Snail outbreak/how to kill them

[bozco]

I have had the lights on my 10gal out for a few days, trying to get rid of this algae that keeps coming back. I turned the lights on today to check on everyone and there are tiny white snails everywhere!
I don't need this! This 10gal has been nothing but trouble, with algae, and illness, and now snails come out of nowhere.
How do I get rid of them? I want them all gone. I don't have the space for yo-yo loaches, which was suggested. Are there any chemicals I can use to kill them off that won't harm my fish or my cycle?
This tank is going to be the end of me.

[blitzen25bm]

theres this thing called had a snail, i think that would work but you shouldnt really be using a lot of chemicals and all the dead snails will really screw up your tank especially since its not cycled. just get a small piece of lettuce and put it in at night; the next morning the snails should be all over it and just dispose of them like that. you should get rid of most of them this way and the few that are left aren't too bad they will eat all the leftovers.

[mack606]

you could pick them out with a net or by hand. Look for snail eggs incase there are more that havn't hatched. If you use a chemical that kills them (i dont think that even exists), your still going to have to take them out of the water.

[SBA]

saw a good tip on another forum that sounds like it might work.

get a small shot glass, bury it at an angle in the substrate and put an algae wafer or similar in the glass. turn off the lights. after a few hours remove the glass - should be full of snails.

similar to the lettuce leaf method.

HTH

[OrionGirl]

Fed less and clean more. Snails populations are limited by available foods, so if there are too many, it means there's an awful lot of food available for them.

[TKOS]

I agree with Orion Girl. A few snails are not a problem but if there is an expolosion then look for the cause and not temporary solutions.

The lettuce leaf method is good though at helping get back to a managable population of snails.

[1tankneverenuff]

Throw a trio of Clown Loaches in there, all those snails will dissapear quite fast ;).

[SBA]

3 clown loaches in a 10g? :eek:

[missymoo]

Originally posted by SBA
3 clown loaches in a 10g? :eek:

I'm sure that it was meant in a temporary basis ...kinda like hiring an exterminator ...get them in ....get rid of the snails....get them out
(man i REALLY hope that it was meant as a temp thing!!:( )

[SBA]

Originally posted by missymoo
I'm sure that it was meant in a temporary basis ...kinda like hiring an exterminator ...get them in ....get rid of the snails....get them out

hey you could be onto something there, LFSs could start hiring out 'hit squads' of clown loaches, algae eaters etc :)

then again, maybe not.

[missymoo]

i think that it would be a great idea ...would also work for the parent that is annoyed with the pant tugging of their kids
"rent a fish"...for all your extermination or trial needs
:D

[TKOS]

Excpet for the inevitable ich that those clown loaches would probably bring. Yikes!

[bozco]

but you shouldnt really be using a lot of chemicals and all the dead snails will really screw up your tank especially since its not cycled

The tank is cycled, has been running for nearly two years. I just didn't want something that would kill off all the bacteria and make me have to start over.


Fed less and clean more. Snails populations are limited by available foods, so if there are too many, it means there's an awful lot of food available for them.

Ok I've only been feeding once every three days. The snail food supply is the algae, which is why I'm not feeding and why the lights were always out.



And as for the rest, I said the tank wasn't big enough for loaches. On top of that the tank is in quarenteen because of a number of unexplainable deaths in the tank. I would not dare put in borrowed fish only to return them, probably sick, to whoever was kind enough to lend them to me.

[Locust]

Honestly, your best bet for getting rid of your snails is to break down the tank. The lettuce trick is good for controlling the snail population. but it's not likely to exterminate them. Your tank is small enough that this wouldn't be too big of a job.

It might be a good idea to focus on one problem at a time right now. As unsightly as snails are (and be sure I hate 'em, but I love loaches so it works out... :) ), they'll help you in controlling your algae problem. Once you get your algae situation under control, you can move on to trying to get rid of the snails.

[1tankneverenuff]

Originally posted by missymoo


I'm sure that it was meant in a temporary basis ...kinda like hiring an exterminator ...get them in ....get rid of the snails....get them out
(man i REALLY hope that it was meant as a temp thing!!:( )

Don't **** your pants ladies, it was meant as a quick extermination solution ;).

[dethjam316]

why do so many people seem to think its a good idea to recommend clown loaches for ALL snail problems, no matter the size of the tank and no matter the conditions clown loaches require? sorry for sounding annoyed, but this has really been going around lately...i think this is the fourth such recommendation (all by different people) i've seen in the last week on AC.

:duh:

in any event, i've found that you can really reduce the population by simply picking out as many as you can, and also removing the little egg clutches wherever you see them. once you get the population down, it's easier to get on a schedule of lesser feeding and more rigid maintenance, both of which will keep the snail population limited.

[SBA]

two points:


Originally posted by 1tankneverenuff
...ladies...

:shake: :shake: :shake: :shake:

and the other, i wasn't actually suggesting getting hit squads of fish, it was - dare I say - a joke.

totally agree that the best way of controlling snails is to deprive them of food, if the food is algae then unfortunately that means getting rid of the algae.

the shot glass method, from what i have heard, is more effective than a lettuce leaf (if i leave a lettuce leaf in my snail BREEDING tank they don't go near it. well, not much).

if you were, as mentioned by others, to reduce the food in conjunction with removing as many of the current population as possible, that would be my approach.

[pinballqueen]

Originally posted by Locust
Honestly, your best bet for getting rid of your snails is to break down the tank. The lettuce trick is good for controlling the snail population. but it's not likely to exterminate them. Your tank is small enough that this wouldn't be too big of a job.


Doing this would mean starting over, which is clearly something that is unwanted in this situation, and unneccessary.

It is true, you'll likely NEVER be rid of all of your snails, but using one of the methods that have been outlined (pick them out, squish them and feed them to your fish, lettuce leaves, shot glasses, whatever) will keep them reasonably under control in a tank this size. That had-a-snail stuff doesn't work, friends and neighbors... not on snails anyhow. Does a marvelous job as a plant-killer though.

As for your algae problem.... If you starve the tank COMPLETELY of light and food for about 10 days it will go away in either case in my experience.... Feed your fishies, wave to them, cover the tank in a black cloth for 10 days and don't touch the tank, and your algae should be gone or close to it when you uncover it. Unless you have live plants, your tank doesn't NEED to be exposed to light at all, and your fish can go that long with no problems as far as feeding. Heck, they might even eat a few of the snails and some of the algae while they patiently await your return :)

[missymoo]

Originally posted by SBA

and the other, i wasn't actually suggesting getting hit squads of fish, it was - dare I say - a joke.


agreed....some folks ought to learn to lighten up ......:shake:

as tedious as it is picking visible ones and clearing the eggs is the only way to do it without using chems

[dethjam316]

my post wasn't referring to you guys, missymoo or SBA. i knew you guys were joking! but i've seen clowns recommended for three 10 or 20g tanks on here in the last week or so...and those who suggest that either (a) they'll stay small in those tanks and be healthy or (b) think its a fine idea to grow out a clown in a 10g....well, that's just not a good plan. i don't want people to see those kind of posts and think it's a good idea.

[missymoo]

<shudder> oh dear ... i am going out on a limb here ......
1) agreeing with D.J.

there aren't many ( if ANY) fish that can be truely "stunted" by keeping them in a small tank .... thinking this is the case is like having betta bowls ....STUPID!!....small tanks will not keep otherwise large fish small!!


also

2) agreeing with bozco... "hiring" hit squads from anyone would leave yourself wide open for cross-contaminating tanks:(

[bozco]

Ok I'm going to forget about the snail for now and work on the algae. I will cover the tank with a carboard box for 10 days (thanks for that idea) but is it ok to check on the tank every few days? I just got through a bad illness, and still want to check for fish deaths until I'm sure its come and gone.

[1tankneverenuff]

You people took my so-called "Clown Loach hit squad" comment way too far. Get over it and quit whining! It was a little joke, I didn't expect him to actually go out and do it, once again I say calm down and don't **** your pants LADIES...:sad

[pinballqueen]

Enough with the offtopic already?

We don't need fights or insults here :) This is a happy place where we help people. I will agree that the loach comment was out of line, and I will also agree that folks took it too far. Let's try to stay on topic for what the original poster asked, k?

You can check your tank for deaths, sure. Just don't leave it uncovered for any longer than you have to. The point is to starve the algae to death, and the only way to do that is not provide them it with light or food.

[dethjam316]

Originally posted by 1tankneverenuff
You people took my so-called "Clown Loach hit squad" comment way too far. Get over it and quit whining! It was a little joke, I didn't expect him to actually go out and do it, once again I say calm down and don't **** your pants LADIES...:sad hey, i still think your original recommendation was sincere, albeit misguided. you're the same guy who has a featherfin syndontis (and recommended it to someone else) in a 10g among other ridiculous stocking choices (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23942) in tanks way too small. you can throw petty insults all you want, but, folks, i wouldn't take advice from someone who stocks a 9" fish in a 10g (and that's possibly the least of your poor stocking choices). juveniles or not, this is not a good practice to encourage, and even if you have a place to unload the fish, it could still stunt their growth. it's even worse for those that don't have an outlet for fish that outgrow their tanks.

sorry for the rant, i just don't want people getting the wrong idea about clown loach stocking...

[1tankneverenuff]

Originally posted by dethjam316
hey, i still think your original recommendation was sincere, albeit misguided. you're the same guy who has a featherfin syndontis (and recommended it to someone else) in a 10g among other ridiculous stocking choices (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23942) in tanks way too small. you can throw petty insults all you want, but, folks, i wouldn't take advice from someone who stocks a 9" fish in a 10g (and that's possibly the least of your poor stocking choices). juveniles or not, this is not a good practice to encourage, and even if you have a place to unload the fish, it could still stunt their growth. it's even worse for those that don't have an outlet for fish that outgrow their tanks.

sorry for the rant, i just don't want people getting the wrong idea about clown loach stocking...

Well, guess what. In that post, he asked for a bottom feeder, and I gave him a suggestion. The majority of bottom feeders do get very large, but it was the question he asked. Other than Corydoras, he wouldn't have too many options. Case closed. On another point, I find it somewhat amusing how people rant on me for my suggestions when the majority of fish available in stores will outgrow most tanks under 55 gallons. There are plenty of community fish in stores that will simply outgrow the standard 10 and 20 gallon tanks. Basically, you could recommend a ton of common aggressive or community tank fish to someone, but in the end...they will outgrow it. I'm not saying ALL fish will outgrow the standard 10 and 20 gallon tanks, but c'mon, any store I walk into sells sooo many fish that will require a large tank in the end. So, get used to my recommendations, because perhaps that person will fall in love with the fish and go out and purchase a large enough tank ;).

PS - You think every fish in your LFS finds a good home and lives forever? :shake:

[pinballqueen]

Guys, back to your corners please. If you want to trash each other, do it in PM's. I don't want to see it, and neither does the person who asked for help here.

[dethjam316]

Originally posted by 1tankneverenuff
Well, guess what. In that post, he asked for a bottom feeder, and I gave him a suggestion. The majority of bottom feeders do get very large, but it was the question he asked...So, get used to my recommendations...the question asked in that other thread was, "Anyone have any ideas about a bottom feeder for the 10-gal as a replacement?" direct quotation.

sorry to keep this going, pbq, but i felt some of these comments needed to be made in public. i don't like arguing with people (outside of GCC!), but if someone doesn't point out flawed recommendations and explain why they're erroneous, what kind of fish board would this be?

[bozco]

Well, thanks guys, most of your suggestions were helpful. I crushed a bunch of snails today while cleaning the tank, and its now blacked out. I'll check on it every few days. Hopefully when the algae is gone I can get rid of the snails. Thanks again.