Community Fish to Eat Snail Eggs!

[Freshwater Noob]

Hi Guys,

I have a problem and I am trying to deal with it humanely. Recently, I noticed a small snail in my tank that I hadn't purchased. Come to find out it is a Rams' horn snail and in a week I have identified three others in the tank. I have done my research on the snails and have heard that they are quite the pests. I currently have 4 in my tank and I would like to prevent from having anymore. Is there a peaceful community fish that will eat snail eggs? I don't want a fish that will eat the snails because I have a couple of mystery snails that we love in the tank. What should I do? Try to control the population with something that will eat the eggs? Or just do the deed and remove the Ram's horns before it is too late?

[MySpace Mike]

i suggest a small loach such as a yo-yo, or something that doesnt get to big.

[wataugachicken]

you could ask your LFS if they will take them back. . .

otherwise, we would have to know about your tank size and what fish you already have before recommending what to add. then again, ramshorn eggs are weird in that they are all laid in one jelly-like mass on a suface. i don't think they're very easy to eat.

[Mgamer20o0]

no not really. i dont think snails are a pest at all.

[Mrhfield]

I think there should be a disclaimer when buying plants. I was warned by the LFS about snails on the plants. I told the i didn't care. But i think that they should offer a bleach dip before purchase. The only way to "control" them would be frequent mason jar veggie thing. You can just pick you mystery snails out of the jar when you extract the rest.

I am with MG i don't thin snails are pest either. They are great a clean up. Fun to watch. And if you only have 3 consider yourself lucky, and be glad you don't have 200.

[Yadokari]

They lay eggs underwater, so if you're not up for the constant searching for new egg clutches on your plants/deco/wall, then you should probably relocate them now before it's too late. That is, of course, if do NOT want them in your tank in the future.

If you want to keep them but control their population, then you'll have to keep an eye out for egg clutches that you can stop from hatching. Or you can also do the veggie in a jar thing and scoop them out once you've lured them in.

I wouldn't suggest getting a fish just to eat snails and their eggs. Mainly because you might not end up liking the type of fish or if they aren't doing a good enough job, then you pretty much just wasted money and tank space for other fish that you might enjoy more.

[thebullit]

getting fish just for that job is a no no. as stated above. also even the smallest fish would attack and anoy you bigger mysteries.

[KuchDaddy]

I'd have to second the "snails are not a pest" opinion.
They help clean up and are cool to watch. I don't see a downside.

[msjinkzd]

if my populations of small snails are getting more than i want, i do the old pick and squish method. The fish enjoy the treat. Also if you notice they are overpopulating, up your gravel vacs and decrease your feeding. They can only reproduce readily with a food source (be it unhealthy plants or too much fish food). I enjoy all the snails I have and don't see them as pests at all.

[MadFnMaX]

i have had this same question. i am right now running a 40 gal. and 55 gal. with a 10 gallon breeding tank for specialty colored fish.(i breed on a very small scale because i am trying to study and track the colors of my fish as i breed them, so i can re produce the same colors again on a large scale later.) both large tanks have 2 snails each. i have so far not run into the problem of them having baby's. i did though ask my friend who owns and operates an aquarium/fish store, what i could do if they did start breeding. he told me that his methed is adding an assassin snail to his tank if his population is growing to large. apparently assassins will eat the eggs of other snails and they look cool to. to put my two cents in. im with a few others on here and feel they are not pest. mine are very active and my 2yr old love to watch them move around the tank. he thinks they are all gary from sponge bob. thanks for your time. MaX

[Rebel1970]

HI Guys.
Two questions. I have a snail problem as well and the LFS said to get a small yo yo loach or some assassin snails. My question is, will the assassins become a pest problem as well? After they eat the snails, what do I feed them?
Thanks in advance

[mela]

I had been going to the local fish store and have been getting the "pest snails" free for the taking. Have been putting them into my three crawdad tanks. A couple snails have managed to elude the feeding frenzy. The ones that are still alive just keep cleaning the glass. Guess what I`m saying is just let the snails be.

[TheFishBoss97]

assassin snails would work nicely.......but not really a fish........u could get 3, they will breed too, but u can sell them and with 3 u might get like 2 babies a month which isn't much.............ramshorns are nice, and u can sell them too......

[authmal]

Assassins will breed, and will eat other things, like meatier pellets/wafers, and keep in mind that many algae wafers have fish meal as one of the first ingredients. Also, some blanched or fresh vegetables may also be found tasty. You probably don't want to go the loach route, because most are schoolers, and they may limit what other fish you can keep in the tank.