Snail infestation causing havoc on planted aquarium. Any ideas?

[cichlidphilosopher]

Hi All,

I am suffering from a snail infestation and have been manually pulling out snails as I haven't had the chance to go my LFS and reducing food I am putting in the aquarium. On the daily I am pulling out approx 50 snails. These snails are causing havoc on my plants as they are eating them and they are losing their strength. Resulting in leaves floating all over the place.



What is the best way to deal with this issue? Maybe a snail trap? I tried leaving lettuce overnight but this did not work. Perhaps a zebra loach or dwarf gourami of some kind?

I do not have the luxury of an additional tank but that would be last preference.

I currently have the following fish in the aquarium:
3 Starlight plecos
2 Golden rams
18 neon tetras
10 colombian tetras
9 sterbai corydoras.

Thank you!

Regards,
Cichlid Philosopher

 

[Andy Sager]

I don't believe Dwarf Gouramis are the best snail eaters but certain loaches definitely are. If you want to the natural route, look into dwarf chain loaches, YoYo loaches and Zebra loaches. These are not fish where 1 is going to do well so you are looking at a school of at least 5-6 of either. When the fish feel more comfortable, they will be wanting to eat more.

A faster route get rid of the snails is a trap. This is what I did and recommend:
Take a clean leaf of lettuce ( iceberg or romaine) and place a string through it along the rib and place the leaf on the bottom of the tank just before lights out time. A couple hours later you will probably see the leaf full of snails. When you see a lot the snails on the leaf, use the string and slowly raise it up off the bottom and slide a net underneath the leaf to catch any that fall off. It may take a few times to get all the snails out but the more you take out each time, the less snails in there to reproduce. Eventually you will have few if any snails and with food reduction, any new snails will probably starve out so not become a problem for long. ( other foods you can use for snail bait would be zucchini or cucumber slices or large carrot sticks. )

 

[cichlidphilosopher]

I don't believe Dwarf Gouramis are the best snail eaters but certain loaches definitely are. If you want to the natural route, look into dwarf chain loaches, YoYo loaches and Zebra loaches. These are not fish where 1 is going to do well so you are looking at a school of at least 5-6 of either. When the fish feel more comfortable, they will be wanting to eat more.

A faster route get rid of the snails is a trap. This is what I did and recommend:
Take a clean leaf of lettuce ( iceberg or romaine) and place a string through it along the rib and place the leaf on the bottom of the tank just before lights out time. A couple hours later you will probably see the leaf full of snails. When you see a lot the snails on the leaf, use the string and slowly raise it up off the bottom and slide a net underneath the leaf to catch any that fall off. It may take a few times to get all the snails out but the more you take out each time, the less snails in there to reproduce. Eventually you will have few if any snails and with food reduction, any new snails will probably starve out so not become a problem for long. ( other foods you can use for snail bait would be zucchini or cucumber slices or large carrot sticks. )

Hmmm are loaches primarily bottom dwellers? Would they be able to get snails if the snails are on the sides of the glass or on structure etc?

I will give this a try! Thank you!

 

[Andy Sager]

Yes loaches are primarily a bottom level fish but that should not be a disqualifier. The ones I mentioned are schoolers and swimmers so just because a snail is not on the bottom does not mean it won't get eaten. Something else to keep in mind is that snails are not the worst things to have in a tank because they can help keep stray algae on the glass walls from getting out of hand so if fish miss ones that are on the glass, it's not the worst thing. IMO They will eventually go to the bottom where they can meet their maker.

 

[cichlidphilosopher]

I had a look and it appears only Yoyo loaches at my LFS and these get quite big at 6-7 inches. Dwarf chain loaches and zebra loaches (personal preference) are an option but currently out of stock. So not sure when these are coming in. What's the ideal number? I have been reading 3-5 of these keep them happy.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Have you considered an assassin snail?

 

[Andy Sager]

I had a look and it appears only Yoyo loaches at my LFS and these get quite big at 6-7 inches. Dwarf chain loaches and zebra loaches (personal preference) are an option but currently out of stock. So not sure when these are coming in. What's the ideal number? I have been reading 3-5 of these keep them happy.

The more the merrier when it comes to schooling fish but I would do at least 4 or 5.You may want to just try using the trap to at least get the snail numbers down until your LFS gets the other loaches in OR if the LFS will agree to take the YoYos back when they get larger, give them a try. .