FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Okay I know inverts don't like copper, but has anyone had experience treating a tank with pennies for ich or to kill off pest snails (I have ramshorns ] but having MTS pull thru?

T'anks in advance.

^_^

[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

I'd be willing to bet planorbids (common ramshorns NOT Columbian) would have the same resistance to copper as MTS's, if not more. Giant Ramshorns would have less.

But, the whole "pennies in the filter" makes me incredibly sad. This is the only forum I've encountered that encourages that. I know it's been around forever, but that's just it. Copper meds as a whole are so archaic. Copper binds to your substrate, silicone, rocks, everything. Leaving you with a tank that's basically uninhabitable to any inverts (despite water changes and carbon). In addition to the fact that it's toxic to fish and plants long term.

It's never what people want to hear, because they're looking for a quick fix. But, consider the havoc on your tank by allowing 100 or more snails to die at once. Especially MTS's, which live deep in the substrate and have long conical shells that hold their bodies in. A better course of action IMHO, is to limit the food supply and try to strike a balance. More food=More snails. They're an indicator of overfeeding.

I have physids (pest snails) in all but two of my tanks, but only about a dozen in each, at the most. They don't cause any harm, except to other snails.

i have successfully killed off a pest snail population and reintroduced mts into my 10g. i have a pic of one of them in photo booth somewhere

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

The mts were decemated though moondog? And then reintroduced?

Georgia, I'm normally fully with you on this...I really don't like that the penny trick is still used for ich. However I'm raising MTS in my tanks because I like them, and for the sand tanks ..therefore I do overfeed a bit. However somehow the ramshorn seem to be outcompeating the MTS...even with my regular killing sprees.
I may try the lettuce trick first...if I can find some .

^_^ [hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

yeah, i only had a handful of mts before pennies, but i had 100's of the ramshorns. they were all wiped out, i removed the pennies, and then a few weeks later reintroduced about a handful of mts in the 10g, and they have since gone crazy.

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Instead of copper pennies, can i put a piece of copper in my tank & if yes, how long can i keep it there?.



http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/album?.dir=b5f2

http://www.deathbydyeing.org/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

it depends on how big a piece, and how many snails you have to get rid of. the more snails you have the longer you need to keep it in. i would say stack 5-10 pennies and that would be about how big a piece you should put in. make sure you clean the hell out of either pennies or a piece of copper though, you don't want anything else in your tank besides the copper.

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman