WillMurf
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I have a major infestation of snails! How do I get rid of them???
Snail Killers For Community Tanks
- Thread starter WillMurf
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Toirtis
God of primitive fishes
Of your tank is large enough, you may wish to consider yoyo or clown loaches....otherwise, manual removal is pretty effective, done cleverly.
By the by....welcome to the board!
By the by....welcome to the board!
gheitman
Aquarium Advice Addict
Welcome to AA WillMurf. Dwarf loaches also are good at getting a snail population in check. If you go with any of the loach species be sure and get at least three as they do better in groups.
You could also try putting a leaf of lettuce in the tank at night. The snails should gather on it by the time the lights turn on the next day.
You could also try putting a leaf of lettuce in the tank at night. The snails should gather on it by the time the lights turn on the next day.
Devilishturtles
Aquarium Advice Addict
Use the lettuce trick.
Drop a piece of lettuce in your tank at night, weighed down on the bottom by rocks, and shut the lights off. Come back in the morning and remove the piece of lettuce that will be full of snails.
This is the easiest method of manual eradication IMO, besides picking them out by hand.
Drop a piece of lettuce in your tank at night, weighed down on the bottom by rocks, and shut the lights off. Come back in the morning and remove the piece of lettuce that will be full of snails.
This is the easiest method of manual eradication IMO, besides picking them out by hand.
Devilishturtles
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hehe. Great minds think alike, gheitmen. Isn't that what they say? 
Zagz
Aquarium Advice Addict
The snails in my 15 gal will also attach themselves to an algae wafer overnight and I just scoop the whole lot out.
WillMurf
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Snail Killers
Anything apart from clown loaches? They are a little too aggresive for my tank. It is very well established, so manual removal is a more difficult an option. Pardon my Ignorance but what is a yo-yo
Anything apart from clown loaches? They are a little too aggresive for my tank. It is very well established, so manual removal is a more difficult an option. Pardon my Ignorance but what is a yo-yo
No_Floaters
Aquarium Advice Activist
A friend of mine used a small glass jar with a lettuce leaf in it. Lift out the jar and flush them away.
thornious
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I could suggest Batik loach or more commonly know as a pritned loach. They do not get real big , less then 3 inches. They like to be alone. they are a little aggressive, but nothing too bad mostly just to keep the other fish from being right on top of it. I put two golden snail in my tank today and with 20 minutes he already was after and eating the one.
Snails 0 loach 1
Snails 0 loach 1
I added three striata botias to my community tank and they drastically reduced the snail population. I would estimate that I now have 95 % less snails. I don't mind a few. It looked like a snail graveyard for the first couple weeks, empty shells everywhere. It really made me realize how many snails I did have. I don't even see the numbers of MTS that I had at one time. They couldn't get the bigger snails but those are the easy ones to pick off myself. I purchased three to lower the agression towards the other fish. They generally stay to themselves and spend most time on "hunting" missions checking all the cracks and crevices of the driftwood. I found thata dense clump of java fern attached to some driftwood in a high current area also made them very comfortable. They are fun to watch and listen to the clicking when they find a little snail. As mentioned I still have a few snails but they do a good job cleaning some of the areas the BN seem to leave alone.
Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
What kind of snails are they? If they are mts, it's hit and miss if the loaches will eat them. Manual removal is easiest with them. This is a yo-yo loach: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/F8.jpg
Lonewolfblue
Aquarium Advice Addict
Striped loaches stsy pretty small, and are great. I got 2 myself, and no more snails after a week.
ceratophyllum
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I was surprised to find that Rosy Barbs completely gobbled up my snails. They seem to eat the tiny (~2mm) ones--there are a few large (>1cm) ones left but they're not a problem.
gheitman
Aquarium Advice Addict
A YoYo loach is also called a Pakistani loach. The scientific name for the species is Botia almorhae. Here is a link with more details.
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/yoyo.xml
Another loach that is inexpensive but should get your snail population under control is the Zebra loach (aka Candy loach or Botia striata) which was mentioned by Lepomis. Here is a link to info on them.
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/zebraloach.xml
My LFS normally sells both for US$4.95 each when they have them in stock.
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/yoyo.xml
Another loach that is inexpensive but should get your snail population under control is the Zebra loach (aka Candy loach or Botia striata) which was mentioned by Lepomis. Here is a link to info on them.
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/zebraloach.xml
My LFS normally sells both for US$4.95 each when they have them in stock.
Lonewolfblue
Aquarium Advice Addict
Different places use different names. I have 2 of the Zebra Loaches, but my LFS called them Striped Loaches. But when I looked up Striped Loaches in fishprofiles.com, it's a completely different looking loach. Makes it tough sometimes.
Lonewolfblue
Aquarium Advice Addict
animal-world.com even calles them both zebra loaches and striped loaches.
