How to get rid of snails!?!

[dingogirl66]

I have a 90 gallon tank with some tetras , 1 Severum juvi, 1 Red Hump Geophagus juvi. I have all of a sudden had an explosion of the pesky trumpet snails. I want to get rid of these little buggers but do not know what to do. I have tried feeding less, I also turn off the light at night and the ones that climb on the glass I get rid of but it'snot really helping. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[plecoperson]

Make sure you're not overfeeding. You can remove them by putting an algae wafer or some shrimp pellets in a small jar (one that the fish can't get into) at lights out, then take the jar out in the AM.

Repeat for a coupla days and that should decrease the population significantly-I've gotten several hundred in a night--then I offer them up to other aquarists here or sell 'em on AquaBid.

 

[dingogirl66]

What type of jar? and do you lay it down or upright?

 

[Lance M.]

You could also just throw the pellets in a pile in one area on the substrate and take a fish net to scoop them out but a container like a jar would be easier to pull out. I find you can get a lot more by just thowing in the pellets on the substrate ~30 mins before lights out and collecting the pile of snails about an hour after lights out.

 

[tropicfishman]

the best defense a snail infestation is simple...clown loach! they will destroy an infestation of snails like candy

 

[plecoperson]

But clown loaches get really large, and don't they like company?

The idear with the jar is to arrange it so the opening is too big for the piggy fish to eat all your bait. And much less messy and more efficient to take out a jar-o-snails than with a hand or net.

 

[Lance M.]

I heard that clown loaches don't eat trumpet snails. Is that true? And yea clown loaches do get big and like company.

 

[theotheragentm]

Nothing I know of eats MTS. Scooping them out and giving them away is the way I control the population.

 

[DepotFish]

Sunfish, especially pumpkinseeds, will wipe out an mts population overnight. Unfortunately. I love my mts and can't seem to get their population to explode. I overfeed and overfeed. But you can't go around adding fish to an established tank can you. I suggest the old trap and remove method as well.

 

[rkilling1]

I know I am not answering your question, but...

I happen to really like my MTS's. The population is maintained by the amount of food available to them. If there wasn't food for them to eat, they wouldn't multiply. Once the food is gone, they die off.

The population in my tanks change all the time. It is also great to have them move around the substrate. It keeps the substrate from developing toxic gases. I never see mine until the lights are off.

I would rather have something eating the excess food in my tanks, then to just let it sit there and decay.

 

[AngelaOlsenFan]

Like plecoperson said, make sure you're not overfeeding!
I had a huge snail problem in one of my tanks. My mom was looking after it, and when I saw how much she was feeding the fish, and told her to cut it by half and even go a day here and there without feeding, the snails almost completely disappeared with a week or two!

 

[Lance M.]

Like rkilling1 says they are great to have. I don't throw mine out. I just let them die on their own or if I suck a couple up when doing a pwc I throw them out. They are great to have . I have hundreds in my 54 gallon planted but I usually don't see them except for about an hour before lights off and then all night they are everwhere eating detritus.

In the spring I throw some outside in my ponds and then they die off in the fall cause of the temp. They are great to have.