Infestation!!! :(

[latazyo]

I bought some anacharis at my LFS and it had those small disgusting snails in it and whenever I see them I take them out, but it appears that they will not stop appearing...

question: are they really that bad? do they clean the tank for me and eat algae?

I just think they're an eyesore, but if they are beneficial I'll keep them

so just tell me if they're beneficial or not!

sorry I can not ID the snails, but I'd suppose that'll be helpful, I'll try to find an online pic of my problem

[Bolo Frumblefoot]

for the most part I just consider them an eyesore and somewhat of an epedemic. The only bad I've seen them do is look ugly and add to bioload in large numbers (someone said they suck slimecoat, but I haven't seen that myself so I think they might be crazy). If ya want em gone about any loach (botias) will rip into your snail population as will most puffers and some cichlids. Hope ya get it under control, some people never can get rid of em.

[JamisonBWolsh]

I wouldnt go with puffers. They LOVE snails, but they need some salt and they nip other fish. I would TRY a YOYO loach. Very nice fish that only grows a few inches and is one of the best loaches for snail eating. I heard clown loachs are good too..but they get HUGE! If you get the Yoyo's, you need at least 3.

[TnCgal]

latazyo,

Bolo is correct in his statement that Loaches feed voraceously on snails and will put quite a dent in the population but adding more fish may not be a viable solution for you.

I have heard of many people that will put a piece of lettuce in their tanks and when the snail population accumulates on it then they remove it along with the snails.

Snails "can" be a real problem and if they overpopulate the tank then they can get caught in the fitration system and clogging it up so keep an eye out that it doesn't get to that point.

EDIT :
Oops, sorry Jamison... we posted at the same time... Yoyo loaches are a very good suggestion. They do stay small and can make an entire diet out of snails. Good call. :)

[JamisonBWolsh]

I was looking at the size of your tanks...which one would have the problems? many of your tanks would be too small for more fish.... adding lettuce, like RNCgal says, will work, but wont clear your snail population (eggs, new hatchlings..what not). you can go the severe route which would mean taking the fish out and STERILIZING EVERYTHING and then putting the fish back. There is medication for snail removal, but this usually is not the best action. I never tried it and Im sure it cant be good for the fish?

so, which tank?

Oh. forgot..there is a snail out there that will eat your other snails? I dont know the name..but I am sure someone does

[Anton Wernher]

Not all puffers require salt... however they still don't make good tank mates:). I thought loaches loved to snack on plants as well?? or this could be a case where my memory fails me.

[Anton Wernher]

Actually I now recall clown loaches in a nicely planted tank.. I need to take my memory in for a oil change(long day)

[JamisonBWolsh]

Never heard of Yoyo's eating plants..anything is possible though.
Yea..I know not all puffers requires salt. However, they would not be a good addition just to get rid of snails..

[O-man21]

I've got all kinds of loaches, and none of hem eat my plants

[latazyo]

sorry to forget the vital clue

this is in my 20g with the neons, so I am pretty sure the puffer will nip the hell out of my neons

I have 4 (probably adding my dojo to it, so 5) loaches in there already, so I dont' know how well adding 3 more would affect the tank...although I know loaches are happy in communities

do you think my Kuhli's dine on the snails (I never see them feed as they're nocturnal)?

come to think of it, I saw one of my golden Kuhlis yesterday and it look HUGE, as in when a snake eats a rat, do you think he feasted on one of the bigger snails?

anyways...when I bought plants for my 10g I was sure to throw away all of the material the pet store gave me and inspected (as best I could ) for snails and I don't have a problem there

my only problem is in the 20g neon/loach tank

thanks for the suggestions, a piece of lettuce will go in the tank within the hour

[O-man21]

that's weird, I would think the loaches would devour the snails

[RTR]

Kuhlis are not efficient snail predators.

Clown loaches do routinely damage plants while nipping snails off the leaves, especially broad-leaf plants such as swords. If you have not seen this yet, your clowns are young. I have become expert ay differentiating clown bites from puffer bites - Clown bites are triangular to Y-shaped, puffer bites half-moon to round. :rolleyes:

For snails, if you are infested, you are overfeeding. Reduce the food supply, the excess numbers will fade away.

http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/snail.html

HTH

[O-man21]

I have 2 6 inch clowns that won't eat my plants at all actually they hide in them

[latazyo]

I don't have clowns in there anyways...I don't think I'm gonna get any clowns, but I will take the advice and pick up a few yoyos pretty soon, and yes, overfeeding is a possibility, I try to feed 12 fish enough and in the frenzy, a lot falls to the bottom....the snails also hav4e plenty of algae to eat (not sure if they eat it or not, but I thoguht that might be a cause too)

[O-man21]

I htink it might be the exsess algae