Ivy in the tank

[rosiesnail2]

Hi, I want to get some Ivy to cover the plant pot in my tank and there is loads in the front garden border. I don't know what to though because there could be pests, if I boiled it would wither. What to do? Thanks

[ness]

Personally I would stick with fake plants, some of it is very realsitic

But opinions vary. If you do go for a real plant then you could try a pot-grown one, or take a cutting high up the plant. I'm not sure about ivy though, I honestly don't don't know how safe it is.....

[rosiesnail2]

I was told that Ivy is a best option and cut some today and I'll post some pics on my Rosie's Snails thread. I ran some through my micro scope and they looked OK apart from some snail poo because that (if anywhere) is a large snail habitat in winter-summer.

[coyote]

A cutting of ivy would be okay if it was washed before rooting in water and then planting in the tank.

The downside to ivy is that it is so aggressive and invasive, it will take over the tank in no time. Snails do use it as a cover plant.

[rosiesnail2]

Yes, I have read this. So far the Ivy just won't stick on!! Mum says it will eventually grow hooks. If it gets over run I'll train it like when my dad trains his grape vine. I washed it and then looked at it under a microscope. It looks fine but if they try to eat it I'll take it out. Looking for cheap fake vines

[coyote]

I think ivy only puts out rootlets into surfaces such as wood, stucco and the like. I don't think ivy would be able to attach onto a glass or plastic tank. It would, however, spread all over the substrate and any branches in the tank.

[feelahthetigress]

Hey, I actually have ivy in my snail tank! I bought it from a gardening store. It can grow up a stick or branch, but cannot cling to glass/plastic. The ones I bought are more like a bush in appearance though. They aren't really growing upwards just outwards. The snails I have don't seem to want to eat it in any way. Maybe it doesn't taste good to them? They do like climbing it though, and it's strong enough once established to take a beating from snails who keep bending it's stems with their heaviness (I had a fern in there previously and they killed it by climbing to the tip of it's leaves and them the leaf would break in half from their weight and then it died from too many broken leaves). If you want to use ivy from your yard and don't want to introduce pests, just take a cutting (and wash it off well) and let the cutting root and grow to a bigger plant in a SEPARATE container (if the plant is too small/weak at first I guarantee you snail climbing antics will kill it). Once it's big enough, you can transplant it safely. As for getting it big enough, I've noticed that while ivy tolerate low light, they grow faster in bright light, and they like humid conditions like the inside of a cloche or terrarium. Hope that helps!

[tsrebel]

I've got Ivy in my snailariums as well. The snails don't eat it. I think the snails are very good at deciding for themselves if anything is poisenous. I've actually never had a snail die from poisoning plant or food (but I may just have been lucky).

[oscar101]

Jul 18, 2012 17:25:47 GMT tsrebel said:

I've got Ivy in my snailariums as well. The snails don't eat it. I think the snails are very good at deciding for themselves if anything is poisenous. I've actually never had a snail die from poisoning plant or food (but I may just have been lucky).

I agree. snails and slugs will come across all sorts of poisonouse vegitation in the wild as do all herbivourouse animals, but somehow they know whats safe and whats not. I think theirs also plants that are considerd as poisonouse to humans that slugs and snails are actualy imune to aswell. I have lots and lots of wild fox glove growing aroudn my garden (digitalis) also known as the deadly night shade. Human children have had their lifes taken just simply by sucking on the flowers and the plant itself is well known for its extractable poison that can be used as a pain killer or a way to kill someone depending on the dosage. the snails and slugs leave the plants alone while their growing but when the flowers drop of, Im constantly going outside on a wet day finding large numbers of slugs and snails sat their munching away at the flowers. They LOVE it. As far as I know, it dosent seem to be harming them. I come across very few empty shell in my garden, and when I do their always fully grown adults (most likely died of old age).