Huge snail problem

[SaltwaterDreams]

Hello everyone,

About a month or more ago I introduced a pennywort to my tank and made the mistake of not saltwater dipping it before placing it in the tank. I ended up with about 3 snails which I stupidly thought nothing of and left alone. I didn't put much thought to that fact that there were most likely snail eggs on the plant. Since that introduction I have added other live plants not making the same mistake, but can't get rid of the problem I created in the begining.

However... in the last 3 days or so I have physically removed over 60 (!) snails and there are more in the tank. I took out my 2 hornwort that the snails love and dipped those, killing about another 10, but still I have the problem.

My husband has 2 clown loaches that he is willing to give me to solve the problem, but I don't like what they do to live plants.

In my tank I have very senstivie bronze cories, so I won't use that product "had a snail" as i was told it also raises levels (amonia i think it is?) in the tank.

SO, is there ANY other way to solve my HUGE snail problem?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Menagerie]

I was unaware that clown loaches cause a problem with plants. You may want to try them for a couple of days--the plants will grow back!

 

[TankGirl]

I'll bet you could put those loaches in there just for a day or two and it would solve your problem, and the worst thing that could happen is the plants get uprooted just a bit, but they are not going to actually harm the plants, I don't think.

The other thing about snails is they need something to eat, so if you cut way back on feeding and are vigilant about not feeding more than the fish actually eat, they will starve out and no longer be a problem. Also prune any decaying leaves right away as snails will eat those as well.

 

[treedae]

I have a couple of upside down catfish that delicately removed snails I accidentally introduced via plants. You could try those and keep them as permanent inhabitants. They're small, delicate with plants, like to eat snails and are cute and fun to watch.

 

[SaltwaterDreams]

Well I was thinking about the suggestions that you guys have made; putting the loaches in for a few days at max just to help rid of the problem. My other reasons for being timid with the loaches are the fact that, in my husbands tank they are very active and have taken over some of the hiding places of his fish. In my tank I have 3 bronze corys that are extremely skiddish and in totaly I have maybe seen them out of the hidding place in my tank, two or three times in 2 months. I am worried the high activity of the loaches and the way then to just move in, might stress my cories out even more. Should I really be worried?

 

[Cafe Jeff]

Dwarf puffer!

 

[TankGirl]

Not in that tank 8O

I've kept 'em, and they are best in a species-only tank, IMO, or with tiger barbs, if you must. The guppies and white clouds would be at risk.

 

[kenor33]

Really don't think the Clown Loaches will be any issue for you or your corys. I have 5 in one of my tanks and they are probably th emost peaceful ,playful fish i have well other then my Neons.. Shoot my Pleco messes with my plants more then anyone and My mollies are meaner then any clown loach just my 2 cents worth

 

[SaltwaterDreams]

Again I am posting here out of a bit of frustration. After pulling out over 60 snails, today I took out another 30-40 and the tank is still absolutly crawling with them. This is the largest problem I have encountered. I am assuming that the snails are laying eggs and they are hatching in my undergravel filter (under it, whatever). I have the UGF and an over the top filter, and I constantly find snails inside the UGFs tubes. So, my mind set has changed and I am about to give up on the loach idea after comming to that conclusion that the eggs are actually out of the loaches reach, and the fish would be a problem to catch in my tank that is like a jungle. Anyhow...
my question now, is simply, how much, if at all, with the products out there affect my fish (especially corys). I have seen the popular "Had a snal" in all the local fish stores and some other liquid products. Do you think they are safe and effective with my type of problem?

Thanks for any replies. I am getting honestly desperate to get these snails out my tank!

 

[TankGirl]

This is another problem with the UGF - the trapped debris can't be reached, and snails will live on some of the debris so you can't remove their food source completely.

If you did use a snail-killing product it would result in many, many dead creatures in your tank and that might not be such a great thing either.

If you can remove the uplift tubes and try to get a small syphon tube under the plates and try to get gunk out of there that would help. They are multiplying, but they really need food to live on, so you need to keep uneaten fish food to an absolute minimum, even fasting the fish for a week while doing several gravel vacs and UGF vacs in the meantime.

I wish I had a better answer, but short of tearing the tank down and removing the UGF there is not going to be a simple solution.

 

[SaltwaterDreams]

~sighs~ yeah that is what i was rather afraid of. About a month ago or so I was about to rip out my UGF but ran out of time to do it so it stayed put. Rather luckly I guess in one way. Both my husband and I bought an over the back back filter at the same time and now, at the same time, they both rather crapped out. My husbans tank looks pretty bad and he is investing in another filter, while my tank still looks ery nice. But now I suffer with the snail. How very frustrating. :x

Thanks for the replies.

 

[SaltwaterDreams]

Ok well time to call the local Pet World. Thanks again.

 

[SaltwaterDreams]

Ack ~laughs~ ok .. i just called my favorite fish store, the people there always seem to know everything about everything and can talk about it for hours. I call in and say, "Hey i have a 20gal, with live plants and an UGF and i need a solution. (basically)."

Just kind of an FYI this is what I was told.
1 - The UGF has no influence on anything having to do with snails. It doesn't matter at all, nill nada.
2 - Option 1: Break down the tank and bleach it. Uh no way not on your life am i gonna break down my tank at this point.
3 - Option 2: Use liquid snail product. Not so bad but i just learned that i have to remove ALL my life plants while that stuff is being used.
4 - Option 3: Lettuce. The old fashon trick. Takes a while and is probably no better baiting them and catching them, than going in with my hans and picking them off the glass every day as i have been doing.
5 - Option 4: Loaches. They won't solve the problem.

HA! Then i got the lecture about rinsing the plants. Ugh. Yeah, I know that now. As much as i love this place, i didn't like the fact that at the end of the conversation they told me "Lucky here at Pet World we don't have snails in our live plants" I about screamed. That is where my problem came from and EVERY plant that i have purchased there had snails. Grr. Anyways....

Wish me luck.

 

[TankGirl]

Well, the UGF does influence your snail problem in that they can live under there and chow down on stuff that you can't get to, so you can't remove their food source and you can't get to them like you could if you had no UGF.

Does a UGF cause snails? -no of course not, it is just a nifty out of the way place for them to hide, and the current draws food down to them. You could try using powerheads on your uplift tubes and creating a reverse-flow UGF, so the current is going up into the tank instead of the reverse, and junk won't get stuck down there so much.

Good luck and keep us posted - this is valuable info because at some time or another, many (if not most) of us will experience a snail infestation.