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Hi All,

Im in need of some advice on using Copper Sulphate in my breeding tank to kill off snails once and for all. I already know that Waterlife does 2 products that contain Copper Sulphate but after speaking to the chemist they have it was recommended to try and buy it pure in powered form. What i need to know is if anyone has used it in thier own tanks, what risks to fish has it got and also how much to add per 10L of water so i dont overdose.

I also need to know if Copper Sulphate is removed from the tank with carbon or has to be removed using water changes

any imformation on the use and risks of this chemical would be great.

thanks
DrunkenPanda

p.s
i will be moving all fish before i use the Copper Sulphate in the tank and returning them after the treatment is finished

If you have a lot of snails, then I'd say the risk isn't with the copper sulphate, but with the ammonia spike a load of dead snails give off.

I'd remove it by using a few large water changes a day or so apart (2 x 50% leaves 25% of the cupper sulfate. Another 50% water change leaves 12.5%, another 50% leaves you with 6.25%, etc, etc).

The other option is of course to get rid of all decorations/plants that may hold snail eggs. Plants can be washed in Bleach solution without harm, so can rocks. You'd probably have to replace the gravel and any wood in the tank. Wash out any filter media in old tank water, but bath the filter housing in bleach to get rid of any snail eggs. Watch for an ammonia spike in the refilled tank.


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Mats

I would say - if I can remouve the fish, i'd keep the tank dry for a while

it does kill most of the snails - and a large percentage of the dead ones will start floating after refilling - making it easy to remouve

I wouldn't attempt an in situ snail eradication using any chemicals.
I would remove all the substrate, rock work and wood and soak them in bleach and also wash out the tank and filters in bleach.
The substrate may be left to soak after a thorough rinsing for several weeks outdoors.
Live plants are very difficult to treat and not still have some snail eggs survive.
You would have to recycle the tank as f it were new. The 2 weeks or so of soaking the bleached substrate in plain water followed by a final rinse will leave little organics to rot but probably enough to assist in the cycling process.
There are no real easy ways to take on snail problems that won't set back an existing set up.

You can use flubenol or panacure vet, if you do that you dont have to move your catfish

The flubendazol derivative in Kisuri Wormer Plus is not killing my snails. And if it were, and there is a large number of snails in the tank, the ammonia produced by dead snails won't be any good for the fish.

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Mats

normaly i pick up the dead snails so it will not be a problem

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies with advice and tips on getting rid of the snails. i dont think the strong chemical way will work as my two main breeding bristlenoses live in the problem tank, and seem very happy the way they are now. Im thinking of using a weaker chemical treatment that has copper sulphate in it but a lot less than just adding it to water and putting it in the tank.

its a 50L tank and now running a U3 filter, so what i would like to know is can i get away with using chemicals, killing the snails and keeping the extra ammonia down with large water changes and the use of the extra filter power from the U3?

thanks
DrunkenPanda

The problem is that the ammonia will be a rather sudden onset, as all the snails die almost at the same time. The filter (any filter) does not have enough spare capacity, as the amount of bacteria needs to grow VERY quickly - and the reason cycling a tank takes quite a long time is that these bacteria don't multiply that quickly.

Do you know what kind of snail it is?

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Mats

If the tank is so small it must be easier to empty the tank, save the water in some buckets and the fishes in another bucket... then clean the tank and put all back without snails. All plecos is very sensitive to copper sulphate and die easily even in small doses.

Janne

Hi,
Since the tank is low shocked with fish anyway i think its best i just remove the 2 bristlenoses and 6 corys to either a bucket like has been advised or just put them back in my main tank. i have no idea what type of snails i seem to have, because they dont match any pictures i have seen of different snails, quite small in size with brown quite soft shells, they have came from my mothers tank and from what i know of them the shell never really hardens.

ok i need to know what people would recommend i kill these snails off with. it will be a planted tank with wood in and i want the whole lot treated with something to kill all adults and baby snails, making sure nothing is alive to breed. i would prefer to kill them without using chemicals but if needs be will use whatever as i hate the bloody things. i see it had been recommended bleach to be used on the gravel, tank, filter, plants and wood, so what kind of bleach is that? househood or hair bleach?

thanks
DrunkenPanda

Hi Again all,

I have had an idea and was wondering if anyone can tell me if it will work. Could i add loads of salt to the water and then run the tank empty for a week or so making sure all the snails grow large enough to be affected by the salt levels. someone told me that eggs and baby snails can withstand salt dosing, but will letting them grow larger in salt water kill them and stop them from leaving behind eggs?

another idea i have would be remove the java fern from the wood and piping and then boil the gravel, rock, wood and pipe on the cooker, this should for sure rid me of the snails but then i would need someway to treat the plants and tank. any ideas for that are welcomed

if there is a way with 100% success of getting rid of the snails i will do it. the only plants i have are java fern and frogbit so the treatment would need to leave these plants unharmed.

thanks again
DrunkenPanda