Aquatic Snail-free Guarantee

Australian aquatic plant wholesalers and retailers grow and stock plants in ponds and tanks which are colonised by aquatic snails – and often this will not become apparent until some time after your plant purchase, when it is too late! When purchasing plants from these businesses, there is a very high chance that hitchhiking snails and their eggs will be introduced to your aquarium, terrarium or paludarium. Once a tank has snails, various treatments can be used to control snail population numbers, but they are virtually impossible to eradicate.

Until now, hobbyists who wanted snail-free plants would be required to purchase tissue culture (TC) plants. Whilst TC plants may seem like an affordable and convenient option, there are several drawbacks to using them; notably, the plants are often immature and delicate with fragile root systems, and their initial growth rate is often extremely slow. There is also a risk that TC tubs which have been kept in proximity to an aquarium may have been handled or opened, with the integrity of the sterility affected and snails or snail eggs transferred to the inside or outside of the tub – this is a particular risk in a retail setting such as a pet shop!

Tankquility offers a snail free alternative to this without the disadvantages inherent in tissue culture plants. We culture our plants in natural substrates (which means they are robust, mature, and have vigorous root systems), and they are guaranteed to be snail-free due to our strict treatment and quarantine procedures.

Over the years, we have tested most readily available molluscicidal (snail-killing) treatments; bleach, potassium permanganate, copper formulations, and some of the worming medications. They work reasonably well, but a 100% kill-rate is unlikely as a small percentage of the snail population is usually resistant to treatment. If a single snail or an egg survives, the snail population will persist and increase exponentially in number again. There is no such thing as 99% snail free!

Likewise, growing plants emerse is not a reliable method to ensure snail-free status, as any water body or moist media can harbour snails and their eggs.

To achieve snail-free status and honestly and reliably guarantee that our plants will not come with any unwanted guests, every aquatic and semiaquatic plant entering the Tankquility collection undergoes the procedure outlined below. Many of our terrestrial and epiphytic plants also go through this process - especially if they come from moist conditions or have a water well (as in Neoregelia spp.). This process can be readily replicated at home by those who source plants from other suppliers.

• Thoroughly wash and inspect the plant for snails and their eggs and remove any that are found. Pay particular attention to hard-to-reach areas of a plant, such as between the wings of petioles deep in rosettes and within roots.

• First bleach dip: Swish the plant around for two minutes in a 5% domestic bleach solution to ensure that hard-to-reach areas of the plant are exposed to the solution. This should be followed by thorough rinsing under running tap water.

• Transition the plant to emerse form and grow the plant emerse under quarantine for a minimum of one month (aquatic snails do not survive waterless conditions).

• Thoroughly wash and inspect the plant for snails and their eggs and remove any found; no snails or eggs should remain by this stage of the process.

• Second bleach dip: Swish the plant around for two minutes in a 5% domestic bleach solution to ensure that hard-to-reach areas of the plant are exposed to the solution. This should be followed by thorough rinsing under running tap water.

After following these steps, your plant will be snail-free, and you can be confidently in introducing it into your aquarium, terrarium or paludarium. This procedure has been unfailing in the eradication of aquatic snails from plants entering our nursery when complimented by other practices and procedures, such as handwashing and UV and microfibre filtration treatment of the nursery water supply to ensure no snails enter the nursery from within a rainwater water tank.

 

Note 1: Domestic bleach contains sodium hypochlorite @ 42 grams/Litre.

Note 2: Performing one bleach dip treatment, then putting the plant back into an aquarium is not enough. Tankquility has tested this and found snails can still survive through a single treatment process.

Note 3: Some plants do not tolerate bleach well, particularly those in the Hydrocharitaceae family (Vallisneria, Ottelia etc.) and mosses.