I have noticed snails in the tank the past few days. I have live plants but they've been in the tank long before the snails started popping up! I've found 6 so far and have removed them from the tank. They are very small with spiral shells with dots on them. I've scared myself by reading about snail infestations Ect so they are sitting in s plastic container for now until I figure out what they are. I took all the plants out this morning and cleaned them as well as did a gravel clean and a 20% water change.. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? I don't not want snails I just don't want more then like 2. Thanks!
Snails? I didn't buy snails!
- Thread starter JayS123
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Nils
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hey there! Welcome to the forum!
Sounds like you have pond snails. Very common in planted tanks. There are a few types of snails, pond snails being the most common IMO. Next come Malaysian trumpet snails (MTS) and ramshorn snails. IME only pond snails hurt your plants. They like to nibble on them and reproduce. A LOT. Most people just crush them in the tank with a finger or something, the fish usually end up eating it. In my case, I have puffers that eat them. If you like them, you can leave them but there will be harm to plants, and if not you can just get rid of them. Hope this helped!
Sounds like you have pond snails. Very common in planted tanks. There are a few types of snails, pond snails being the most common IMO. Next come Malaysian trumpet snails (MTS) and ramshorn snails. IME only pond snails hurt your plants. They like to nibble on them and reproduce. A LOT. Most people just crush them in the tank with a finger or something, the fish usually end up eating it. In my case, I have puffers that eat them. If you like them, you can leave them but there will be harm to plants, and if not you can just get rid of them. Hope this helped!
You mentioned spiral shells...if they're like small ice cream cones then those are Malaysian trumpet snails. Not harmful but they will definitely reproduce!
Depending on size and stock of the tank I'd personally get a single assassin snail. They don't get too large, will take care of any pest snails that might remain in the tank, and can't reproduce without a partner.
Depending on size and stock of the tank I'd personally get a single assassin snail. They don't get too large, will take care of any pest snails that might remain in the tank, and can't reproduce without a partner.
Thanks for the reply! They aren't the trumpet snails as their shells are not nearly as long or spiral as much.. They almost look like "pond snails" as one identification page suggested. Still not sure how to get rid of them but am headed to the petstore to find out!
I'm in a similar situation. If I didn't have shrimp and small fish, I'd be getting a yoyo or clown loach for a quick clean out of bladder snails. Instead, I'm getting a few assassins and moving the snails I want to keep to another tank for a couple of months while the assassin(s) do their thing. They work and you won't spend hours picking snails out of your tank.
I just got back from the pet store and am very disappointed with the help or lack of that I got.. I was told the only way to get rid of them was to use Copper Sulfate in the tank. I have a clown plecostomus in the tank which are typically very sensitive to the Copper and will likely die. I've been doing my reading about snails and solutions and some of them say to trap them using lettuce or a piece of cucumber that has been blanched in hot water. I was given a few food stones at the pet store as well and have put one of them in the tank as well as the cucumber trap. I was told the clown loach may work but they get too large for the tank that I have (20G). They don't carry assassin snails at the pet store we go to- they also don't carry the Copper Sulfate...
Would another possible solution be to purchase a 10 gallon tank as a quarantine tank while i use the copper sulfate in the larger tank that I have or possibly remove all the gravel and boil it before putting it back in or is this going to cause me to recycle my tank?
Would another possible solution be to purchase a 10 gallon tank as a quarantine tank while i use the copper sulfate in the larger tank that I have or possibly remove all the gravel and boil it before putting it back in or is this going to cause me to recycle my tank?
That may cause a mini cycle, for all that your filter has bacteria as well. It's possible to do daily water changes until it passes. If it's an option for you, that would be a good way to rid yourself of snails. I wouldn't put copper in a tank that houses copper sensitive fish.
About 20 years ago, I wound up putting my fish in a bin with an air hose and heater and scrubbing the dickens out of everything. Didn't wind up losing anyone except those snails, but it was a lot of work for about a month keeping up on wc. That was a 30g hex with an under gravel filter. Snail slime everywhere. I felt it was worth it, though.
About 20 years ago, I wound up putting my fish in a bin with an air hose and heater and scrubbing the dickens out of everything. Didn't wind up losing anyone except those snails, but it was a lot of work for about a month keeping up on wc. That was a 30g hex with an under gravel filter. Snail slime everywhere. I felt it was worth it, though.
Thanks for all your advice! I'm going to wave it for tonight and see if any pop up tomorrow (haven't seen any since I took 6 out this morning) but what are the chances we have no more? I'll pull it all apart tomorrow and see what I find. It sucks, the pet store didn't tell me about snails.. AT all. 
KristaButler
Aquarium Advice Freak
Ugh! I just had an outbreak myself last week. I found 10 snails and tons of egg sacs. Pond snails. Anyways, I bleached everything and even after that I left my plants in qt for a week or so. I couldn't believe how many egg sacks they had already laid. I also started baiting my tank every night with a cucumber. So far no snails. I hate those little boogers. Now I know why my lotus had little holes in the leaves. Crossing my fingers. Oh I also scrapped the walls down and did a water change with gravel syphoning. Good luck my friend.
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okay okay okay! I woke up this morning (Way too early) checked the tank and I saw NO snails! Could this mean I was able to pick them all (6 of them) out before they could reproduce?? I can't find anywhere that tells you how long it takes for them to mature but maybe you'll have an idea? the cucumber was clean as well so as of right now I don't see any new signs of them!
I hate being pessimistic but without breaking down the tank and treating I wouldn't count on them being gone. I was taking out 5-10 every few days in my Endlers tank, added an assassin snail and within a week saw no pests. Moved the assassin to another tank to work on the MTS. Last night I was netting fry in the Endlers tank and yup, found a pest snail.
In your case keeping some sort of veg in the tank overnight and removing by hand should help keep the numbers down. What is the current stock in the tank and how often do you feed?
In your case keeping some sort of veg in the tank overnight and removing by hand should help keep the numbers down. What is the current stock in the tank and how often do you feed?
I just ordered the copper sulfate to start treating my plants with in a separate tank. I've also ordered a whole new set of filter inserts.. I'll be emptying my tank completely and scrubbing everything and starting over! If I boil all my ornaments and rocks will that kill any snails or snail shell? I have a clown pleco, two dalmatian mollys and a platy. We may be getting a 5 gallon tank to put the fish in while we clean the 20 gallon out completely and hopefully we can be rid of the snails for good!
Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
Be prepared to do frequent water changes for the next few weeks to keep the water quality up since you will be starting from scratch with the new filter inserts (from a beneficial bacteria standpoint).
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KristaButler
Aquarium Advice Freak
I haven't seen anything yet. It's been about 12 days. Fingers crossed. I've concurred them before. I have faith!
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I've done a saltwater rinse with my hornwort and java moss and it has worked. Still have pest snails, but only due to dumping the old aquarium into the new since I was tired and wanted to be done with the build. More info can be found here: http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatf...ping-plants-to-eliminate-snails/#.Vmp3cuhlCf3 the dip works by dehydrating the snails through osmosis, which dictates the water within the snails is not at equilibrium with the saltwater outside that you're dipping the plants into (i.e. it's unbalanced) so the water travels through the skin of the snails in an attempt to balance the saltwater out. Since you put in so much salt it dehydrates any snails exposed to the saltwater solution and you have no more snails.
Hope that helps! Just be sure you follow the time recommendation to the letter if you dip plants as some may be more sensitive to the dip and osmoregulation (osmosis regulation, which this dip manipulates) also occurs in plants, though to a lesser degree I think
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Hope that helps! Just be sure you follow the time recommendation to the letter if you dip plants as some may be more sensitive to the dip and osmoregulation (osmosis regulation, which this dip manipulates) also occurs in plants, though to a lesser degree I think
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I did a whole clean of the tank. Threw out the ornament, boiled the gravel, bleached the plants and the whole tank, cleaned the filter completely with hot hot water and changed all the water. Should this have killed the snails? I know we're going to have to recycle the tank now so I will be doing frequent water changes
