a twist on the usual snail question

NewObsession

NewObsession

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Aug 27, 2007
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My 33 gal planted tank is being taken over by snails. I know there are countless threads on here regarding how why and what to do about them. It is somewhat of a mystery to me why they are so plentiful since I don't overfeed. However I did read this morning that they also feed on dead plant material and since I went through a few weeks of less than stellar maintenance perhaps that is what's fueling them. Anyways I digress...
Although I am not a fan of "temporary fish" I did break down and buy a couple of clown loaches for the tank to deal with the problem. I wanted to stay away from teh anti-snail chemicals since I read it would also wipe out the shrimp in the tank. Everything I had read had people talking of how the loach quickly obliterated the snail population, yet after a number of weeks I don't even notice a dent in it. Any ideas on either why the continuing increase despite the loach.. or another plan of action?
 
Weight down a piece a lettuce over night and in the morning pull it out and throw it away. Keep doing that until the snail population drops. Thats how I get rid of mine. I don't overfeed either and got some hitchiker snails and they seem to spread like crazy. If you use the lettuce trick wash it good to get the pesticides off.
 
I've heard of that as well, but I was more wondering if anyone would know why the clown loach doesn't appear to be eating the snails even though everything I've heard says they feast on them (they are only tiny snails. you can see one in the attached pic of the shrimp). I can try the lettuce approach. I've heard of doing the same with zucchini or potatoe. When I had slices of zucchini on a clip for the ottos the snails didn't touch it, but granted that was hanging from the side of the tank, I can try it with a piece laying on the bottom.

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A piece of shrimp in a small bottle sunk overnight works also. Maybe your snails would prefer some meat.
 
the clowns are probably full from eating your shrimp. seriously though, they may not be that hungry if they are little and they also munch on plants.
 
The best bait for pond snails is snail jello. There is a sticky at the top of the invert page. A nice trap is to use the little jar from the baby food. Fill the bottom (maybe about 1/4 inch) with the snail jello and let it set in the fridge. Put the jar on its side in the tank overnight. In the morning the jar will be filled with the pond snails. Just make sure you don't have any fish that can get stuck in the jar, as they like the snail jello as well.
 
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