Argh. First Algae, now snails.

[TonyW]

Hey all! Just got back from a weekend holiday.

So, if you are familiar with my previous threads, I'm currently having a "fur" algae problem. Friday afternoon I went out and bought a few more plants... some water wysteria to be precise... in the hopes of helping the plants start overpowering the algae.

Came back to discover that the algae is still going strong, and now I have SNAILS as well. ARGH!!!!

So far, my first foray into live plants is NOT going well. *sigh*

Anyway, I plan to blackout the tank this week to kill off the algae. But I've never had a snail problem before.. so what the heck do I do about those little buggers?

[stoopid]

They sell snail killer stuff, but at risk to harming other things I would assume...

I would keep the snails myself (I actually intentionally introduced snails into my tank) so long as you have a predator to keep them 'in check'. Both my cichlids eat snails, so I'm hopefully going to keep ahead of their sometimes dramatic reproductive capabilities :p.

Best thing is to strain all your gravel and clean out your filter thoroughly. Watched a friend do just that last weekend, not easy but it does work.

[Pink Pat]

Tony W,

I suggest that you do nothing to kill off the snails. They are a great benefit to the aquarium because they are scavengers and more help for the aquarium than harm.

Snail killing additives might remove the problem of the snails, but will cause you another problem when they all die off at once.

Snail eating fish are a viable solution, but once all of the snalis are gone, what will you feed them then?

In the end, snails can be controlled by feeding. If you overfeed you are making conditions favorable for an 'explosion' of snails. If you feed in the correct range for your number and type of fish, the number of snails can be controlled and they will continue to aid your aquarium.

HTH

PP

[Cearbhaill]

I've seen the odd snail in my planted aquarium- I just smish everyone I see. The fish get fresh escargot and the snail numbers stay well under control.

[NewbieForever]

I had snails, but had no intent of killing them. Oh no! They're getting rid of algae! MUST KILL!!!! But seriously, whenever I had a snail, I actually bought it. The only time I unintentionally got a snail was when I got a plant, and then it reproduced until I had 5 snails at any given time in my tank. Then they all died, I even found one in my tank hood, all dried up. Their shells are now part of my gravel.

[ArkyLady]

I was concerned about snails at first, but they are doing a bang up job eating algae so I'll keep them around for now. I've apparently been overfeeding one of my tanks since they seem to be multiplying rather quickly in there but not the others. I've been cutting back on the food a bit to see how that goes :)

[woodyblueeyes]

Hey there Arkylady!!

I saw you were in Arkansas? Wherebouts? I live in Jacksonville, work in Little Rock.

I just thought it cool to see another Arkansas person on a message board.

Woody

[mickey]

If you want to remove surplus snails, i suggest you drop a lettuce leaf attached to a piece of fishing line into your tank over night, the snails will congregate on it then it's just a matter of lifting them out in the morning.
Cheers.

[dethjam316]

i definitely don't have any snails in my tank. either because i'm such a wonderful fish keeper...or because there are 9 loaches that suck them up like a hoover. the yoyo loaches especially, if i drop a snail in there, they've sucked it out of the shell in less than 5 seconds guaranteed! don't know if this is an option for you, but it's worth noting...