Pest Snails

[EGGBERT]

Hey Andy… Hope ur queued up for a pleasant weekend

I’ve been reading—on this site + misc. other sources—about snail control… I’m averse to killing full-fledged snails, but not opposed to eliminating eggs, so last night i removed all that were visible—& yeah, i’m aware that they’re determined beasties who can bury their reproductive material, let alone patch it onto plants, & setting up yet another tank is an impossibility for the foreseeable future, so i’m resigned to perpetual cleanup duty. Predatory tank mates r a possibility, but especially w/a small tank, population is a concern.

All that aside, aside from their purportedly prodigious appetites (& hermaphroditism) is it ok for me to add the hillstream to the tank? There r, at most, 4 snaillets—super teeny. There’s plenty of algae, + those wafers, & i may introduce other food sources.

Any advice on this? Tank parameters r stable.

As always, Thank you

 

[BBradbury]

Hello. Nice photo of your cat. I have seven. Anyway, if I may comment on your snail issue. Snails are the best tank cleaners. They don't however eat waste material. You can get a good idea of how lavishly you feed your fish by how many snails you have. If you feed your fish too much, which most tank keepers do, the more you leave for the snails. You can use iceberg lettuce leaves to remove the snails. Just drop a leaf or two into the tank and leave it in the tank for a day. The snails can't resist this variety of lettuce. They'll attach to the lettuce and you just toss the lettuce into the trash. You can also reduce the amount you feed. Fish don't need much more than a pinch daily. Changing out more tank water will remove the dissolving fish food too. The more water you change and the more often you do this, the healthier the tank.

B

 

[Andy Sager]

As long as the water parameters are stable, there should be no issue with adding the loach.
As for the snails, Some is good, a lot is not good, especially in smaller tanks. It means there is too much food in the tank. Using traps to keep the adult snail population in check can help. The easiest traps are things like lettuce leaves or slices of cucumber. You place these in the tank and every few hours you can check them and remove whatever snails are on them. They work best at night when most snails are actively out hunting for food. As for what to do with them, you can offer them up to your local pet store, offer them to anyone who keeps pufferfish, you can keep them by themselves in another tank or you can euthanize. Another option is get other snails ( i.e. assassin snails) that will eat the pest snails so you don't have to deal with them. These types of snails don't usually eat any algae so your loach will have plenty to eat and they don't reproduce as rapidly as pest snails can.

 

[Sesom]

I think your best option is assasin snails. Will eat the snails, doesnt eat algae, and im sure you could gift it to a friend or fish store when your done, or even sell it.

 

[EGGBERT]

Hello. Nice photo of your cat. I have seven. Anyway, if I may comment on your snail issue. Snails are the best tank cleaners. They don't however eat waste material. You can get a good idea of how lavishly you feed your fish by how many snails you have. If you feed your fish too much, which most tank keepers do, the more you leave for the snails. You can use iceberg lettuce leaves to remove the snails. Just drop a leaf or two into the tank and leave it in the tank for a day. The snails can't resist this variety of lettuce. They'll attach to the lettuce and you just toss the lettuce into the trash. You can also reduce the amount you feed. Fish don't need much more than a pinch daily. Changing out more tank water will remove the dissolving fish food too. The more water you change and the more often you do this, the healthier the tank.

B

Thanks for the input, B!

(I too had ‘seven’ feline furmily members!
Prior to 2018, i was immersed for several years in the animal advocacy/rescue community, which is how/why my ‘clowder’ grew We had a rough year—lost 3 beloved furballs within 5mos; Betsy [profile pic] is one of the recently departed)

 

[EGGBERT]

I think your best option is assasin snails. Will eat the snails, doesnt eat algae, and im sure you could gift it to a friend or fish store when your done, or even sell it.

Not a bad idea; my concern is, apparently they (the assassins) r also prolific breeders!!!
I will definitely share how i ultimately deal w/the issue. For the moment, i’m just removing egg masses when i spot them!!!

 

[EGGBERT]

As long as the water parameters are stable, there should be no issue with adding the loach.
As for the snails, Some is good, a lot is not good, especially in smaller tanks. It means there is too much food in the tank. Using traps to keep the adult snail population in check can help. The easiest traps are things like lettuce leaves or slices of cucumber. You place these in the tank and every few hours you can check them and remove whatever snails are on them. They work best at night when most snails are actively out hunting for food. As for what to do with them, you can offer them up to your local pet store, offer them to anyone who keeps pufferfish, you can keep them by themselves in another tank or you can euthanize. Another option is get other snails ( i.e. assassin snails) that will eat the pest snails so you don't have to deal with them. These types of snails don't usually eat any algae so your loach will have plenty to eat and they don't reproduce as rapidly as pest snails can.

Hey Andy, i finally did it: i transferred Pancake (the loach) & the mystery snail to the new 10gal. Keeping an eye on the prolific interlopers; for the moment it’s ‘manual labour’ following egg-mass sighting. Will share other control mechanisms when/if they’re chosen!!!

 

[Andy Sager]

Hey Andy, i finally did it: i transferred Pancake (the loach) & the mystery snail to the new 10gal. Keeping an eye on the prolific interlopers; for the moment it’s ‘manual labour’ following egg-mass sighting. Will share other control mechanisms when/if they’re chosen!!!

Just a note on the assassin snails, they are not prolific breeders from what I find and they also need males and females to breed so you can solve the whole breeding problem by just getting a single assassin and let it go to town.

 

[Sesom]

Not a bad idea; my concern is, apparently they (the assassins) r also prolific breeders!!!
I will definitely share how i ultimately deal w/the issue. For the moment, i’m just removing egg masses when i spot them!!!

they shouldnt breed to much, but it doesnt seem like there are a ton of snails. assasin snails arent hermaphrodites like a lot of other pest snails, so I would just get one and that would stop breeding anyway.

 

[EGGBERT]

Just a note on the assassin snails, they are not prolific breeders from what I find and they also need males and females to breed so you can solve the whole breeding problem by just getting a single assassin and let it go to town.

Wow—that’s encouraging Andy!!! Now i just need to find a retailer!!!!! TY for this info—I must’ve misread something!!!!!

 

[EGGBERT]

they shouldnt breed to much, but it doesnt seem like there are a ton of snails. assasin snails arent hermaphrodites like a lot of other pest snails, so I would just get one and that would stop breeding anyway.

Great advice, & Andy corroborated—i seem to have misconstrued something!!!!!