I completely understand restricting the food would help reduce the amount but it's a 75 gallon with a ton of plants and it's where I put all my miscellaneous fry I'm not going to use for breeding. For example, ordered some platinum blue mosaic guppies, some turned out red, yellow, etc. I don't want them in my breeding population. Also I've got tons of red wag platy fry of different ages in there. I really don't want to restrict their food because they're still gorgeous fish and I don't want to stunt their growth. And I've done the "smashing them against the glass, picking out as many as I can but there's tons of them in there. And as always, thanks everyone for the advice.
Sick of snails...
- Thread starter bmiller9735
- Start date
Chemicals are often a bad idea. For one thing, if you have, say, 200 of these pest snails, and they die, well, can you say ammonia spike? Plus, as the OP said, there are other inverts (RCS) in the tank that may be harmed.
Loaches or assassins are going to be your best biological bet that won't create the ammonia spike risk, if you don't want to use the reduce feeding/bait and remove/squish against the glass methods. Personally, if it weren't for my BN, I'd have clown loaches in my tank right now, but I'm actually surprised by how much I like my BN. I just don't want to risk territorial aggression.
everytime i passed my tank, i would pull out a few snails floating around the top... did this for about 2 weeks till i started noticing that there was barely any snails left... which worried me cuase i know they do good.
well its been like 3 months since and my snail numbers are still SUPER low, just now theyre a bit larger... but still way fewer of them
well its been like 3 months since and my snail numbers are still SUPER low, just now theyre a bit larger... but still way fewer of them
The lettuce trick works great, I got rid of about 10 the first time I tried it 
you could also go for assasin snails or certain species of loaches, however the loaches might not with your shrimp IMO
you could also go for assasin snails or certain species of loaches, however the loaches might not with your shrimp IMOI have 4 Clown Loaches (4-6") in my 120 gal tank that have hunted down and eaten every last snail in the tank (it used to be full of cone snails that burrowed into the gravel). They even swim around with empty snail shells in their mouths. I have a smaller tank that I now grow snails in to provide them treats once in a while.
I don't think Clown Loaches will eat shrimp? They will eat every living snail though (oh yeah, and clams).
When I purchase new plants these days, I'm always asking they don't try to rid them of snails...
I don't think Clown Loaches will eat shrimp? They will eat every living snail though (oh yeah, and clams).
When I purchase new plants these days, I'm always asking they don't try to rid them of snails...
Do you want to get rid of the snails entirely? Their numbers should be kept in check, but appropriately sized populations of snails are actually quite beneficial. They consume dead or dying plant matter, which would otherwise foul you water quality; they consume excess algae, and even remove it from your plants, allowing them more light; to top it all off, the waste they produce is processed in such a way that it is actually easier for the plants to use than it is for them to use the waste of fish. Yes, you need to control their numbers, but you might consider keeping a few for some clean up duty. If you do decide to keep some, the baiting method would be a good choice for keeping their numbers in check. Lettuce works great. Now, if the snails are actually eating the healthy plants, the assassin snails will help, but it will take a little while. If you can allow loaches in the tank, those would be a bit better, and they look nice to boot.
+1 for this. i'm not for using chemicals as that tends to screw up fish.
I used to have a huge population of pond snails, but when they got to a huge population size i removed a ton of them, did a large water change, and got a pair of assassin snails. While i still have pond snails in the tank, the population is in check and aren't as bothersome as before.
