LFS snails maybe a bad option??

[jeromecarlyoung]

Hello,
Like a person who spreads themselves about in their personal lives I have spread myself around with collecting snails from various LFS.
I now have an external parasite (being treated with salt dips) on my Oto and have now found a 8mm Leech in my snail tank. I have collected hundreds of snails from about 5 different LFS as my DP would only have these and other live food.
I think I maybe should have been harder on my DP and gone for the frozen food option. My DP still doesn't like eating this food but is still perky so I'm hoping that Puff is still eating enough. :think:
i know that Puff is clearing out the final MTS snails which have been hidden but these will come to an end soon. A hungry fish.

question- Can salt in the tank be used to reduce the occurance of parasites et al? I assume that eggs or baby parasites are about but I am a bit scared of the chemical nuclear option.

Cheers Jerry

[RTR]

The treatment of each type of parasite is parasite-specific. There is no broad-spectrum treatment to cover multiple types of parasites.

Are you QTing each batch of LFS snails separately and for a sufficent time period? If not, LFS snails are a bad idea.

Salt in the water plus heat is a treatment for the Ich parasite on fish, period. That is not a general treatment at all.

Most leeches are not parasitic.

It is not easy to rid a tank of MTS. Under predation pressure (with snail-eating fish in the tank), the MTS will just shift to a nocturnal lifestyle, hiding during the light cycle under the substrate. You can check this by going into the area with the tank during darkness and use a flashlight to see the snails out and feeding. Loaches are about the only fish that have really cleared a tank of snails for me, and they are not good tankmates for DPs - they out-compete them for food easily.

HTH

[borgey]

This is all very easily avoided by a QT. Trust me I used to do the same thing but now I have my own tank for breeding snails and I know that they are safe. It's the best way to go in my opinion.

[jtbadco]

I agree.....i had the same problem when I first started getting snails for my puffers from outside sources. Now I breed my own....much safer.

You should be able to easily set up and maintain a colony of pond snails that would be sufficient for your DP's.

[jeromecarlyoung]

Thanks for that.
I have got two tanks for my snails so not sure whether the bad guys hang out in there until transfered in to the main fish tank.
Also, MTS snails, I think, seem to need a bit of heat as I have had 100% losses if they go in the unheated snail tanks first.
I like the MTS snails as they do a good job cleaning. The MTS tend to lie on the gravel and after a few pokes by Puff they are made vulnerable. I know they are nocturnal but the numbers are very low now.
The parasite I'm sure is a Fish Lice. The advice I got was from

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/aqua/parasites.html

The Lice now after 3 salt dips is much reduced and the Oto seems on better form.
This, I know, may not be the end of the matter. The nuclear option may be the only option soon.
I have been given the Interpet anti crustacean parasite treatment and also the esha optima fish health booster.
The health booster is supposed to re coat the skin coating which is stripped by the main treatment. They also talked about a bad effect on the Bacteria in the filter. Not so hot.
I haven't got a 2nd tank to hand so reluctant go down this chemical treatment road.

Cheers Jerry