Bladder Snails + new tank = *pulls hair out*! Need Help!

[swishyfish]

I thought I did everything right. The tank, the heater, the lights, the plants. The PLANTS. omg. What have I done?!

I didnt rinse the hornwort from petco in salt before I put it in my new tank... now I have bladder snails that I cant get rid of!

The tank has only been up for 5 days and Norman (my betta) is thrilled. But now he's got all these unwanted invaders and I dont know what to do!!

I pulled the *one* adult out that I found, pulled the hornwort, rinsed it in salt water and crushed every egg that I saw. That was yesterday. Now, less than 24 hours later there are at least 5 more that I can see!! Im freaking out!

Also, my poor hornwort is shedding its needles like mad now - making a mess of the tank.

Assasin snail? Strip the tank? Please help!!

[babystarz]

When this happened in my 20G with pond snails I bought a single assassin snail. It cleared out the entire tank in under 2 weeks. I decided on this route because it seemed much more natural than chemical methods and I didn't have to take the tank apart.

[Myates]

Could toss in a piece of lettuce or cucumber.. wait until they all gather on it and then take them out.

[swishyfish]

Yeah. I definitely dont want to put chemicals in the tank. I guess Im just on the fence because this plant is totally falling apart and making a complete mess. So Im thinking I may have to re-do it anyway. sigh. The needles are clogging my filter like mad and it driving me nuts. Maybe a good cleaning and a snail might be the best way to go? The hornwort is coming out for sure!

[swishyfish]

Is that something Id have to do continuously as the eggs hatch? (The lettuce thing that is)

[OrangeAugust]

I think your Hornwort is shedding because of the salt rinses. My hornwort and fanwort turned into bare stalks after I treated my fish with AQ salt. I just used a gravel vac to suck up all the dead needles.

[swishyfish]

Originally Posted by OrangeAugust

I think your Hornwort is shedding because of the salt rinses. My hornwort and fanwort turned into bare stalks after I treated my fish with AQ salt. I just used a gravel vac to suck up all the dead needles.

Thats kinda what I figured. Seeing as I collect terrestrial plants, you'd think I'd have known better. lol. I just pulled the hornwort out and vac'd. Guess Ill put it in a bowl and see if it recovers. The tank looks so bare now! Easier for snail hunting though. :)

[Tikibirds]

From what I have heard - hornwort is known for shedding its needles.
Some plants go through a melting stage and will rebound from it in a few weeks.

If you can find an assasin snail, that would work. I have never seen them for sale except online. OR you can do what myates said and toss in some cucumber or lettuce to gather the snails thenjust toss them out

[aemaki09]

Originally Posted by swishyfish

Is that something Id have to do continuously as the eggs hatch? (The lettuce thing that is)

yeah, kind of.
you put it in at night and in the morning take it out...
it might take a month of doing it every night, but once you havent seen any snails on the leaf for about 5 days to a week your problem should be gone. you might have some babies in there, if you notice any do the lettuce thing again, the babies should be too young to re-produce so when you get the babies out it should be done for.

The assasin snail would be a lot less work but would take about the same amount of time.