snail problem

[tomoisawatergod]

Hi i need a bit of help with my tank, i origionaly started will 2 snails in there. Now i have a population of around 100+. Other then picking them out manualy, is there any way of depleating this population??

 

[Jolenebailey]

Not sure what type of tank u have but clown loaches enjoy eating snails ... Just means u won't be able to keep snails after introducing loachs

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Ughhhh why cant I get baby snails!? haha it seems that I want them I cant get any but people who dont want them get all of them! Send them all to me!! hehe Or you can always get some dwarf puffers to feed them to (plus they are suppperrr cute!)

 

[absolutangel04]

I do not suggest adding a fish to take care of snails. Clown loaches can reach a foot, are thick-bodied, have a heavy bioload and do best in groups. They are not really something you should add to take care of snails since a group of them should be in at least a 75g tank IMO.


In addition to just picking them out, you can put down a lettuce leaf at night, and by morning a whole bunch of them will have congregated on it so you can just lift it out to remove a bunch of them. You will probably have to do it a couple of times, and some eggs may survive. Snail populations tend to get bigger too if you accidently overfeed a bit, so cutting down feedings reduces the rate at which the snails multiply.

 

[tomoisawatergod]

Ok thanks so i guess there is only the manual way. Thats going to be a days work. I started off with 2 and within a very short amount of time i was over run. Snails are not cool,

 

[Redd]

Hey Tom, what kind of snails do you have, because I just brought 2 for my tank. A apple and blue snail. I thought freshwater snails don't reproduce by themselves? I don't know whether I have males or females, but named them Apple and Mango(1 reddish and 1 greenish).

 

[tomoisawatergod]

Hi, i am unsure of the type of snail. All i know is that i started with 2 from a plant i brought. Now i have many. They seem to me to be common water snails. Very unattractive.

 

[nedge85]

green spotted puffer if u have room in tank, if not 3/4 assassin snails

 

[tomoisawatergod]

Assasin snails.... do they eat the other snails?

 

[Robert123]

Yea assasin snails eat other snails

 

[tomoisawatergod]

cool i will look them up, thanks

 

[Scouser]

cool i will look them up, thanks

Once you have no pest snails left you will then have the issue of an animal with no food.

Probably would have to buy or farm pest snails as food.

It's easier to remove as many as possible by hand and reduce feeding (big key in snail outbreaks)

 

[LyndaB]

Assassin snails do very well with algae wafers and flake. They don't insist on live food, but it's very helpful to grab some snails from your lfs (usually free) every now and then to give them the live food they prefer.

 

[Scouser]

Assassin snails do very well with algae wafers and flake. They don't insist on live food, but it's very helpful to grab some snails from your lfs (usually free) every now and then to give them the live food they prefer.

Really?

I did not know they could eat wafers, with the amount of wafers I have I may get 1 or 2 to take care of the pests I've got.

Thanks!!

 

[LyndaB]

I feed my assassins live food only when I can get it and I still have lots of baby assassins, so they must be doing fine.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, I agree that assassin snails would be fine for this. But you will still likely have to remove some pest snails by hand I would think.

 

[Alyxx]

Send them to me? As for adding a green spotted puffer, BAD idea! They need lots of room and will likely kill your fish along with the snails. And you would have to get more snails later to feed it. Also it's a brackish species. But boy would my puffers love those snails.
Pick them out or add a couple assassin snails. Keeping the tank super clean can also help keep their numbers down, as many snails won't breed as much if there isn't much food for them. No algae or excess fish food means little food for the snails.

 

[tomoisawatergod]

I think im probaly going to use my hands on this one. I dont really want to introduce fish that will later need more snails to feed,

 

[aquaponicpaw]

Because the snails are somewhat useful. I would get just one assassin. that way the population is just kept in check and not eradicated. pull that off and you've created a couple links to a nice foodchain within your aquarium.

 

[akagochi]

I have a planted tank with a multiplying snail population. Are they horrible for the plants? I don't mind how they look in the tank, but if they are bad for the plants then I will also be mailing them to Brunettebaby.