Snail outbreak/how to kill them

[missymoo]

i think that it would be a great idea ...would also work for the parent that is annoyed with the pant tugging of their kids
"rent a fish"...for all your extermination or trial needs

 

[TKOS]

Excpet for the inevitable ich that those clown loaches would probably bring. Yikes!

 

[bozco]

OK let me clarify

but you shouldnt really be using a lot of chemicals and all the dead snails will really screw up your tank especially since its not cycled

The tank is cycled, has been running for nearly two years. I just didn't want something that would kill off all the bacteria and make me have to start over.

Fed less and clean more. Snails populations are limited by available foods, so if there are too many, it means there's an awful lot of food available for them.

Ok I've only been feeding once every three days. The snail food supply is the algae, which is why I'm not feeding and why the lights were always out.



And as for the rest, I said the tank wasn't big enough for loaches. On top of that the tank is in quarenteen because of a number of unexplainable deaths in the tank. I would not dare put in borrowed fish only to return them, probably sick, to whoever was kind enough to lend them to me.

 

[Locust]

Honestly, your best bet for getting rid of your snails is to break down the tank. The lettuce trick is good for controlling the snail population. but it's not likely to exterminate them. Your tank is small enough that this wouldn't be too big of a job.

It might be a good idea to focus on one problem at a time right now. As unsightly as snails are (and be sure I hate 'em, but I love loaches so it works out... ), they'll help you in controlling your algae problem. Once you get your algae situation under control, you can move on to trying to get rid of the snails.

 

[1tankneverenuff]

Originally posted by missymoo


I'm sure that it was meant in a temporary basis ...kinda like hiring an exterminator ...get them in ....get rid of the snails....get them out
(man i REALLY hope that it was meant as a temp thing!! )

Don't **** your pants ladies, it was meant as a quick extermination solution .

 

[dethjam316]

why do so many people seem to think its a good idea to recommend clown loaches for ALL snail problems, no matter the size of the tank and no matter the conditions clown loaches require? sorry for sounding annoyed, but this has really been going around lately...i think this is the fourth such recommendation (all by different people) i've seen in the last week on AC.

:duh:

in any event, i've found that you can really reduce the population by simply picking out as many as you can, and also removing the little egg clutches wherever you see them. once you get the population down, it's easier to get on a schedule of lesser feeding and more rigid maintenance, both of which will keep the snail population limited.

 

[SBA]

two points:

Originally posted by 1tankneverenuff
...ladies...

:shake: :shake: :shake: :shake:

and the other, i wasn't actually suggesting getting hit squads of fish, it was - dare I say - a joke.

totally agree that the best way of controlling snails is to deprive them of food, if the food is algae then unfortunately that means getting rid of the algae.

the shot glass method, from what i have heard, is more effective than a lettuce leaf (if i leave a lettuce leaf in my snail BREEDING tank they don't go near it. well, not much).

if you were, as mentioned by others, to reduce the food in conjunction with removing as many of the current population as possible, that would be my approach.

 

[pinballqueen]

Originally posted by Locust
Honestly, your best bet for getting rid of your snails is to break down the tank. The lettuce trick is good for controlling the snail population. but it's not likely to exterminate them. Your tank is small enough that this wouldn't be too big of a job.

Doing this would mean starting over, which is clearly something that is unwanted in this situation, and unneccessary.

It is true, you'll likely NEVER be rid of all of your snails, but using one of the methods that have been outlined (pick them out, squish them and feed them to your fish, lettuce leaves, shot glasses, whatever) will keep them reasonably under control in a tank this size. That had-a-snail stuff doesn't work, friends and neighbors... not on snails anyhow. Does a marvelous job as a plant-killer though.

As for your algae problem.... If you starve the tank COMPLETELY of light and food for about 10 days it will go away in either case in my experience.... Feed your fishies, wave to them, cover the tank in a black cloth for 10 days and don't touch the tank, and your algae should be gone or close to it when you uncover it. Unless you have live plants, your tank doesn't NEED to be exposed to light at all, and your fish can go that long with no problems as far as feeding. Heck, they might even eat a few of the snails and some of the algae while they patiently await your return

 

[missymoo]

Originally posted by SBA

and the other, i wasn't actually suggesting getting hit squads of fish, it was - dare I say - a joke.

agreed....some folks ought to learn to lighten up ......:shake:

as tedious as it is picking visible ones and clearing the eggs is the only way to do it without using chems

 

[dethjam316]

my post wasn't referring to you guys, missymoo or SBA. i knew you guys were joking! but i've seen clowns recommended for three 10 or 20g tanks on here in the last week or so...and those who suggest that either (a) they'll stay small in those tanks and be healthy or (b) think its a fine idea to grow out a clown in a 10g....well, that's just not a good plan. i don't want people to see those kind of posts and think it's a good idea.