View Full Version : Anything I can do about these snails...?
NJ Devils Fan
05-26-2003, 10:59 AM
besides getting clown loaches and taking them out by hand? They are just getting rediculas. I can't even put zucchini in the tank without them all over it in a matter of minutes.
SwedishFish
05-26-2003, 11:02 AM
I heard skunk botia's kill them i havent seen any snails in my aquarium lately since my big one was eaten by some fish in my aquarium. So u can try a Skunk Botia they dont get big and they like snails :cool:
ChilDawg
05-26-2003, 11:07 AM
Which tank is this, NJDF?
beviking
05-26-2003, 4:51 PM
I tried introducing snails into my tank. a couple pond snails the size of a pea and a ramshorn (I think) the size of a dime. My zebra loach wiped out the two smaller ones withing 5 minutes. The larger one lasted at least a day. I can't find it so I'm not sure what happened.
Seems if you baited them with zucchini, you could remove them "...in a matter of minutes".
Tim Bo
05-26-2003, 5:43 PM
Yes, although I do like snails and consider them an important aid in helping me 'ballance' my tank, that is what I have to do some times as well. An irresitable pice of a shrimp pellet and a slice of cucumber allows me to scoop up a bunch of them the next day.
ChilDawg
05-26-2003, 5:47 PM
You'll probably never be able to get rid of all of them, if they are MTS, but a small loach or baiting, as mentioned above, would be a good bet...I'd like to know the tank specs before I suggest the small loach, though.
NJ Devils Fan
05-26-2003, 8:47 PM
I think I will do that put in a big piece of zucchini and take it out with a bunch of snails. I'll just do that a few times until the population isn't crazy.
TrashmanTodd
05-26-2003, 10:16 PM
I had a complete breakout in my tank. I took a couple of dwarf puffers from another tank, and I haven't seen a snail since:D
Todd
bizzy928
05-27-2003, 1:16 AM
I got a crawfish. One day later he removed the whole population of about 20 snails. They are gone! No where to be seen!
125gJoe
05-27-2003, 1:21 AM
I like the Skunk Botia's idea as well as the crayfish...
There are chemicals just to be rid of snails, but I don't like that option.
Tim Bo
05-27-2003, 1:47 PM
It helps to put the zucchini slice on a small plate - this way you can just remove the plate/bowl.
ChilDawg
05-27-2003, 1:48 PM
Good call, Tim Bo! I never would've thought of that!
Toro Driver
05-27-2003, 3:59 PM
We have three red claw crabs in our fifty five gallon. We get snails eggs on occasion with new plants. The snails never make it a day. The red claws crunch them into nothing as fast as they can hatch. If you have a large snail like my rams horn or an apple snail they're two big to be bothered by the crabs. A crab will use your large snails as an elevator to the top of the tank if given the chance though.
bizzy928
05-28-2003, 3:32 PM
Originally posted by Toro Driver
We have three red claw crabs in our fifty five gallon. We get snails eggs on occasion with new plants. The snails never make it a day. The red claws crunch them into nothing as fast as they can hatch. If you have a large snail like my rams horn or an apple snail they're two big to be bothered by the crabs. A crab will use your large snails as an elevator to the top of the tank if given the chance though.
Do you give your red claw crabs air space to breath?
snails cannot survive in acidic waters - if you can slowly lower your pH to about 6.5 (assuming your fish can handel this, I don't know what you have) they should soon die off - then you can slowly raise the pH again
Originally posted by bizzy928
Do you give your red claw crabs air space to breath?
In my experiance you don't need to as they are great climbers and will find a way to the surface even if they climb a filter or a heater wire
bizzy928
05-28-2003, 3:54 PM
Originally posted by Innes
In my experiance you don't need to as they are great climbers and will find a way to the surface even if they climb a filter or a heater wire
As long as they can get out :)
Some aren't good climbers and you need to assist them every so often.
ChilDawg
05-28-2003, 3:57 PM
Originally posted by Innes
snails cannot survive in acidic waters - if you can slowly lower your pH to about 6.5 (assuming your fish can handel this, I don't know what you have) they should soon die off - then you can slowly raise the pH again
I was all ready to disprove this, because it just sounded ludicrous, but I can't...except in one case. MTS may survive bouts of acidic water...the die-off which may or may not happen is related to the inability to properly grow and maintain their shells in acidic water (from what I've found) so it seems as though you might need to do this for a longer period of time...that could be stressful to any fish to have the level of acidity changed threefold or more for an extended period of time and then reversed.
well I'm not 100% sure about it.
I think my piranhas and cichlids eat the snails I get:rolleyes:
Tim Bo
05-29-2003, 10:32 AM
I wouldn't recommend fiddling with the pH at first...try the above mentioned possibilities first. Too many snails is also partly a sign that there is 'enough' food for them to live off; increased snail populations represent an imbalance in the tank, so you also might want to try slightly decreasing what you feed the other tankmates. Excess flakes etc. will be munched on by the snails.
mogurnda
05-29-2003, 10:52 AM
The pH method sounds way too risky. Clown loaches have always worked for me. They leave a few, but it can never get to outbreak proportions.
I also agree that reducing the food supply will help. Reduce feeding and vacuum a bit.
From my experience in person and on the boards, ~2/3 of the snail excess problems are directly overfeeding (or inappropriate food used- gives the same net result) , ~1/3 are combo of the right algae and insufficent water changes to get rid of excess nutrients.