Attack of the snails

[Guyver]

I'm getting tiny little snails in my tank. Pretty sure they came in with one of the plants I just introduced to the tank. I've been looking for them and killing them when I find them for the past week. I've heard dosing the tank with copper will kill them, but it will also kill my Nerite snail and (I think) will harm the cherry and Amano shrimp that I have in there. I thought about getting an assassin snail as well, but again, I would lose my Nerite. Is there any way to nip this outbreak in the bud before it gets out of hand? Thanks.

 

[dkpate]

Try baiting them with a piece of blanched zuchinni or lettuce overnight. What kind of snails are they?

 

[mfdrookie516]

If theyre pond snails, they will multiply! Your best bet is to suck them out while doing a water change, thats what i do. I started with none, managed to get about 59 billion, and am now down to a much more manageable number of around 100,000 (ok, maybe im dramatizing a bit), but i've sucked them out big time. If you can catch them, suck out the egg sacks and you wont have as many to worry about. Dont use any snail killers or copper, you'll never be able to keep snails/inverts again

 

[TROPICALFISHAUCTION]

I would just keep looking for them and take each out as I see them. How large is the tank?

 

[Guyver]

It's a 25 tall. I killed about 4 today, 1 got away from me. I'll try the zucchini. Is it true they lay their eggs in the substrate?

 

[TROPICALFISHAUCTION]

You should be able to get them all right away.

 

[Evaunitone]

I have a hundred billion trillion snails in my tank and its only a month old lol. Though, I've never really been sure whats wrong with snails? I mean MTS stir up your substrate so their cool, and ....oh ok, I actually just took a pause to read about snails online and it seems pond snails, which often come with plants actually feed on plants and can destroy your planted tanks. Is that why we hate snails? If so, maye I need to get rid of mine as well....

 

[mfdrookie516]

pond snails only eat dead plant matter. they wont actually eat the plants. other types of snails will though

 

[dkpate]

MTS only eat the dead parts too, and old food, and poo, and they stir up the sand. I love them!

 

[Smitty]

Well.... I had MTS but I had so many of them that when the lights turned off you couldn't see through the glass! (ok, that is a bit much as well, but there were lots and lots of them). Now I have assasin snails and there is a MUCH smaller community.

 

[PaulieFish]

My solution for my snail problem was a clown loach, haven't seen one since