just recently i've had a giant snail population explosion. i had been seeing a few on the side of the glass which i "took care of" to prevent something like this from happening. i know there are fish that eat snails. are there any small ones besides freshwater puffers. i know clown loaches do but i hear they can get pretty big. also are there any small cichlids that would fit in a community tank that eat snails as well?
snail infestation
- Thread starter redwing191
- Start date
THere is a reason you have a snail problem. HAve you been over feeding or do you have plants in the tank that could leave plant matter to collect on the bottom.
I would try to make sure not to over feed and to clean the grvel weekly. Then try and remove as many as you can by hand. You can make snail traps by putting out a piece of zuchini or other veggie and leving it for a while.Eventually the snails will collect on it and all you haveto do is remove the veggie.
If keeping the tank clean and taking them out by hand(it will take a while to get them all) doesn't work you could try some of the smaller loach species.Zebra loaches(botia striata) work, i have them in my tank. Botia robusta and botia rostrata are also peaceful snail eaters but all need to be kept in groups of 3+.
What kind of fish do you have in this tank and what is your cleaning schedual like?How much are you feeding?
I would try to make sure not to over feed and to clean the grvel weekly. Then try and remove as many as you can by hand. You can make snail traps by putting out a piece of zuchini or other veggie and leving it for a while.Eventually the snails will collect on it and all you haveto do is remove the veggie.
If keeping the tank clean and taking them out by hand(it will take a while to get them all) doesn't work you could try some of the smaller loach species.Zebra loaches(botia striata) work, i have them in my tank. Botia robusta and botia rostrata are also peaceful snail eaters but all need to be kept in groups of 3+.
What kind of fish do you have in this tank and what is your cleaning schedual like?How much are you feeding?
i found clown plecos do the trick they stay small and they eat em up i d add one for every ten gallons the only other option is to take the tank down and let everything dry out for a couple of weeks pestacides don t work and their bad for the fish
i feed them either once a day or two smaller times a day. however i do believe overfeeding is the problem. i try to clean the gravel about once a week or so.
Cut back on feeding to once a day or once every second day, trust me your fish wont' starve. Take out as many of the snails by hand as you can and you sould see an improvement.
LMOUTHBASS
My hypocrisy goes only so far
you guys talk
about snails as if their parasites - they dont just come out of thin air if you over feed - you mustve brought them in on new plants from the store - the best way to keep this from happening is to wash your new plants with cool water n thougoughly check them for snails
about snails as if their parasites - they dont just come out of thin air if you over feed - you mustve brought them in on new plants from the store - the best way to keep this from happening is to wash your new plants with cool water n thougoughly check them for snails
i do check my plants when i put new ones in. i ran it under hot water (i wouldnt think cold would kill the snails)for quite a while and must've missed one, first time i've ever had a snail sneak through.
I always give my new plants a 1-2 min bleach bath before they go into the tank. But even with doing that i still had some snails get by.
Any copper solution will kill of the snails. Coppersafe or aquarasol etc... for example
The down side to this is that some ...not all plants will wither and die as well. As well as some fish species and invertabreates don't like and or can't handle copper at all.
If you decide to go the copper route just make sure to do some research on your particular plants and fish and remove the ones that are most vulnerable. Replace them after a big water change.
As for snails on new plants. They are not always so easily found. Most times that a plant is the cause of an infestation it is because there was snail eggs on the plants not snails. Unless you know what to look for it can be almost impossible to remove them.
One thing that I have done with new plants is to mix a solution of "had a snail" or something similar extra strong double doseage and water in a bucket and do a plant dip for roughly 10 minutes. Just do not submerse the roots. Then rinse the plants well and then place them in the tank. That will kill off the eggs as well as any hangers one.
The down side to this is that some ...not all plants will wither and die as well. As well as some fish species and invertabreates don't like and or can't handle copper at all.
If you decide to go the copper route just make sure to do some research on your particular plants and fish and remove the ones that are most vulnerable. Replace them after a big water change.
As for snails on new plants. They are not always so easily found. Most times that a plant is the cause of an infestation it is because there was snail eggs on the plants not snails. Unless you know what to look for it can be almost impossible to remove them.
One thing that I have done with new plants is to mix a solution of "had a snail" or something similar extra strong double doseage and water in a bucket and do a plant dip for roughly 10 minutes. Just do not submerse the roots. Then rinse the plants well and then place them in the tank. That will kill off the eggs as well as any hangers one.