Snail Story

[Sly_Fra]

Hummm, I thought I had washed that new plant thoughrouly. Guess I missed a snail or an egg somewhere.

It started by a few, then tens, and now 2000000 snails (this migt be exagerated, but then again...)

It is a 33 gal, well planted, PPS Pro fert, feeding minimal 5 days a week, regular PWC.

Should I try to remove-eradicate the snails, or their presence should not bother me and the population will auto-control itself with available food?

And if removal, what would be the method of choice (non-chimical of course).

Thanks

 

[fort384]

It is difficult to eradicate them. I found the best way to keep them in check were a couple of zebra loaches. I had snails everywhere in my 29g tank, and after adding a pair of zebra loaches, never saw one again... maybe 1 or 2 here or there, but they never lasted long.

 

[Sly_Fra]

Will the loach (either zebra or yoyo) attack my yamato shrimps...?

 

[fort384]

yoyos might... I never had trouble with my zebra attacking the RCS in my tank.

 

[BigJim]

How much do the snails bother you? If you don't consider them a nuisance, leave them. They won't hurt your tank.

Overfeeding is usually the source of snail population explosions. I'm guilty. Assassin snails do a decent job of population control and they won't harm the shrimp.

 

[Sly_Fra]

Snails don't bother me as long as they are on the leaves, drift wood, etc. When they are all over the front glass, they start to bother a bit.

What is an Assassin Snail???

 

[JohnPaul]

What is an Assassin Snail???

A carnivorous snail that attacks & kills other snails. They've become quite popular in the aquarium hobby in recent years as an alternative way to eradicate (or at least greatly reduce) "pest" snails.

Here's one blog post where someone talks about them, but you can find lots of info if you just do an internet search.

 

[johnarthur]

Snail Bait works well. Float a piece of lettuce or chard for a day or so, then toss it when it's full of snails. The baiting method will never get all of the snails, but it will limit their population.

 

[Sly_Fra]

Unbelievable info, thanks. Now I just need to find them in my region...!

 

[FishEggs]

What type of snail is it? the malaysian trumpet snails are actually good for your tank substrate since they burrow in it and stir it up releasing any gasses that might build up. the others will clean up left over food and do some algae control. if they are not eating the plants then they benefit the tank to some degree. i just leave them alone in my tank and they havent gone overboard.

 

[Sly_Fra]

They are some sort of ramhorn. I've got Otos and Yamato Shrimps for algae. They probably benifit the tank, but not the viewing of it!

 

[BigJim]

Ramshorns are good for the tank, but they can be a nuisance. Assassins love ramshorns.

 

[dkpate]

I vote for the assassin snails too. You can usually find them on aquabid..com. I would send you some, but I don't know about shipping to Canada.
My assassins do a GREAT job of keeping my snail population in check.

 

[Sly_Fra]

Just found some at a semi-local store, it will require a 30 minute detour on the way back home. 1.99$ each. I'll get 5-6 I guess.

Thanks folks

 

[dkpate]

That's a pretty good price actually! I paid $4 or so apiece for mine.
With a 30 gallon, I wouldn't get that many. I would go with maybe 3, since they will lay eggs and have more. Mine lay their eggs on the heater.

 

[Sly_Fra]

Do they reproduce as fast as others and become a nuisance of their own?

 

[dkpate]

No. And their eggs are super easy to see on a black Stealth heater. They don't have clutches of eggs, they lay one at a time. I have had them for probably 7-8 months, and started with five, but now have probably around 15-20.

 

[Evil Caesar]

Do the Assassin Snails need to be in a closed aquarium to keep them from crawling out?

 

[dkpate]

I have never had mine crawl out. I have actually never even seen them more than halfway up the tank walls. They know where "dinner" is, and it's down in and near the substrate.

 

[BigJim]

I don't think so. I've seen one of my assassins on a piece of driftwood halfway up in the tank. That's as high up as I've seen them since the day after I put them in the tank. The first day, one was cruising the glass.