So I used to have a snail problem, this was 3 years ago around this time. I was going to use live plants and had a few to start. I wound up not having the money at the time to support them and get the correct lights so I gave them to a friend. However I did get some snail friends along the way while getting the plants. After they got out of control and fast I got a few loaches and they cleaned up my snail problem. Here it is 3 years later and all the sudden I have snails. I saw 2 little dots on the back of my tank last week thought nothing of it, maybe spills or something on the outside of just flake food stuck on it. Now I look at my tank tonight and I see hundreds of snails all sooo tiny all over the place. On the decor and walls of the tank. Unfortunately the loaches "disappeared" about a year ago. Not really sure what happened I realized one day I was down to 1 and then after a few months that one was missing as well. So how did the snails even come about and well what can I do about it? My main focus on my a cichlid tank right next to my tropical tank, but I still have some nice all black angelfish in my tropical tank and still take care of it with weekly 10% changes and do monthly liquid tests on the tropical tank. However I dont want the snails! Can anyone help me with this situation?
so many snails and how
- Thread starter Blinkin11
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Up the amount of water changes you do on the tank (either twice a week or maybe 25 to 30 percent a week), snails thrive in dirtier water because there is more food for them to reproduce off of. On that same thought, cut back on feeding a bit and try to make sure that there isn't any extra food in the tank.
There are also the chemicals (snail-be-gone) but those can be bad for scaleless fish and can be a hit and miss with the snails, some people have great success with them, others don't lose any snails.
There are also the chemicals (snail-be-gone) but those can be bad for scaleless fish and can be a hit and miss with the snails, some people have great success with them, others don't lose any snails.
marchmaxima
Aquarium Advice Addict
Population control is actually not too hard.
Add a slice of zucchini/lettuce/carrot/broccoli stem or other veggie. Weigh it down. They will flock to it. when it's covered in snails, just pick it up and remove it.
Another trick I saw once (which I thought was sheer genius) is to take buy a punnett of strawberries. Once you're done eating the fruit, put a few algae wafers into the container and add a rock too as a weigh. Then put the container into your tank. The snails go through the holes in the container to eat the food but the holes are small enough to keep your fish out. It's effectively a really cheap but effective snail trap.
Add a slice of zucchini/lettuce/carrot/broccoli stem or other veggie. Weigh it down. They will flock to it. when it's covered in snails, just pick it up and remove it.
Another trick I saw once (which I thought was sheer genius) is to take buy a punnett of strawberries. Once you're done eating the fruit, put a few algae wafers into the container and add a rock too as a weigh. Then put the container into your tank. The snails go through the holes in the container to eat the food but the holes are small enough to keep your fish out. It's effectively a really cheap but effective snail trap.
mgamer20o0
Aquarium Advice Addict
if you dont over feed they shouldnt be a problem. i am guessing it was MTS snail and been hiding for so long.
regulardrake
Aquarium Advice Regular
The methods that I heard work pretty good are, buy a couple of loaches, or the veggie truck. Now the strawberries container is pure genius. I will try that if I ever get a snail problem.
booginish
Aquarium Advice Activist
i had a out of conrtol infestation in my 10 g before, i put my fish in a hospital tank and then i added vinigar to the tank for a few days, and it sours all of the snails, and kills all offspring, the only draw back is you have to do alot of water changes for a week or 2, to get rid of all the vinigar, but u dont have to add alot to rid your tank.
booginish
Aquarium Advice Activist
i added small amount everyday for about a week.
WhiteDevil
Aquarium Advice Addict
I used a bottle with some zuch in it with the neck on a slight upward angle, they filled it up, well, I ended up using bleach and some sodium T**( not sure how to spell it) from our marine biologist at work to get rid of the bleach as well as all the crud stuck in the corners and in the sealant seams. This worked great, no more snails. I got em my snails from a single branch of anacharis from deathco that I gave to the betta and tetras to nibble on and do what they do with it.
If you want them completely gone, you gotta tear the whole thing down.
What kind of fish are in there?
If they arent long fins id get some clown loaches from the LFS.
If you want them completely gone, you gotta tear the whole thing down.
What kind of fish are in there?
If they arent long fins id get some clown loaches from the LFS.
WhiteDevil
Aquarium Advice Addict
save some of that water so you wont have to go thru the cycling process again.
Plan on getting new gravel and plants too, those eggs are a pain to get rid of.
Plan on getting new gravel and plants too, those eggs are a pain to get rid of.
I already brought a new 55gal drum home from work to save 75% of the water and im gettign new gravel tommorow. I was wanting to get rid of the sand anyways so this is a good time to do it. The fihs are going in my 29gal for a week or so and im going to heat the water as hot as possible for 4-5 days to try to kill off nething left in the tank. The filter is going to also go on my 29 after being cleaned.
WhiteDevil
Aquarium Advice Addict
Why are you getting rid of the sand?
Personally, I think pest snails are a must for every aquarium, they are probably the best indicators of overfeeding out there, they only reproduce in heavy numbers if there is excess food, sure they might breed little by little but they seem to sense when there is extra resources for a big baby boom and when there isn't enough. When not overfeeding, it's easy enough to pick out 4 or 5 every so often to make sure it doesn't get too out of control. I also suggest not getting loaches for your snail problem, if you get them, get them because they look cool not for a remedy to an effect of an underlying cause. Clown loaches get too big for most average fish tanks and the other botiine loaches are fairly boistorous fish.
marchmaxima
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree with Jacko... Total tank tear down should really only be a last resort. If you're not overfeeding, they won't really be a big problem. I think I yank out what's visible to me every few months. In times I overfeed, I have to yank out more often and lighten up on the feeding.
Found the thread on the DIY snail trap FWIW. Check out how many is caught in three days! Hope noone minds me posting a link to a different forum.
Aquariumlife
Found the thread on the DIY snail trap FWIW. Check out how many is caught in three days! Hope noone minds me posting a link to a different forum.
Aquariumlife
WhiteDevil
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not true, the pest snails I had were multiplying by the dozens every single day. I had snail eggs everywhere, I dont overfeed, they are underfed due to my hungry=heatlthy philosophy. I think its conditions, yes I keep mine a little dirty because its more natural and use fish to keep everythng but the water clean.
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
I don't know why people are so insistent on getting rid of snails, they clean up the tank and if you don't use a UGF they will burrow through the gravel. Is there something I'm missing about snails? I put 1 big mystery snail in my 10g fry tank to clean up the uneaten food, and must have had a couple of hitchhikers of another type on the hornwort I put in there, because now I have almost 2 dozen or those in there, they eat detached plant matter and really keep the glass clean.
So what's so bad about snails?
So what's so bad about snails?
WhiteDevil
Aquarium Advice Addict
I, along with others dont want them in an ornamental tank. I think they are good in controlled numbers however when they populate like crazy and all you see is snails instead of fish thats when its time to get rid of them.
Decorative(tropical) snails for fresh and salt are fine by me, I like em. I just dont like those little brown things all over my tank.
Id love to have live plants again but I dont want the snails again.
Decorative(tropical) snails for fresh and salt are fine by me, I like em. I just dont like those little brown things all over my tank.
Id love to have live plants again but I dont want the snails again.
Snail Control
I have several planted tanks. I soak all of my plants as soon as I bring them home. I soak them in an alum solution. You can buy alum at the grocery store where the spice section is. I add a gallon of water and 3 teaspoons of alum. Let the plants soak for 3 hours. Take the plants out and rinse them off. Kills all snails and eggs. Works like a charm. Before I learned this trick, I would throw a green puffer or figure 8 puffer in the tank. They chow on the snails.
I have several planted tanks. I soak all of my plants as soon as I bring them home. I soak them in an alum solution. You can buy alum at the grocery store where the spice section is. I add a gallon of water and 3 teaspoons of alum. Let the plants soak for 3 hours. Take the plants out and rinse them off. Kills all snails and eggs. Works like a charm. Before I learned this trick, I would throw a green puffer or figure 8 puffer in the tank. They chow on the snails.
marchmaxima
Aquarium Advice Addict
Is "alum" a spice or something else? Sorry if the quesion sounds dumb, but I've never heard of it.
