Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

wendyjo wrote:I am getting some java moss in the mail, and it's coming from a tank with snails. My tank is too small to handle snail bio load. What is a shrimp safe way to rid the plant of possible snails and eggs?

Potassium Permangate is commonly used to sterilize plants. It will kill snails and eggs and is SAFE for plants, compared to bleach dips. PP is easy to use becuase of the color factor. The stronger (more granules) you make, the darker purple the water turns. Very few granules is sufficient.

Just get a small bowl of water and add a few granules of PP and stir, until it is dissolved. I like making the water turn purple that I can't see anything in it. Once you have the solution made, soak the entire plant in there. You might have to put some weight on the plant to keep it totally submerged. Keep it in there for about 15-20 minutes. When done, add some dechlorinator. This nuetralizes PP and you will see the water start to clear. Hydrogen Peroxide also nuetralizes it. If you have neither, just rinse it well.

PP can be used to sterilize equipment, tanks, and also can be used to treat external parasites/bacteria on fish.

You can get PP in your local hardware store, in the well water tank treatment section. PP is used to remove rust from well water tanks.

It is hard to get PP in small quantities and is pretty expensive. I didn't suggest it because a 5# jar (the smallest I could find) was $40. If someone wants a little to try, PM me. (I'm not selling just sharing). This is agressive stuff and may kill stuff like java moss. I've not used it on fine leaved plants.

Use enough declorinator to remove all traces of the purple, then rinse well.

It's not as aggressive as you think. It's fine on java moss (first hand experience).

I paid about $25 for mine at Ace hardware. I no longer use bleach, since bleach deteriorates things.

It does stain, but so does bleach.

The problem I see is that if PP kills snails, residual PP that might still be stuck on the plants could wreak havoc on your shrimp population. Just a thought...

Hence the use of Dechlorinator or Hydrogen Peroxide, since it neutralizes PP.

Again, first hand experience. Java moss and all other plants sterilized with strong dose of PP. Java moss and plants have been in the shrimp tank with Cherry, Amano, and Bamboo for several months. Shrimps have been eating fine, lots of molting.