Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 Received my set of plants from Aquarium Coop for my first ever tank (10g fresh, not yet cycled), but found baby snails (not sure if alive) in the rockwool of one of them. Should I be doing something to prevent an infestation? Bleach the whole tank abd attempt to start the cycling process over? I was on day 7 of my first attempt at fishless cycling, with plants and denitrifying bacteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 Look up “Reverse Respiration” here on the forum. Essentially, it’s a soak in seltzer water for 24 hours. Should kill any snails, bacteria (good and bad), algae, etc. Ive never done it as I welcome snails, but there’s lots of people on the forum that swear by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Marie Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 Aquarium Co-op plants do often come with snails, but to clear up any confusion, those orange balls are fertilizer balls, not snails. 🙂 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelplessNewbie Posted June 2 Author Share Posted June 2 Oh I am so glad I asked!!! Thank you for alleviating my stress! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 I think those might not be snails. They may just be fertilizer granules with the fertilizer leached out. Can you turn them and see an actual snail body or an opening to the shell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Marie Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 On 6/2/2023 at 5:05 PM, HelplessNewbie said: Oh I am so glad I asked!!! Thank you for alleviating my stress! Happy to help! You're not the first person I've seen who has mistaken them for snails, nor will you be the last. 😆 But they're definitely just fertilizer that they put in the rock wool to help the plants grow/stay healthy. On 6/2/2023 at 7:04 PM, Odd Duck said: I think those might not be snails. They may just be fertilizer granules with the fertilizer leached out. Can you turn them and see an actual snail body or an opening to the shell? Yeah those are definitely fertilizer. Every rooted plant I've gotten from aquarium co-op has them. 😆 And Cory has mentioned before in livestreams/plant care guide videos about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 (edited) I also think those are not snails. They are spent fertilizer granules with the fertilizer leached out. Reverse Respiration does work very well against snails and snail eggs along with other pests. This is a long read but if you read the first few pages you’ll get the gist of it. https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/24465-reverse-respiration/ Lol! I did an edit once I saw @Miranda Marie’s post but the software dumped the edit when I went to get and add the Reverse Respiration link. Then you quoted me before I realized it hadn’t saved my edit. 😂 🤣 Edited June 3 by Odd Duck Clarify 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelplessNewbie Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 On 6/2/2023 at 5:18 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: Look up “Reverse Respiration” here on the forum. Essentially, it’s a soak in seltzer water for 24 hours. Should kill any snails, bacteria (good and bad), algae, etc. How fascinating! Seems simple enough. I will definitely try this in the future. I am going to take a chance tomorrow with those last 2 pieces of rockwool to help seed my tank with good bacteria. I was worried when I mistook the fertilizer balls, that with such a small tank, sudden multiple snails will prevent from adding my original intended bioload of neon tetras and 1 betta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 On 6/2/2023 at 7:11 PM, Odd Duck said: Lol! I did an edit once I saw @Miranda Marie’s post but the software dumped the edit when I went to get and add the Reverse Respiration link. Then you quoted me before I realized it hadn’t saved my edit You make me feel so much better about my tech (in) abilities!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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