Snail infestation..Help!

[kelly28]

Hi guys,
I'm new to this forum so please bare with me.

I am currently cycling a 125L (33US gallon) tank and recently introduced some plants. The plants were soaked in tap water for a few days and rinsed thoroughly before adding to the tank (however not thoroughly enough!). I've not become infested with tiny snails which I'm firstly hoping someone can identify and tell me more about. Secondly I have noticed tiny white worm-like creatures crawling around on the glass. They are really difficult to get a photo of so I'm hoping you can see them in the photo of the snails. I also noticed what looks like white cotton on the gravel at the bottom of the tank which I thought was a separate issue but now it seems that my moms 19L (5US Gallon) betta tank is having the exact same problem (she had one of the plants I brought). She has only seen one snail and this was immediately removed but she now has an infestation of these little worm-like creatures. Her betta fish doesn't seem to be unhappy but at the same time they are not wanted!
I need some advice on how to get rid of these pests! For me my tank has no fish in so I don't have to worry to much about any harm however for my moms tank as I said she has a betta fish which we don't want to be upsetting.
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Kelly




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[kelly28]

Here is an image of the white fluffy stuff all over one of the plants in my moms tank.




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[Fishey bricks]

The snails are pond snails, which are completely harmless. They actually very good to have in the tank they will eat the mulch and some algae. they do reproduce very fast if they have a lot of food, so if you don't want a lot, don't over feed. To get rid of them, the best way is to get a puffer, loachs or some assassin snails. It is best not to use chemicals because it will kill your bacteria in your filter and tank. the white stuff looks like a fungus, for that you would want to add some anti fungal to the tank but after remove the Betta. the worms should go a way when the tank finishes cycling, but if they don't they are not harmful ether.

 

[kelly28]

Thanks for your reply.
Okay the fungal I can deal with, just wanted to check it wasn't related to the snails.
Yes ideally I don't want to use chemicals in either of the tanks.
Would you suggest putting the betta in a quarantine tank while the main tank is being treated for the fungal growth? And could I add loaches while the tank is being treated? I am thinking of getting them for the betta tank and then transferring them to my bigger tank when the outbreak is sorted in the betta tank.

Thanks in advance


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[Fishey bricks]

Yes I'd put the Betta in quarantine. I would also wait until after you treat the tank for the fungus to add the loaches. In the main tank a small group of any of the smaller loaches would be fine, you will want to add more plant tho if you get them cents they can be shy with out a lot of plant cover. For the smaller tank the loaches are to big to be kept in that tank, assassin snails would be better or you can manually remove them by putting a sizeable piece of food in the tank when you turn the lights off, in the morning it will be covered with snails which you can easily remove.

 

[kelly28]

Okay sounds good. Yes I'm hoping for a heavily planted tropical tank for the big one. I assume assassin snails will be okay living with the betta fish then? Do they prefer to be on there own or do you need a group?


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[thing fish]

snail trap...take an empty water bottle. cut off the top and then insert it back into the bottle so the mouth of it faces in. if the hole is big enough for any of your fish to enter you may want to screw on the cap and cut a hole in the cap only small enough for the snails to enter. put a piece of lettuce or zucchini or something in the bottle, maybe a rock to weigh it down. snails go in but cannot come out.

here is a picture. change the bait once a day as to not let it rot in the tank. hope that is helpful.

 

[kelly28]

snail trap...take an empty water bottle. cut off the top and then insert it back into the bottle so the mouth of it faces in. if the hole is big enough for any of your fish to enter you may want to screw on the cap and cut a hole in the cap only small enough for the snails to enter. put a piece of lettuce or zucchini or something in the bottle, maybe a rock to weigh it down. snails go in but cannot come out.



here is a picture. change the bait once a day as to not let it rot in the tank. hope that is helpful.

That's brilliant. I might consider leaving them in the large tank and doing this to every now and then to keep numbers down. Is there an ideal way to dispose of them? As I'm sure I read they can't just be thrown outside.


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[Fishey bricks]

you can kept the assassin snails in groups or by them self. in the small tank one snail will keep the pond snails in check and will slowly lower to population the more assassin the faster the ponds will eaten. they also only reproduce sexually so if you get only one you will not have a ton of assassins. They will also do fine with the Betta.

 

[kelly28]

That's excellent, thank you very much for your help!


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[thing fish]

to dispose of any snails toss them in a bag sealed tight...stick it in the freezer overnight, then into the trash...or if you have fish that will eat them you can crush them and let the fish have at it.


that trap also works for fruit flies if you stand it up rather than lay it down. cider vinegar as bait.

 

[kelly28]

Okay excellent thank you very much !


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[Jenn2464]

So where can you find assassin snails?


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[Fishfur]

There are online sources if local stores don't have them.

In future, to avoid adding snails and other critters with plants, dip them first. You can use Hydrogen Peroxide to do that and they don't even need to be rinsed afterward.. it degrades into hydrogen and oxygen only, no toxic elements. I'll have to check on the dosage, but it's easy to find H2O2 in drug stores, etc.

You can use it full strength [ the 3% type you usually find in drugstores], or cut it in half with water. Dip for five minutes or so. Rinsing isn't really necessary but if the plant shows signs of stress, rinse it.

And having checked to make sure, I find I may be wrong about the snails and H2O2.. it does kill algae and some nuisance critters but possibly not snail eggs, maybe not snails either.

But there's a product you can get called Jungle Clear that will. It is made mostly of Potassium permanganate. It will kill snails. and algae and most other pests. You use enough in the dip water to turn it a medium to dark pink. Rinse well after the dip. Dip for five minutes or so.. watch the plants.. some are more sensitive than others. It will stain most things, so don't get it on clothes or fingers.

And the last thing is, some snails are really quite useful. They keep glass clean, keep algae under control, and most of them eat fungus like you've had too. Mystery snails, come in nice colours, and lay eggs above water, so they are easy to remove if you don't want babies. They have sexes, so only females lay eggs.

Nerite snails are truly algae lovers. They work hard and their eggs cannot hatch in fresh water, so no babies. Some folks do not like the eggs they lay, which they lay on anything at all, rocks, wood, plants, glass.. but personally I don'd mind them. Many are very decorative, with pretty shells. They don't get very big either, some are no larger than a little finger nail.

Up to you of course, but not all snails are an eyesore, and they can be quite handy, for cleanup crew.

 

[vexxiang]

Assassin snails can be hard to find. You'll need to call local fish stores and when/if they get them in they sell out fast. Also try a clown loach, they eat snails but they can also reach 12" so have a plan to "retire" him.

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[Jenn2464]

Yeah I've looked at multiple local stores and never found any, so I'll probably call and ask to see if anywhere can get them. I'd never heard of the hydrogen peroxide dip before though, thanks! I'll definitely do that in the future.


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[kelly28]

This is my original post and the assassin snails worked an absolute treat! It also took me a while to track some down but eventually found some in a privately owned pet shop. They've cleared the snail infestation up no problem and I only had two in a 125L. Took about a week.


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