Hey guys,

in my tank, i have 2 apple snails, they are about 3/4 of an inch and look just like the biggest sizes ive seen of these snails, however, soon I am wanting to put some live plants and do not want to be infested with smaller snails!

Can you recommend some snail eating fish that wont eat/pester my apple snails?

Also, can you recommend some good plants that will grow well and are generally not eaten by my fish? I'm wanting a variation of plants that will create a 'forest' in one 1/4 - 1/2 of my tank for fry and smaller fish to hide in.

I tried java moss on a large wooden dec and used fishing wire to hold it down, but that didnt work.

And can you advise where to purchase both the fish and plants from as my local stores have the usual selection, grass and that 'spikey' type one that grows really well but always ends up floating around the tank.

Tank specs quickly:

90cm x 30cm x 45cm (120L)

fish: barbs, tetras and guppies mainly. Plec and sydontis and the two above mentioned snails. And an eel type thing, can remember what its called. Has been specified in another of my posts!

Cheers guys.

I wouldn't bother adding fish. The species that are most widely recommended to control snails are typically Loaches, in particular the Clown loach (Chromobotia macracanthus). However, some of these (including the Clown loach) can grow rather large.

Snails need one thing to thrive: food. This food can be uneaten fish food, but it can also be solid waste or faeces produced by the fish. Adding more fish means more waste, which in turn means more food for pest snails should they manage to take hold.

Instead I would take preventative measures to ensure that snails don't get into the tank in the first place. You should dip all live plants into either a Copper solution or a dilute aqueous solution of Potassium permanganate at 10mg/l. Rinse the plants in tapwater after dipping the plants in either solution. Copper is highly toxic to invertebrates and Potassium permanganate (which often comes in the form of black crystals and is also used as a fruit preservative) is like cyanide to them. Both can be purchased online.

And now for the plants...

For something that will grow out properly with mininal effort on your part, I'd try Hygrophila. These plants grow like weeds even under terrible conditions, so you'll need to take the scissors to it every week or two.

I'm not exactly sure what plant matches your 'spiky' description, however take a look at Tropica Aquarium Plants - Plant list A-Z and choose which plant matches your description. We'll then be able to give you more info about it.

The green spirally one is: Cabomba.

My local pets at home store sells: Echinodoras Bleheria, Egeria Densa, Hygrophilia Augustisaloi and Difformis and finally Ludwigia Repenes (Excuse the bad spelling, bad phone line)

Are any of them any good for what im after really?

It could also be the Egeria Densa.

What do you think of these plants?

Hamianthus Callitrichoides
Eleocharis Parvula
Echinodorus 'Ozelot'
Hygrophilia Difformis
Juncus Repens
Vesicularia Ferriei (weeping)
Ludwigia Arcuata

Nothing about them then?

Sorry, I've been having trouble with the mobile broadband...

Personally, I'd avoid P@H plants and buy from a more reputable source. Poor quality plants will die much more easily and they are more likely to be infested with pest snails. Several of the better aquatic plant retailers will dip the plants in a liquid molluscicide such as Copper solution or Potassium permanganate solution prior to putting them on sale. I'd spend a small premium to get better quality plants from the likes of Tropica.

Ideally, some information on the conditions in your tank (e.g. light, substrate, CO2 injection, nutrients) would be useful before we recommend anything. Some species have different requirements when it comes to light, CO2 (Carbon dioxide) and nutrients. Cabomba in particular loves light and it also benefits from additional CO2 injection and iron. A lack of essential trace elements such as iron, magnesium or potassium means that the plants won't be able to grow properly.

It's also important to bear in mind that the more light you put over the tank, the faster the plants will photosynthesize. Certain limiting factors restrict the rate of photosynthesis when one of those factors is in limited supply, these limiting factors are of course components that are vital for plant growth. The concentration of CO2 is linked to light intensity where plant growth is concerned. Water itself contains very little to no CO2 and as the plants photosynthesize faster under more intense light, they'll begin to die off (due to the lack of CO2) unless additional CO2 is added to the tank.

Most of the plants in your list are relatively straightforward to grow however Juncus repens does require more light and CO2 to flourish and Hemianthus callitrichoides is a demanding species, so I'd avoid it.

"Ideally, some information on the conditions in your tank (e.g. light, substrate, CO2 injection, nutrients)"

What do you wanna know about them?
light - currently on 12 hours a day, 2 year old bulbs, cant remember specifically which they are, but i think one was for plants and one for bringing out colour in fish.

substrate - Blue and Black gravel, about 1inch deep, maybe a little more, can add different substrate possibly if really required.

CO2 injection - What?

nutrients - What type? I've got some chemical things, weekly doses of chemicals, can get hold of plant food chemicals if required.

Anything else needed about the list?

Just a general note on the light here.

generally, we only reccomend the light be on in the aquarium about 6-8 hours a day. 12 is really OTT. any more than 8, and you will see loads of algae developing. the light in general only exists so you can see into the tank. the fish themselves dont care if its light or dark (tbh, more would probably prefere dark). you only generally need it on when your in the room watching the fish. plus, it will save electricity :P
also, regardless of whether the lights are still lit up, aquarium bulbs should be replaced every 6-9 months. his is because the bulbs are designed to emit a certain wavelength of light, which is benefitial to plants, but not so to algae. however, as time passes, this wavelength degrades, to a spectrum that begins to favour algae over plants. replacing them every 6 months not only helps the plants and fish, but also greatly limits algae growth

As Chilly said, different plants have different requirements. some plants like a deep sandy substrate, some require a more gravel base. some need high levels of C02 in the water, some can survive without. it all depends on the plant. as a general rule, avoid anything with red pigmentation on the leaves, as these tend to be hard to keep alive.

__________________

As Fishyfins has said, you need to cut down the photoperiod to around six hours; and the tubes need to be replaced for reasons already stated.

How coarse is the substrate? I ask this because very coarse substrates inhibit root penetration, stunting growth. Plain gravel itself contains no nutrients or trace elements so it will be more or less useless for plant growth. All of the species that you listed earlier (with the exception of the Vesicularia moss, which needs to be attached to hard decor) will benefit from a nutrient-rich substrate. In the ideal world, I'd go for a good-quality off-the-shelf aquatic plant substrate such as ADA Amazonia or the substrate from the Tropica AquaCare range topped off with a thin layer of either sand (inert silver or silica sand only, playsand is good) or fine gravel.

When I refer to nutrients, I don't mean the ordinary ones found in garden centres for your terrestrial houseplants, as many contain other substances that are harmful to aquatic life. Instead you'll need something that's been specially formulated for aquatic plant growth (Tropica Aquacare Plant Nutrition+ or EasyLife ProFito are excellent) or you could use dry fertiliser powders (Potassium nitrate, Potassium phosphate, Calcium sulphate and Iron gluconate) mixed with RO (reverse osmosis) water in separate plastic containers. I suggest using RO water due to its chemical purity, the entire process of reverse osmosis removes roughly 99.9% of everything from the water filtered by this method.

CO2 is vital to all plants for successful growth, however you don't necessarily need it. Since CO2 is a gas many fishkeepers envisage heavy gas cylinders and complex valves and selenoids - however that isn't necessarily the case. The form in which CO2 is delivered to the aquarium water depends on the demand. Plants that have low CO2 demands mean that you don't need CO2 injection unless the lighting is of high intensity. A cheap and effective option for dosing CO2 in smaller aquariums is to buy it in a liquid carbon form, several products have been formulated specifically for fishkeeping purposes under brand names including EasyLife EasyCarbo and Seachem Flourish. Most good aquatic stores should sell them or alternatively you can buy them online.

If you're having trouble finding these products I'd recommend taking a look at Fish Tanks, Aquarium Supplies, Marine & Tropical Fish Tank Accessories