Regarding some java moss

H

heather

Guest
Hello all, some weeks back I purchased java moss for my JFB tank, on the advice of people from this site. Its doing very well, and my roommate wants some for her betta fish tank. My concern is that the moss in with my newt may now be contaminated with newt toxins and could harm the betta if we just dumped some moss in the fish tank directly from the newt tank. Could we rinse off some moss, or let it soak in tap water for a few days? Or would it be safe to just put some in without any treatment? Thanks all for any comments, Heather
 
Sounds good, what should the ratio be for water/salt? Thanks, Heather
 
*shrug* salty water. the salt will kill off a fair number of pathogens, the water will rinse off any toxins.
 
Actually, you could momentarily (5-10 seconds) dip it in some weak bleach solution, then rinse it off. That shouldn't do the plant much harm (don't leave it in the bleach solution...) but it will nobble 99% of the nasties attached to the plant.
 
If it were me, I wouldn't worry about it. I'd just rinse it in plain water and put it in the betta tank. Newts don't normally release toxin unless they are seriously stressed. And any bacteria or other micro-organisms are likely to find their way between the two tanks sooner or later anyway.
 
Thanks everyone for the tips. Think I may rinse it off lightly, but not worry about it too much
Heather
 
I have used java from my newt tank to my fish tank, and it worked out just fine. Have you though about spreading the java across like rocks or branch above the water in the tank. Thats what I do. It looks really nice as long as you keep it moist (spray 1/day). Good luck.
 
I already do spread the java moss over some wood that breaks the waters surface in my newt tank. I agree - it does look really nice. I dont know what my roommate will do with any moss I give her. She may let it float on top, or try to get it to grow on aquarium ornaments she already has. But I think the moss will look much nicer than the plastic pink and yellow plants she has in there now!
Heather
 
Ha ha, I bet it would. I hate all those fake unrealitic colored plants. good luck!
 
<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>John Clare (John) wrote on Tuesday, December 07, 2004 - 12:40 :</font>

"Actually, you could momentarily (5-10 seconds) dip it in some weak bleach solution, then rinse it off."<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Do you think this could work for removing an overdose of snails in my aquarium?

I was planning on leaving the tank empty for a wile to kill what stays in, than clean it well. And I was hoping I could use the plants again. They've grown so well in there, it would be a waste to kick them out because of some spineless snails
happy.gif


Joeri
 
Joeri, When I had an infestation of snails I emptied the tank and wiped it dry. Then I cleaned all the sides with vinegar water. After wiping that dry I rinsed the tank a few times...Im not sure about getting them out of the plants...I just rinsed the Moss good in hot hot hot water...Good Luck

(Message edited by boynewt1 on December 08, 2004)
 
Mike, I was not advising on how I regularly clean java moss... Just advice on taming the snails...I dont do that every time I clean... I just rinse in a fish net in the sink with room temp water usually...I haven't noticed anything bad about doing it...But, your advice is probably much more on point...Mine was not even on the subject of cleaning it off regularly or to change it to another tank...I was also probably exaggerating...Its been a while...I dont remember how hot it was exactly...Sorry guys..
 
Joeri - I don't think that time would be sufficient to kill a large multicellular organism like a snail ;(. Any more time and it'll damage the Java Moss a lot.
 
Just a comment in the old fish keeping books they used to rinse the plants in a potassium permagenate solution to kill snails and other unwanted hitchhikers.

Ed
 
I feared you would say that John.

Ed: I have looked up info on the solution you suggest, but it seems only to be used to disinfect new plants. It kills the eggs that might be on it. It's never used to kill a total infection of snails.
In case of an eyedisturbing quantity of snails I only red the bleach method as a good solution. Problem is that plants might suffer. Damage can be minimized if you don't let the roots get in contact with the bleach.
(maybe I'll try that - I'll let you know how it turns out)

If I had room for an extra tank I could use botia's - snail eating fish.

Joeri
 
Well lets work this down, what kind of snails do you have? Are they nocturnal or diurnal?

If you are willing to wipe down the sides of the tank with a paper towel every day for several days you can really knock a snail population down. If you keep it up and when the numbers get small enough manually remove the few adults you can even eliminate snails from smaller enclosures. There are some variables to this but if you are patient it does work.

Ed
 
Diurnal - they might be small ramshorn snails.

They don't do much damage to the plants, but there are so much now it's really disturbing to look at (and I sometimes see one crawling over a newts' back - the newts look very curious to the snail when that happens)
 
After inspection I noticed there are two species of snails, the other may be pond snails. But than again, they don't seem to be so active during the day...

I'm gonna try your 'wipe away' method first Ed.
As they're not damaging the plants I have patience enough to try slow, but less harmfull methods first.
 
For the nocturnal ones, a small saucer placed on the bottom with a gap will also encourage the snails to hide underneath allowing for easy collection.
If you have pond snails, make sure to wipe the corners of the tank to get any hidden egg masses.
Ed
 
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