Snail problem!

[Thepokerkid227]

New tank only 5 days old and into cycle, plants in for 4 days and I think they may have come with snail eggs on them. Came home today to snails in my tank 3-4 tiny ones and one bigger one. Should I worry and remove them ASAP?

 

[Brookster123]

Are there fish in? How big is the tank?

 

[Thepokerkid227]

No fish, it's a 20G long

 

[Thepokerkid227]

I want to get a clown loach to wipe them out but tank is not cycled and showing no signs of ammonia drop or nitrites yet

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

That's a pond snail,

A clown loach will get as long as your tank, longer than the width, no way one can be In there

 

[threnjen]

Just pick them out as you see them. That's what we did in our 90 and now there are not any.
If you let them live you'll eventually be overrun. Now is the time to get them, any time you see one, before they get big enough to lay their own eggs.

Re: clown loach Goldfish Loach Boy is correct. Tank too small, plus they require a school of 6+

 

[Thepokerkid227]

Just killed every one I could get, there's some super tiny ones still which I'll just kill once they get bigger

 

[Thepokerkid227]

I'm also planning on keeping only livebearer, will a dose of salt in the tank help me?

 

[Thepokerkid227]

Someone also suggested an assassin snail

 

[Old Scales]

With a new tank the Assassins would be the way to go. There are some dwarf loaches that do a really good job of wiping out snails, but they need to be in a really well established tank. ie. six months plus. I lost the battle trying to crush them out. Six assassins and two dwarf loaches wiped them completely out in about 2 months. I got the dwarf chain loaches. They only get to about 2 1/2" full grown. Great fish to watch too. OS.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Once my tank was cycled, I just taught my barbs to hunt them and now there are no more snails

 

[Thepokerkid227]

Never kept inverts, can snails be put in before end of cycle?

 

[Old Scales]

I'm not sure. I never had snails in tank before cycled. I would think they would do OK and not be as sensitive as fish. Someone that has done it, please chime in.