Ramshorns

[The Editor]

I bought some plants from my LFS a few weeks ago, unbeknownst to me they were infested!

I didn't QT the plants (didn't think I'd have to!), and now my tank is teeming with ramshorns

To make matters worse I ended up leaving a chuck of courgette in the tank for about 48 hours (would normally drop it in in the morning and pick it out in the evening), I think the snail population exploded over night!

I'd normally crush the ones that are out and about, just press them against the glass or driftwood. The guppies always seemed the clean up the gooey bits.. But after the population explosion I can't see myself doing that effectively any more!

So what can I do about these ramshorns?

Tank is 30L, stocked with 4 guppies. No room for extra fish, certainly none of the snail munching loaches..

I was thinking I could remove the guppies for a few days/weeks and introduce a dwarf puffer to try and decemate the population... Alternatively I could get a few Assassin snails...

What do you think?

 

[HalfMoon B]

Depending on your substrate, I would say assassin snails are a great idea.

 

[The Editor]

Standard gravel, from Pets at Home. Very similar to this.

They prefer sandy substrates don't they, would that be ok?

Also how many would you suggest I get?

 

[HalfMoon B]

They do, but as long as the gravel is not sharp, it should be okay.
Try this first, before trying an animal that may not appreciate your substrate.
Put a piece of lettuce in the tank overnight, and pick it out in the morning with (hopefully) all if not most of the snails in the morning.
(rinse and repeat as necessary...)

 

[The Editor]

It's pretty well rounded I suppose, I'll have a good feel of it when I get home.

I'll give that a go tonight, any variety ramshorns are particularly fond of

 

[HalfMoon B]

I just use iceberg. It works to feed ny merited and shrimp very well too, for the snails you WANT to keep.

 

[The Editor]

Well I've been baiting them with iceburg lettuce overnight for the last few days, I think they're smart to it...

When I get to the tank in the morning the lettuce has been nibbled but at most there are 3 snails on it... and about 30 sat on my driftwood laughing at me.... Gonna stop feeding them as I think they're getting their dine and dash routine pretty well perfected....

I'm gonna have a go with assassin snails, not sure how many to try though.. What would you suggest?

It's not as if I want to completely wipe out the population, I just want enough of them to keep the tank clean, but few enough that I don't really see them....

Thanks!

 

[Mogurako]

Rams horns will only go crazy population wise if there is allot of extra food in the tank. Mine self regulate them selves to a group of about 4 adults. They will die off if there are to many just give it time. Besides they don't harm anything and look pretty cool IMO

 

[The Editor]

I'm pretty sparse with my feeding of the guppies, once in the morning and it's all gone in minutes....

Maybe I'll cut it down to every other day and up my cleaning routine..

Like I said the population explosion happened when we accidentally left a lump of courgette in for about 48 hours..

 

[Mogurako]

I'm pretty sparse with my feeding of the guppies, once in the morning and it's all gone in minutes....

Maybe I'll cut it down to every other day and up my cleaning routine..

Like I said the population explosion happened when we accidentally left a lump of courgette in for about 48 hours..

Yep that would have done it, I say just leave em they will thin themselves out.

 

[jetajockey]

Try switching to pellets, it helps reduce waste. I keep ramshorns in several of my tanks for the same reasons and they don't really explode in population. Whenever a clutch hatches I might see a bunch of small ones at once but they never last long.

 

[The Editor]

Yea I'll stick with pellets for the moment..

We're away for the weekend so the gupps will go hungry and hopefully the snails will take a big hit!

Anyone ever seen guppies eat ramshorns? I've seen mine have a 'peck' at them every now and then, but never actually seen then pluck one up and eat it..