So I have a 10 gallon with platys and guppies. I've had a snail problem for a couple of months and I've been trying to manually pick them out but it's not working they're just multiplying. Is there any way I can get rid of them without having to empty my whole tank and boil everything? Thanks
Snail infestation
- Thread starter emrs14
- Start date
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Fishlover24
Aquarium Advice Regular
You could get a Chinese alge eaters and they should eat the babies and start to limit your infestation. They eat like crazy. So it should work. I wish you the best of luck.
Bad bad bad idea. They get big and are MEAN. Biological controls are never the best option, elbow grease is.
Pick out the snails and cut down on feeding.
Fishlover24
Aquarium Advice Regular
They are not mean when that are young. And when they do get older they MAY get territorial. And once the problem is relieved you can put the Chinese algae eater back to PetCo. If you do empty your tank you will have to recycle it which would be an issue and time consuming
Good intentions, but many times that doesn't end up happening. And no fish should ever be kept in a tank that is too small for it as an adult.
There are a couple good options. You could get 2 assissin snails if you "never" plan on putting any type of snail in the tank again. The assissins will kill and eat all the other snails.
Option 2 is very simple. Get a glass jar, then cut a slice of zucchini about 1/4" thick, microwave it for a few seconds to make it slightly soft (you don't want it to be mush and fall apart so literally a couple 2-3 seconds should work). Rubberband it to a small flat rock or something that will hold the zucchini down since it will float, then lay it in the bottom of the jar. Put the jar on the substrate where it is easy for you to take it out. Be sure to lay the jar horizontally, don't stand it up. Do this once the lights are off, and even turn them off early so you can get a good start. In a couple hours reach in and carefully stand the jar upright so the snails fall to the bottom and lift the jar out. Dispose of the snails and put the jar back in. I don't know why snails like zucchini so much but they really do. You should be able to get tons of snails out and all it's going to cost is the price of a zucchini or two. I use this method if someone asks me for MTS snails.
Option 2 is very simple. Get a glass jar, then cut a slice of zucchini about 1/4" thick, microwave it for a few seconds to make it slightly soft (you don't want it to be mush and fall apart so literally a couple 2-3 seconds should work). Rubberband it to a small flat rock or something that will hold the zucchini down since it will float, then lay it in the bottom of the jar. Put the jar on the substrate where it is easy for you to take it out. Be sure to lay the jar horizontally, don't stand it up. Do this once the lights are off, and even turn them off early so you can get a good start. In a couple hours reach in and carefully stand the jar upright so the snails fall to the bottom and lift the jar out. Dispose of the snails and put the jar back in. I don't know why snails like zucchini so much but they really do. You should be able to get tons of snails out and all it's going to cost is the price of a zucchini or two. I use this method if someone asks me for MTS snails.
Lt.
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I vote for Assassin snails. And they won't gk after BIG snails, so as long as the snails you WANT are bigger, the assassins will do away with the unwanted little snails.
I don't believe they multiply very quickly but I don't keep them. And as for good snails I am referring to nerites and malaysian trumpet snails. Although not too long ago someone posted that an assissin snail they thought was dead killed a couple mystery snail they had put in the tank.
phishfriend
Aquarium Advice Addict
assassin self regulate. They can breed in freshwater but they are known to only reproduce according to food source.
Lt.
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Yes, they produce VERY slowly, and when they run outa snails to eat, they'll forage for what they need.
phin
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Assassin snails are awesome. My planted tank was once over run with MTS. I put three assassins in and they took care of that problem. They are cool to watch hunt down snails too.
