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Excel and snails?

22K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  diwu13 
#1 ·
Since I don't use CO2, I'm thinking about putting some Excel(25 drops for starters) in my 2.5 gal. snail tank. is there any chance this could be harmful to my Apples?

TIA
 
#2 ·
I don't know about apples but using Excel hurt my nerites. It put them into a kind of vegetative state. They weren't dead but they didn't really move. If they did, it was maybe an inch or two. They weren't able to close up or stick onto things. They would just sit there on the substrate. I wouldn't try it, especially in such a small tank, unless you aren't too concerned about the snails.

-Lisa
 
#18 ·
I've got to say, I didn't really believe you at first. But then I saw that a Tiger Nerite them was upside-down in a tank I was dosing 1x daily. I flipped him and he still didn't move for hours, so I put him in my other tank and he started moving again immediately. My other Zebra Nerite is also staying above the water line.
 
#4 ·
25 drops seems like a lot. Isn't it supposed to be 1mL per 10G? I am assuming 25 drops is around 1mL? I dose excel twice a week in my tanks filled with shrimp and nerites. However, I dose half the recommended amount, only when the lights are on as well.
 
#10 ·
I think once they've been affected, there's no going back. I stopped dosing Excel and did a huge water change. When that didn't change their behavior, I moved them to a tank where I had never used Excel, or even any ferts, and still they remained vegetables. I felt really bad because it was like 6 or 7 and they were the nice BIG ones. :(

-Lisa
 
#7 ·
I disagree that excel is that bad for snails. I was dosing 21 drops of excel (using eye dropper) in a 2 gallon tank for about 2 weeks and my ramshorn population increased over that time. I also dose 21 drops of excel in my non co2 4 gallon and I dont notice any difference in their behavior.
 
#9 ·
Some snails are immune. Excel killed the mini-ramshorns and limpets in my 13g, but even 5 capfuls of it for weeks in my 37g did nothing to the MTS. It's all dependent upon the snail type.

-Lisa
 
#11 ·
So for water, 20 drops = 1mL assuming you're using a standard dropper. I assume excel is about the same density as water so give or take, you're adding 1mL of excel into a 2.5G tank. Which is WAYYYY overdosing.
 
#12 ·
Thanks everyone. Based on input on TPT and Apple.net, I'm going to try to give my bottle of Excel away and try some ferts instead.

BTW--here's how I calculated the 25 drop dose:
the dosing instructions on the bottle call for an initial dose of 5ml in 10 gallons.
There are 20 drops in 1ml. So there are 100 drops in 5ml.
Since my tank is 2.5 gal (1/4 of 10), the dose would be 1/4 of 100 drops=25 drops.
Where might I have gone wrong?
 
#13 ·
I wouldn't even use the initial dose strength of excel as a basis. Excel can be used to kill algae (which is what I assume the large initial dose is meant to do) or used to provide a source of carbon for plants (the regular smaller doses after). So since you didn't have an algae problem I would've just done the .25mL dose twice weekly. No need to give excel away.
 
#22 ·
I did a search cuz I didn't want my money/snails going to waste and found that sometimes they "hibernate" for a week while acclimating to new water conditions. However, it's been close to a week and still the same...

Anyone else see this and have the snails bounce back?
 
#23 ·
When they hibernate their trapdoor will be closed. When they are on their back like that with their trapdoor half open, generally means they will die. However, unlike what Lisa said you can leave them in the tank. The shrimp will make a quick meal of them.
 
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