Ramshorn snails.....

[Betta-Gurl]

I started my tank out with one ramshorn snail, and counting right now at this minute i can see 43 and they are all about the size of a dime or bigger... there are jelly nests everywhere which i have been scarping off and feeding to my dads fish, they like it as a treat, what can i do to get rid of these snails when they are smaller then a dime?
Plz help
--Overpopulated with snails

[Betta-Gurl]

anyone plz help me...:(

[Oddball~]

Crush them, give them to the LFS for cash, get loaches, get a chemical snail killer... lots of alternatives!

[Kasakato]

I got rid of my snailes by removing them. Once a day I waent into my tank and crushed/removed every snail that I could find. It took a month but I am snail free. Also reduce feeding. I stoped feeding for a few days, fed a little, and did that for a while.

[Kasakato]

Crush them, give them to the LFS for cash, get loaches, get a chemical snail killer... lots of alternatives!
NO CHEMICALS :bowing:

[mickey]

There are various methods of removing them, either 'biologically', physically or chemically.

If they are suited to the set-up, the best and most natural way is to add snail-eating fish. The best candidates are usually loaches. Clown loaches are one of the most popular snail eating fish, and usually do a good job. If your tank is not large enough for these (recommend 3ft minimum), the smaller Pakistan or Zebra loach may be more suitable. Certain catfish like 'Dorids' (talking catfish) or banjo catfish will also eat snails.

Even if physical removal daily can never completely wipe them out, this is a good way of keeping the population down. "Baiting" often works - if you place a slice of cucumber or lettuce in the tank at night (weighted down so that it stays on the substrate), the snails will congregate on it and then you can just pull them out of the tank with the cucumber slice. One way to avoid the fish eating the slice is to stick it inside a clean bottle, or beneath an inverted plate.

Hope this helps.

[TKOS]

Also it is a sign that there is too much food in your tank. Reduce feedings and doa good gravel vacuum once a week.

[Oddball~]

Well, if the snails are the ONLY thing and you want to get rid of them, I don't see the problem with chems... if there are fish or delicate plants, then of course not.

[Kasakato]

The chems will stress out fish, and plants. If 100 snails die and start to rot, you will have an ammoina problem.

[Shelzbells]

I wished I HAD at least a FEW ramshorns for my goldie tank!!! They are good for brown algae. Too bad ya didnt live closer, Id take some off your hands for ya :hi:

[Betta-Gurl]

yes i wish! i have soo many i have been putting them in my dads tank because he has a banjo cat, and he eats them. But some are too big to be crushed... and i do crush my babys and do regular scrapings of the nests

[Bmeasure]

yes i wish! i have soo many i have been putting them in my dads tank because he has a banjo cat, and he eats them. But some are too big to be crushed... and i do crush my babys and do regular scrapings of the nests
how can a snail be "too big" to be crushed? Ever try a common ball-peen hammer or framing hammer? In high school (went to school in Germany) we had TONS of huge (palm sized) slugs crawling all around after a heavy rain. When we were waiting at the bus stop, we would grab several and place them in the probable tire tracks of cars that would pass by. There wasn't ever ONE that was "too big" to crush! Maybe I'm just not understanding your point?

[Betta-Gurl]

thats slugs though not snails!

[Bmeasure]

thats slugs though not snails!
So as I understand it - You REALLY ARE telling me that your snails are bullet-proof! What in the world is the difference in a snail or a slug shell? I don't care if it's a hermit crab shell, or a Conch shell for that matter! Give me a hammer and show me Mr. Indestructable! I'm betting he'll see things my way!

[Betta-Gurl]

umm slugs dont have shells....

[Bmeasure]

That may be a technical definition of a slug, but I guess we weren't aware of that when everyone called those huge "snails" "slugs" when I was in high school. Either way they had huge (literally palm sized or larger adult size) bodies with their shells. Either way, you are talking about snails, and I can smash those (whichever they really are) like eggs......literally, it's about that simple with a tool like a hammer!

When you tell me that you have got man-sized snails that you are having trouble smashing, then I will take things back to the drawing board, but until then, keep it simple!

[daveedka]

With ramshorns, getting rid of them is much easier than pond snails, they need to be pretty good size to reproduce. start by removing all of them that are too big to crush :thud: . Put them in the deep freeze, and throw them out the back door the next morning. Then continue removing every visible snail until you have no more visible snails. Since it takes Ramshorn several weeks to reach breeding size it shouldn't be difficult to erradicate them once you remove everything big enough to lay eggs. I for one just wouldn't even think of having another tank without ramshorns unless there was just no way they could survive the fish I have.
Dave

[fishman13]

well, snails for a start can breed with a single individual snail and chances were it had already mated when you got it.
also, why would you want to get rid of them? are they doing damage?
i find that they are exelent algae eaters and will strip a tank within hours.
to get rid of them in your situation removing them phisicaly, so youd probly need to use clown loaches or a snailcide.
while were on the topic, do malaysion trumpet snails damage plants?

[daveedka]

MTS's, Pond snails and Common Ramshorns are all very plant friendly. MTS's are not as fast to clean up things as the others, and do not reproduce as rapidly, but will eventually reach decent populatins in most tanks, and are a really good critter to have IMO. I keep all three types mentioned in all of my tanks except the ones where the fish eat them. MTS's have the added bonus of being a substrate burrower, which will help some in plant tanks as well. just remember that they will only burrow as deep as Oxygen allows, so don't buy into the claims that they burrow all the way to the bottom glass.
Dave