View Full Version : too many snails!
valentine
09-01-2007, 7:05 AM
i have a 70L planted f/w with 2 gouramis and 4 tetras, and also..... some very small snails.
:Angel:
the snails came ages ago on one of my plants, and they were alright for a while, but there are way too many now, so i am looking to get rid of as many of them as i can. i have done some research and i think they might be trumpet snails... they are brown, long pointy shells, and they grow to around 1cm.
so far i have just been collecting as many as i can see off the walls, gravel and plants every morning, and i have collected hundreds!! i want to get most of them, because i don't want them to keep eating my plants, i think my hairgrass died because it was always full of snails!
:swear:
anyway, are there any tips anyone can give me to get them out? i have seen chemical products at my LFS, but i am worried that these might harm my fish.:tropicalfish: i have also tried putting lettuce and cucumber in the tank overnight, but that didn't seem to work. i am sick of spending half an hour collecting snails every day, help!
:help:
I've never known MTS to eat plants. Usually they eat the dead parts of the plants. Control your feeding. Abundant food supply is the cause of population explosion.
Do not even think of using chemicals. They contain copper sulfate which is hard to remove from the tank. Even worse, failure to remove all dead snails will result in the rise of ammonia level killing all your fish. This is the worst method and should never be used at all.
the fox
09-01-2007, 11:16 AM
what about clown loches
b19fish
09-01-2007, 11:22 AM
i would get loaches they love escargot
ILOVEBETTAS
09-01-2007, 12:34 PM
Just add salt... BAM! They're floating.
Lupin
09-01-2007, 12:42 PM
i would get loaches they love escargot
None will ever fit the 70 liters.;)
Not even the clown loaches.:shakehead:
Mgamer20o0
09-01-2007, 12:47 PM
i think adding fish to try and solve a problem isnt a very good idea. get some veggies and put in the tank. they will go nuts for it then you can get a lot at once.
IceH2O
09-01-2007, 12:54 PM
Just add salt... BAM! They're floating.
Not true, I read a thread where a guy had them in his marine tank.
ILOVEBETTAS
09-01-2007, 1:31 PM
People can have marine snails... maybe you misunderstood?
I've put salt in snail tanks and they all died.... fortuneately I now know not to do it so I have live snails :)
hondamx
09-01-2007, 2:29 PM
I don't see why people don't like snails. What's wrong with hundreds of baby snails working day and night to keep your tank clean?
dorkfish
09-01-2007, 2:43 PM
Snail populations can only grow with the food source... thier indicating that your either feeding too much or not keeping up with maintenance well enough(or both)... wich is another reason why snails are great. Are you sure all the food you feed is being eaten by your fish?
And ILB... I think I've read the exact same thread as ice... It is infact a true story...
pixl8r
09-01-2007, 6:06 PM
Yep, reduce the food and the snails will dwindle. Remember, if you kill off a large number of snails, your water quality will suffer drastically as the snails decompose. MTS hide in the substrate so you could never pick the dead out.
But, reduce their food supply and they'll slowly die off and the other snails will eat the dead.
There are some tricks for trapping some snails. Take a plastic water bottle and cut the top 1/5 off with a sharp knife. Put some veggies in the bottle and take the top (without the cap) and stick the neck into the bottom. This makes a trap that snails have a hard time getting out of.
Put the bottle in the tank, turn the lights off, and wait a few hours. Then turn the lights on and take the bottle out. Repeat as needed.
valentine
09-03-2007, 3:23 AM
thanks heaps guys.. not so many snails now, so i'll spend another week or so catching, and then i'll consider it under control.
i guess i'll keep doing the veggie thing, the idea of a trap is a good one. also feeding my fish a little less, i have been hand feeding them lately, they seem to drop less food. i thought about getting a loach but when i read how big they get... it wouldn't fit! -and there is no way i'm putting chemicals in with my fish. you're right about the plant thing lupin, the rest of my plants are ok, and the hairgrass is coming back to life after i moved it to a different spot, maybe not enough light where it was..
thanks for all the help!! :)
valentine
09-03-2007, 3:27 AM
I don't see why people don't like snails. What's wrong with hundreds of baby snails working day and night to keep your tank clean?
they're fine usually, but when i can't see my fish cos there's snails on the walls... then i get annoyed. don't worry, i'll love them again soon :p: