How to rid snails?
- Thread starter mohican
- Start date
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debisbooked
Aquarium Advice Regular
I don't have personal knowledge of baby snail eating. I would like to see this video though-is it online?
debisbooked said:
I see mine occasionally, usually they're buried in the sand or up in a crevice some where digging for snails. At first I thought the same as you, be patient, trust me if they're in the tank they're eating. Around two months time and the bottom of tank looked like a graveyard for snails. Empty shells everywhere.
debisbooked
Aquarium Advice Regular
Gross, in a beautiful kind of way! Thanks for the link-it worked.
Lovin Fish
Aquarium Advice Freak
I know you probably don't have the problem anymore, but I thought I's share anyway just in case anyone else reads this post looking to rid their tank of snails.
I was getting over run by pond snails, so I just started grabbing them when I saw them, and as gross as it was at first, (I got used to it) I'd crush them between my fingers in the water and drop them. The fish would zoom up and eat them! After doing this a few times, my fish learned the snails were yummy and they picked them off the glass and plants and ate them. Just skirt tetras, serpae tetras, rummynose tetras, glowlight tetras. Then in another tank, the glass catfish really loved eating them (but only when I crushed them for them) and the Kribensis and roeline sharks also ate them. The Kuhli loach take care of the ones in the substrate.
Anyway...I love having snails now because it's free fish food!!!
CRUSHER
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Get an Oscar, they love snails!
ejaramillo01
Aquarium Advice Addict
Maybe I'm getting desperate, but so far I still see tons of snails...
100 G tank, community, with PFS as a substrate.
I added 3 assassin snails 3 weeks ago.
I added 4 YOYO Loaches 3 weeks ago,
I have being adding lettuce, or zucchini at nights, but in the morning, just a few snails are attached, and all the rest are happy campers around the sand.
I have been pulling by hand daily, an average of 20 to 45
And still, every time that the lights turn on, there they are !!!!!! Dozens of them smiling to me.....
Do I give time to the assassins and to the loaches?
100 G tank, community, with PFS as a substrate.
I added 3 assassin snails 3 weeks ago.
I added 4 YOYO Loaches 3 weeks ago,
I have being adding lettuce, or zucchini at nights, but in the morning, just a few snails are attached, and all the rest are happy campers around the sand.
I have been pulling by hand daily, an average of 20 to 45
And still, every time that the lights turn on, there they are !!!!!! Dozens of them smiling to me.....
Do I give time to the assassins and to the loaches?
danielt
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2011
- Messages
- 85
Squash the snails and feed them to the fish
Fdsh5
Aquarium Advice FINatic
danielt said:Squash the snails and feed them to the fish
My wife freaks out when I do that. My fish love it though. It becomes an escargot buffet
I'm totally with you ejaramillo01! I haven't added any assassin snails cuz I'm afraid they won't eat fast enough or eat the small snails. I'm impatient like that when it comes to an infested tank. It doesn't look as though assassins can eat the shell, so if the snail is too small, they will just pass over them. As for adding loaches, oscars, etc., no way in my tank. My Angels would freak out if not get eating or picked on themselves. So far just smashing them or pulling them out seems to be the quickest. I still need to try veggy trick. Numbers are getting smaller. Just hate mornings and seeing dozen small snails on the glass.
Lovin Fish
Aquarium Advice Freak
Squash the snails and feed them to the fish
Agreed! A free meal the fish LOVE!
ejaramillo01
Aquarium Advice Addict
Lovin Fish said:
Once you smashed, you just break their shell, does the fish can eat the broken shell? Can they get sick from eating the broken shell? Or do you try to separate the snail from the broken shell before feed them to the fish?
LyndaB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Be sure to use the tip of a spoon to crush the snails. If you have a small cut on your finger, you can get a disease from the snail shell by crushing it manually.
Assassin snails will eat tons of snails but don't forget that they also take a day or two off between snails, if their prey is large enough. They will consume the snail and then burrow under the substrate to digest it.
I started off with 7 assassins in my 16 gallon a few years ago and they have spawned. Now, I have at least 50, but I think there are more. The young stay hidden beneath the substrate for the first few months.
If you continue to have a snail infestation, you are definitely overfeeding this tank.
Assassin snails will eat tons of snails but don't forget that they also take a day or two off between snails, if their prey is large enough. They will consume the snail and then burrow under the substrate to digest it.
I started off with 7 assassins in my 16 gallon a few years ago and they have spawned. Now, I have at least 50, but I think there are more. The young stay hidden beneath the substrate for the first few months.
If you continue to have a snail infestation, you are definitely overfeeding this tank.
ejaramillo01
Aquarium Advice Addict
LyndaB said:
Thanks Lynda, I already started to reduce the amount of feeding, but now is kind of late... I will keep my fight agains these little creatures.
What? No way! I crush them with my fingers all the time!
