# methylene blue



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

using methylene blue(old school small bottle,not super diluted jug) in my longfinned white cloud breeder tank as precaution , since breeders like "dirty water". Is it possible the MB would kill the snails I hate so much? Just vacced tank and found lots of whitened empty snailshells(YEA!).


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

asked owner of LFS if MB would kill snails? He replied "not as good as copper". I say yea! MB is for more sensitive fish and safer for eggs.I'm happy! And as far as not as good as copper, dead is dead, my fish are fine.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Copper is not safe to use for anything IMO. Better off using what you used.


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## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

keep us posted on how that works out for you. i hate using any chemicals in my breeder tanks, so im interested how it turns out. the only time i have used MB for breeding purposes is if i had to pull eggs from over zealous egg eater. i will vouch for its benefits in a bare hatch tank. never used it in the tank with the parents though.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

If methelyne blue kills snails, it's news to me. I have used it many times for eggs, and for ich - just the lab grade version or the pharmacy type, and I have more snails than most can imagine. If it kills snails, there are going to be some blue fishtanks in Montreal!

White snail shells are usually ones dead for a while. They are the fishtank version of the cow skull in the desert in the cowbiy movies.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

There are still some(no where near as many) snails in tank.I didn't measure how much I use I turn water blue.I also removed most plant(they had a blue hue) and figured they were the source of snails to start out. I am manually killing (crushing) all others I see.I change about 15% of tank volume daily during this treatment and then add more MB.I don't want to use copper(won't ,as it is a pesticide so to speak and its affect could be detrimental to my breeding stock.Hopefully snails will be gone soon and long finned white cloud fry will be back.I'll keep up post on if I think MB really helped.What else would cause mass death of snails? I've added nothing but RO/DI and tap mix(heavy on the RO side as cloudes dig low ph anyways.This is a bare bottom 30 breeder(38x18).


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Double dose Excel for 4-5 consecutive days and it will kill snails. May take everything else with it though, although my fish survived.


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## sion342 (Jul 31, 2011)

coralbandit said:


> using methylene blue(old school small bottle,not super diluted jug) in my longfinned white cloud breeder tank as precaution , since breeders like "dirty water". Is it possible the MB would kill the snails I hate so much? Just vacced tank and found lots of whitened empty snailshells(YEA!).


Just buy some Clown Loaches. It's work for me very well also they are pretty cute and not to expensive so they could last very long about 200+ bottles of methylene easy.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Yeah, but a clown loach can live for 2 decades and get above six inches. They need huge tanks, high temperatures and lots of TLC. Once the snails are gone, you have a growing fish that deserves good treatment. Biological controls like that can backfire - red eared slider turtles eat snails more quickly than clown loaches, and my three once cute little red-ears are 28 years old and counting...

Snails like their calcium, and white shells can result from a calcium deficiency. RO is mineral free at best, and there you have it - snail reducing water.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Clowns do get big. There are 2 in a tank at a lfs here and each are about 8 inches long and the girth of them at that size is unbelievable. About like a big Pleco.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Very nice nav! RO/DI "anti snail water". I like that explanation.And I have 10 or 11 clown loaches in my 180.Oldest for me is at least 5 years and is well over 6 inches long and2 inches tall. AKA "lace plant conisuer".I will possibly soon choose to let loaches "go " soon.There great and one my favs, but they're the NY GIANTS of my tank!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Let them go?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

trade back to LFS or if anyone in the capital district of ny has interest?I always had clowns.Possibly some of mine are over8 years old.(Thats when I started getting misbar ones so I could tell them apart.Either way they are large and in charge.Not aggressive at all as I have many,many small(30 cardnals)fish,just rambuntious and big.


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