# First live plant - hitchhikers



## eden000 (May 23, 2013)

Hi guys!

I got my first live plant today - just a little anubias petit nana attached to some driftwood. I took it out of the baggie and put it in a tub of conditioned water, as I was told to quarantine it for a bit. As soon as it got into the tub, tiny shrimp-looking things starting swimming around, and I noticed that there are some really puny snails (both are smaller than the tip of a pencil eraser).

What should I do about this? The shrimp kind of freaked me out (I'm not a fan of bugs) but are they harmful? My betta would probably just eat them, right? How should I go about quarantining the plant, and killing the snails? My tank is only 2gal, so I really don't want snails taking over the bioload.

Please excuse my ignorance - any insights would be extremely helpful.


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## rickey (Jul 7, 2013)

Potassium permanganate dip or IF you don't have Potassium permanganate laying around 10 to 1 water to 3%Hydrogen peroxide for 1 minute 

Rick


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## Briz (Mar 22, 2013)

As far as getting the snails out of the tank, you should manually remove them or squish them in the tank. Do not release the snails alive outside, as they can damage the natural ecosystem. There are a few different methods of trying to clean plants of hitchhikers, but some may prove harmful to the plants or not effective against everything. Here is a website showing some of the most common aquarium pests: http://www.planetinverts.com/what_is_that_bug_in_my_aquarium.html


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

That's a very good article, I haven't seen that one. Bookmarked it to use for people later down the road.

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Are they baby cherry shrimp maybe? Or something else?

Moss and Anubias can be sensitive to excel and peroxide so dip with care on that plant.


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## eden000 (May 23, 2013)

Thanks so much for the advice, guys! I'll try to get hydrogen peroxide tomorrow or today. Regarding the shrimp, I don't think they're RCS. Maybe amano? Regardless, are they helpful or harmful? I was thinking that maybe they could help me clean my tank?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

My experience with shrimp is that at the surface of the water they break away from whatever they're holding, and baby shrimp are VERY weak in terms of holding on to anything. I cannot see how shrimp would be hitched unless the employee purposely scooped the plant into a plastic bag from underneath, causing a live trap. Since this would be silly to do for a plant, I doubt it's a dwarf neocaridina type shrimp. Maybe seed shrimp (tiny ball shaped shelled shrimp). 

Surprise me with a pic though!! haha you can see the hitchhiked bugs, I cannot.


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## eden000 (May 23, 2013)

Tried to get some pictures.. second one shows one of the snails, too, on the right.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Why not put the shrimp in another container? Shrimp can be fun and enjoyable but the betta probably will eat them. As for snails when I got my plants I worried myself about them and probably cause my plants not to thrive with treatments. You can always get a assassin snail if they get out of hand. For the most part I have found them to be beneficial for cleaning my tank. My bettas eat the snail babies so they are helping to control them.


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## eden000 (May 23, 2013)

Hmm, good to know that I don't need to be super worried about the situation, jadablue! Maybe I'll just let things be and put the plant in. I really don't want to kill it with chemicals


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## Briz (Mar 22, 2013)

They look like Copepods to me, but its hard to tell.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

This post made me go look for snails yesterday. I can hardly find any in my tank I had plenty before my girls were introduced. If your betta doesn't turn out to find escargo tasty the assassins will definitely take care of them. Some people run out of pond snails to feed the assassins when they are done and have to rehome them or stock a special tank with pond snails to keep them.


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## eden000 (May 23, 2013)

Haha, I just really can't have snails because my tank is only 2gal. I'm gonna put the plant in now and see what happens


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

If it's a pond snail, and it probably is, you'll probably want to invest in an assassin fairly soon.  They breed like mad if you have any uneaten food in the tank. Fortunately, the assassins are easy to come by and fairly cheap.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

if it swims and moves like a shrimp it is most likely a scud. something your betta would enjoy very much as a snack 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## eden000 (May 23, 2013)

Lo and behold! I put the plant in my tank, and Romeo (my fish) crowded around it for about an hour, nipping at things I couldn't see that were hiding in the leaves. He then swam to the front of the tank and gave me a very pleased grin. (I don't personify my pets at all! Never! )

Haven't seen any snails yet, but who knows.. They may be hiding.


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

I love scuds! They're so cool! I had one come in on a plant once and I thought it was a baby shrimp, but it was a scud. So funny the way they swim. I'm pretty sure my betta ate it a few days after I first saw it, though.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

TIL scud is a thing.


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