Hi,
Recently I was given some plants for my 20 gal. and it appears that they came with snails, little ramshorns that are colored like tortoiseshell with alternating stripes and spots. They're breeding like wildfire (probably producing about 90 snails every two weeks) and from what I've read here, it's because of a change in my tank ecosystem. Generally I like snails, but these guys are ravaging my plants. Ultimately I'd like to strike a balance where the number of snails is kept very low (since I do like that they eat algae, despite destroying the plants.) It sounds like I need to reduce the amount of food that's available to the snails (maybe even more than buying something to eat the snails, but tell me what you think...
)
I've kept fish for well over 25 years, but I went planted for the first time this fall/winter (I planted bulbs.). I think this was the change that eventually led to the snail over-population. My tank is a mixed tank, mostly dominated by the personalities of my platys. I bought all female platys hoping to keep the resident population down & before live plants, tank life was going swimmingly. Planting the tank led to this series of events:
1) The alpha platy, Daphne, must have felt something to the tune of, "Finally, a suitable place to give frybirth and use that sperm I've been storing!" She had her first brood at the beginning of December.
2) In response to not wanting to suck the tiny fry up in the gravel vac, I gave up my bi-monthly gravel vacs. Instead, I started gently bailing water from the top of my tank (about a 3-5 gal. change) once a month (at about week 2 after frybirth,) and then I do a regular gravel vac the week before she's due to have her next brood.
3) Additionally, I tend to feed Daphne a little more around weeks 3.5-4 since she tends to get moodier and hungrier before frybirth. (Also, I don't put her in a breeding net when she gives birth--less stress on her and less fry survive since her tankmates gobble most of them up, so this reduces overpopulation.)
4) Mid-December a friend gave me some plants that I didn't soak in alum to prevent stowaway snails. This is when the snails were introduced. I tried picking out one snail before I went on Christmas vacation, but it fell & I lost it in the gravel. By Dec. 29th I picked out 15 snails and by Jan 2nd I picked out close to 70 snails (and I still see snails in there.)
5) The snails are likely breeding like mad because my gravel isn't as clean as I'd like.
I have damaged hands and they're killing me from trying to keep up with the snails. Would I be better off getting some ghost shrimp to clean up the excess food, or would I do better to buy bettas or botias to eat the snails and keep them under control?
Thanks!
My tank specs are below:
Tankmates:
3 adult platys (probably 1 yr old)
1 adult neon
1 (probably 1 yr old) oto
1 one-month old platy fry
2 one-week old platy fry
Tank Conditions:
20 gallon long
AquaClear 150 HOB filter (mechanical/chem/bio)
Neptune 200 heater (set to 75 deg.)
Fine gravel substrate (about 1 1/2" deep)
Resin cave (aprox. 8" long x 5" wide)
Heavily planted (1 Ambulia, 2 Hygrophilia polysperma, 2 Rotalla indica, 3 lg. clumps Java Moss, 5 Aponogentons, 6 Lilys, 4 Echinodorus bolivianus and Duckweed)
Nitrate/Nitrite: 0-.25
Ph: 8
Recently I was given some plants for my 20 gal. and it appears that they came with snails, little ramshorns that are colored like tortoiseshell with alternating stripes and spots. They're breeding like wildfire (probably producing about 90 snails every two weeks) and from what I've read here, it's because of a change in my tank ecosystem. Generally I like snails, but these guys are ravaging my plants. Ultimately I'd like to strike a balance where the number of snails is kept very low (since I do like that they eat algae, despite destroying the plants.) It sounds like I need to reduce the amount of food that's available to the snails (maybe even more than buying something to eat the snails, but tell me what you think...
)I've kept fish for well over 25 years, but I went planted for the first time this fall/winter (I planted bulbs.). I think this was the change that eventually led to the snail over-population. My tank is a mixed tank, mostly dominated by the personalities of my platys. I bought all female platys hoping to keep the resident population down & before live plants, tank life was going swimmingly. Planting the tank led to this series of events:
1) The alpha platy, Daphne, must have felt something to the tune of, "Finally, a suitable place to give frybirth and use that sperm I've been storing!" She had her first brood at the beginning of December.
2) In response to not wanting to suck the tiny fry up in the gravel vac, I gave up my bi-monthly gravel vacs. Instead, I started gently bailing water from the top of my tank (about a 3-5 gal. change) once a month (at about week 2 after frybirth,) and then I do a regular gravel vac the week before she's due to have her next brood.
3) Additionally, I tend to feed Daphne a little more around weeks 3.5-4 since she tends to get moodier and hungrier before frybirth. (Also, I don't put her in a breeding net when she gives birth--less stress on her and less fry survive since her tankmates gobble most of them up, so this reduces overpopulation.)
4) Mid-December a friend gave me some plants that I didn't soak in alum to prevent stowaway snails. This is when the snails were introduced. I tried picking out one snail before I went on Christmas vacation, but it fell & I lost it in the gravel. By Dec. 29th I picked out 15 snails and by Jan 2nd I picked out close to 70 snails (and I still see snails in there.)
5) The snails are likely breeding like mad because my gravel isn't as clean as I'd like.
I have damaged hands and they're killing me from trying to keep up with the snails. Would I be better off getting some ghost shrimp to clean up the excess food, or would I do better to buy bettas or botias to eat the snails and keep them under control?
Thanks!
My tank specs are below:
Tankmates:
3 adult platys (probably 1 yr old)
1 adult neon
1 (probably 1 yr old) oto
1 one-month old platy fry
2 one-week old platy fry
Tank Conditions:
20 gallon long
AquaClear 150 HOB filter (mechanical/chem/bio)
Neptune 200 heater (set to 75 deg.)
Fine gravel substrate (about 1 1/2" deep)
Resin cave (aprox. 8" long x 5" wide)
Heavily planted (1 Ambulia, 2 Hygrophilia polysperma, 2 Rotalla indica, 3 lg. clumps Java Moss, 5 Aponogentons, 6 Lilys, 4 Echinodorus bolivianus and Duckweed)
Nitrate/Nitrite: 0-.25
Ph: 8
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