tiny snails

[urez2]

Recently set up a 30 gal tank for the kids. It is gone along fine until I bought a couple of plants and got a free bonus of tiny snails. Didn't think much about it until today when I noticed the numbers on the up tick, about 12 of the snails.

Am I on the verge of a problem, or well into the middle of one or what? :?

What should I be doing, if anything.

Thanks in advance.

 

[azn dreamer]

You shouldn't worry too much, unless you don't like them there. Then you should do some water changes

 

[nejsux]

I'd get rid of em. The tiny snails tend to multiply quickly, and if you let them be, they can end up a much bigger problem that you'll never be able to get rid of.

 

[urez2]

How, just scrape them off and toss them or is there a more effective way?

Thanks

 

[tkos]

Snails are great in planted tanks. they help eat debris and alage and generally won't eat healthy plants but will eat decaying plants. I have at least 2 varieties in all of my tanks.

Short of using a chemical (which you should avoid) you won't be able to get rid of them all. Huge populations generally mean that there is too much food. Cut back on feeding. Once a day is more than enough and only a tiny amount per fish. Use a gravel vacuum to pick up debris every week.

Snails still getting to you at night put a piece of lettuce or spinach on the bottom, use a rock to hold it down. By the morning it should be covered in snails which you can throw away. Do this every so often and the population will be kept under control.

 

[Fruitbat]

You don't say what kinds of fish you have in your tank but one way to get rid of snails (at least a relatively small population) is to add some loaches. Most loaches are true snail gourmets and will pull the little critters right out of their shells.

The way I usually get rid of snails is a bit less dainty. I simply crush their shells between my fingers and let my fish have the succulent body for lunch.

If you don't WANT the snails in your aquarium then you'd better get rid of them soon before you have a kazillion of them. They breed like....well....snails!!!

 

[tkos]

It is fairly easy to keep them under control just by doing good gravel vacuuming and reduceed feeding.

 

[nejsux]

Not to scare you, but I've heard of quite a few snail disasters. One i Witnessed: My friend had only a few visible stow aways that had come along with plants in his planted tank. He tried to pluck them out manually with a spoon & a fishnet, but failed. Within a few months, even with regular (and increased) water changes and gravel vacuuming, his tank was overrun, day and night, All you could see on the walls of the tank were hundreds of snails and slimy little egg pouches. The gravel in his tank was black, and you could see them squiggling through the gravel too. They slowly ate most of his plants from the roots up. He asked for my advice and i suggested maybe he was feeding too much and they were breeding so rapidly because of the excess bioload, but that didn't seem to be the case. Loaches just couldn't do the trick. He had to break down his entire tank, soak everything & scrub everything in bleach, & get new gravel, reassembling his entire tank to finally get rid of them. No lost fishies though.

I think it really depends on your tanks conditions & the breed of the snail. I've had plenty of large apple snails or trumpet snails with no breeding or problems, but the tiny hitchhiking breeds of pond snails & some smaller breeds of ramshorns such may overrun a tank. I'd suggest trying to ID the species and see how fast they breed & whether or not they are plant-eaters if you have a planted tank.

If you decide to remove them, you could try loaches, manual removal, a chemical solution (not suggested) small increase in aquarium salt added to your water changes (may or may not work - be careful with dose), a homemade snail trap (use a plastic margarine lid with a string tied to it and weight it down with a rock or some gravel & place an algae tab or some fresh veggie piece in it and when you turn off your lights at night, wait a few hours for the eating snails to accumulate on it and snag em all & chuck em - may work, but has to be repeated every night for a long time to catch all the little buggers) or commercially available "snail traps." link from google- http://www.snailsrgone.4t.com/

I googled and here are some other removal & breed Id links that may be helpful:

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/4742/snail_faq.html
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/snail2.htm