New Plants and Snails

V

ViciousFishes

AC Members
Mar 21, 2006
6
0
0
Hi guys,

I've tried so hard to get into keeping plants in my tanks, but everytime I buy some the tank ends up completely taken over by snails! I've gone to 3 different LFS's, with no relief. I've tried picking them off by hand, and was sure last time I'd gotten them all, and within a week they'd taken over the brand new tank.

What do y'all do to deal with them? I -really- don't want to use anything like that "Had a Snail" medication, as it seems very harmful to fish, but I need to do something.

Thanks!
 
Blanch a piece of zuccini and sink it into the tank. Let it sit overnight and remove it in the morning. It will be covered in snails. Repeat until most snails are gone. You may never completely get rid of snails in a planted tank. Feed lightly and the snail population will go down.

Jackie
 
When I redid my tank, I found that dipping the plants into some salty water made the baby snails fall off the leaves. I then rinsed the plants in some bucketed tank water. Although this is probably not effective at getting rid of any snail eggs attached to the leaves.
 
If the snail population gets too high, I will reduce the amount I feed. It's usually a sign for too much leftover food.
 
SLH913 said:
If you add a clown loach to your tank, he will happily take care of the snails for you.
Click to expand...

Um, just for future reference suggesting a fish that can grow up to a foot in length to a person, whose tank size you do not know, is not the best idea. Especially when you then find out they have a 10 gallon tank.:dance2: Just a thought.

But yes clown loaches are known to "go to town" on snails.:dance2:

To the OP, Ulan is right. Usually the only reason snail populations get out of control is because of over feeding. How much do you normally feed the fish and how often do you do gravel vacuuming? If there is a food source the snails will surely find it, so it's best to keep the gravel clean of uneaten food and feed only as much as the fish can eat without any reaching the bottom.
 
I will use the clown loach too (only if your tank is big enough) but make sure you get at least 2, they like to be in schools.

By the way, they don't grow to fast... I have some for over 4 years and they were only between 6-7 cms .

Just my two cents.

Sasa
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom