Salt and Snail questions

[cerceau]

1. What is the right, or desirable salt level in a 500 gal. pond with four koi that would not wilt an iris and arrowhead plants sitting in a pocket?

2. I see trapdoor snails advertised on e-bay as natural scavengers of a pond's algae and detritus. Are they advisable?

GB

 

[MassKoi]

Snails would be a great addition to your pond. They will keep your algea in check and eat any food on the bottom of the pond.
Constant salt level for fish should not exceed .1%. I don't know the salt tolerance for iris or arrowhead.
Some people never salt pond unless there is a problem.

 

[PHYLAL]

I am not a big advocate of adding any chemicals to my pond. However many ponders swear by it (others swear at it). PONDCARE recommends 1¼ cups per 100 U.S. gallons for ponds with plants. This should give around .1% to .15%. If you do add salt, remember, it does not evaporate, so when replacing water you do not need to add more salt. Only add more salt if you do water changes.

Trapdoor snails are fine. They are nice to have and do eat algae and some other organic materials. They are live-bearers and will not over populate the pond. However, their cleaning ability is dubious; you would need a lot of them.

 

[koiguy1969]

phylal is right.. without plants you can double that.. i do in the basement pond during the winter months.(i speak of salt)

 

[DrDave]

Snails would be a great addition to your pond. They will keep your algea in check and eat any food on the bottom of the pond.
Constant salt level for fish should not exceed .1%. I don't know the salt tolerance for iris or arrowhead.
Some people never salt pond unless there is a problem.

I agree 100%.

 

[Oldhead]

I just added some salt this weekend. I put in way under the recommended for plants and fish. actually about a 1/4 of the dose of 1 1/4 cups per 100gal. The next day i think both my trapdoor snails are dead. Everything else is fine.

 

[Smirf1405]

I had snails in my pond before.But the climate was just too cold for them

 

[koiguy1969]

my outdoor pond is consistantly at .15% the basement is double that.. i have yet to loose a fish to disease, ulcers, or parasites. .15% is only due to plant life. basement pond has no plants so...

 

[kirscp]

I had snails in my pond before.But the climate was just too cold for them

Something else must have happened. Trapdoor snails will winter in our pond just fine, and I live in Northern MN, had 24" of ice on the pond this past winter.

They do a great job of cleaning, unfortionately I have a hard time keeping them in my pond, they always end up in my settling chamber. The sad thing, my settling chamber is always cleaner than the pond.......

 

[Robyn]

Ummm...

Ever pour salt on a slug?

Snails are slugs with RVs. If you salted your pond... the snails got salted. Salt and snails do not mix.



As to the person that said it was too cold for them. They may have survived... but still been hibernating when you tossed them. They are like me in the morning... a little slower than the rest of the residents in my house to get moving! LOL

 

[koiguy1969]

my snails are fine in .15% salinity. i must have bought majic snails...twice!!! 6 in the pond 3 from last year 3 new, all are doing well!!!

 

[koiguy1969]

let me elaborate on that just a bit.. i didnt mean to be sarcastic.. alright since dayt one in the outdoor pond ive maintained around .15% salinity...when my fish go into the basement pond for the winter i pump the outdoor pond water into the basement pond. then slowly bring the salinity up to .30% then slowly bring it down before pumping the water back to the outdoor pond. this and the fact that i use the same filter media inside and out keeps my fish and snails from going thru a drastic water change. the basement pond is kept at about 60* the snails close in their shell with a trap door and go dormant(hibernate) shortly after going inside. so by the time the salinity is up they are already done till spring. the .15% is for the plants outside.. this is a easily tolerated level for the fish. i only know this is what i do and i have yet to loose a fish to disease,parasite, or ulcer..so something is working.

 

[Robyn]

I did not take it as sarcastic. I am glad to hear that the little guys are hardy. But I would still be really careful and probably very gradually add salt to a pond that has snails! LOL

I actually added quite a bit of salt to my cichlid tank to get RID of the snail infestation I got.

Believe it or not... most freshwater fish can be converted over to saltwater practically... IF it is done slowly enough and you have high O2 saturation! We had fun doing it at the store I worked in. Cichlids and tetras can be kept with coral and snowflake eels if you do it right!

 

[koiguy1969]

egg layers are the pests trap door snails are live bearers and are way more hardy.. i wouldnt even consider any snail that layed eggs..plus the sheer size of a trapdoor snail make them at least something you can see and enjoy(kind of) in a pond

 

[bsr8129]

if its .1% how much salt would you add to a 800 gal pond?