Damselfly nymph and a LOT of snails.....

[Princess1982]

Hi Everyone

I am afraid to say that I made the mistake of not washing some new plants before adding them to my aquarium and now I have about 60 baby snails (3 different types too!) taking over my tank. I have never seen anything like it! I had first tried picking them out when I saw them but they are fast taking over my tank.

This morning, whilst wondering what to do about the snails, I spotted this ugly little bug that looks like a cross between a scorpion and a shrimp. After a bit of Googling it looks like a damselfly nymph. I have now been routing around in the gravel trying to find it but it seems to be in hiding.

So my question is, is there anything that will eat both snails and this ugly little nymph? I will be keeping the Malaysian trumpet snails and they are beneficial to the aquarium but the rest have to go! And I am concerned about my small fish with the damselfly nymph in the tank. Please help!!!

Thanks

 

[Wiggles24]

Although I know 60 is a lot....all snails are beneficial to your tank....

 

[jlk]

How small are the 'small' fish? I would not be overly concerned with the nymph. I have had them quite a few times due to moving pond plants inside. It will be difficult to remove snails you do want vs snails you don't want. The only thing you really can do is remove the ones you do not want when you see them. I have a variety of snails and really do not notice them unless I am cleaning the filters. As long as there isn't excess food littering the bottom of the tank, their populations should not go crazy.

 

[Princess1982]

This is my new tropical tank- smallest fish are neon tetra. I guess I could leave the snails in as they are doing a great job of keeping the tank clean. I just thought too many would cause issues.

 

[Thumper828]

This is my new tropical tank- smallest fish are neon tetra. I guess I could leave the snails in as they are doing a great job of keeping the tank clean. I just thought too many would cause issues.

Lay a piece of lettuce in bottom of tank. You will have a lot of snails collect on it over night. In the morning remove lettuce and a lot of the snails.