Snail infestation - need help!

[bramptonmartha]

I can't stand this! I've got a 3 month old 5 gallon tank with 7 platies and 2 bottom-feeders. This is all new to me, so help! I bought plants and now my tank is infested with about 100 snails with new ones popping up daily. My problem is that I have nothing to feed them to nor do I want to just kill them. I would like to know if I can deposit them outside - would they die? Could they survive the cold? What are my options short of flushing them? They are just as cute as the fish, really.
Thanks all!

 

[Patwa]

I can't stand this! I've got a 3 month old 5 gallon tank with 7 platies and 2 bottom-feeders. This is all new to me, so help! I bought plants and now my tank is infested with about 100 snails with new ones popping up daily. My problem is that I have nothing to feed them to nor do I want to just kill them. I would like to know if I can deposit them outside - would they die? Could they survive the cold? What are my options short of flushing them? They are just as cute as the fish, really.
Thanks all!

seems like you'll need a loach or a botia...those fish love to eat snails...

and if you're a bit daring, go for a figure eight or a south american puffer.....but be caeful if you choose this method...these fish can be aggressive at first, but usually calm down a bit (these are relatively more docile than other fw/bw puffers)

next time u buy plants, rinse them out. 99% of snails come from store bought plants

Zach.

 

[Patwa]

you're from Brampton, eh??

i live in Mississauga! any good shops you'd recommend??

Zach.

 

[mgkaelen]

i would also recommend putting in a loach! yoyo's, dojo's, and kuhli's are all relatively small and LOVE TO EAT SNAILS!!

 

[Fruitbat]

Dojos, Misgurnus sp., will outgrow your 5-gallon aquarium pretty quickly. Yo-yo loaches, Botia almorhae will also outgrow your tank...though not as quickly as the Dojo. The Kuhli Loach, Acanthophthalmus sp., is a good choice and will help rid you of snails. Don't expect a miracle, however. Even loaches can only eat so much!

Oh...yes...if you deposit them outside they will probably die. Depends on what kind of snails they are.

 

[tkos]

Ummm. It is a 5 gallon tank and is already over stocked with 9 fish. What type of bottom feeders do you have?

A simple method for getting rid of snails. Take some lettuce and weight it down with a rock or stones at night. In the morning take out the lettuce leaf. It should be covered in snails. Keep doing this. You will never get rid of all the snails altogether but this will drop their numbers right down.

Now snails explode in population because there is too much food in the tank. Try cutting back on how much you feed your fish and make sure to do a water change every week. If you don't have a gravel vacuum then stir the gravel up a bit when you do a water change and scoop out some of the excess crud.

All of the fish mentioned above are too much for a 5 gallon tank. Most bottom feeder will get way too big for a 5 gallon so it is important to figure out what you have and if possible take them out of your tank and return them to the store you got them at.

As an example I have a 5 gallon tank with 3 platies in it. 7 is probably too much but you should be fine as long as you do lots of water changes to keep the tank clean.

 

[bramptonmartha]

thanks for the advice. If you mean fish stores, the one in the Orion's Gate strip mall in Brampton off Steeles is pretty great for fish and assorted paraphanelia. Not too far from Mississauga.

 

[bramptonmartha]

They are little catfishy things at the bottom - only about an inch long; they haven't grown but boy did they clean up my whitish murky water - my tank was sparkling clean the day after I put them in. The 7 platies seem so happy in there, although I know there may be too many - the bottomfeeder guys stay down there and chase each other around and root together (always together - they even sleep together) in the gravel. They all seem quite content and happily swimming around. The problem is the snails. I don't have the heart to throw them away and I can't get another fish to eat them - no more room. I feel doomed.

 

[tkos]

Well I like to crush them against the side of the tank as well and my catfish eat them. Are they cory catfish? If so they will only get to be 2 inches long and while the tank is overcrowded they will be better than most bottom feeders. The first chance you get I would try and see if a bigger tank can be bought. Even a 10 would be great.

As for the snails, try feeding yuor fish every other day for a week or two, do frequent water change and gravel cleaning and that should slow them down a bit.
From that point on only feed once a day and just a pinch. The catfish also need their own food. They have special dietary concerns. You can buy sinking tablets at the fish store. Get those and drop one in every other day.

 

[PlatyLady]

you're from Brampton, eh??

i live in Mississauga! any good shops you'd recommend??

I live in Brampton too. Two good stores - Big Al's on Kennedy, just north of Steeles, and SuperPet - but only the one in Trinity Common (410 and Bovaird). The other SuperPets (410 & Steeles, Dundas & 403) have tanks that look kind of dingy, and I always see fish with problems in them. I also go to PJ's Pet Centre in Square One to ask questions...

I can go on and on about all the pet shops around here, especially where I got bad advice and bad service! Just ask me!

bramptonmartha, yes, sounds like too many fish for your tank, especially if you're going to add a loach or someone else. Maybe you can either return some or buy another tank (give in to MTS!) LOL .

As for your snails, don't forget to keep an eye out for snail eggs. Scoop em out ASAP.

 

[bramptonmartha]

Thanks Platylady. Great advice too from Tkos. I've been to the Trinity Common store - not bad. And I've been to the one on Steeles - that's the Orion's Gate one. Haven't been to Kennedy or Square One - don't have a car.

Do pet shops take snails back? Is that at all possible? Couldn't they contaminate a tank? I would hate to flush the snails and putting in a new fish (loach?) would just overcrowd my little 5 gallon tank. I can't afford a new tank now, so it's a problem I was hoping to solve. As I said, all the fishies look very very happy now, but this snail thing is a huge issue.

If you think of anything else, please let me know. Thanks so much for all your advice.