Snails Snails Everywhere...

T

TetraFreak

Church of the Freshwater Aquarium!
Dec 14, 2005
537
19
18
Sweet Home "Northern" Alabama
Hello all!

My delemma...although not presently occuring, happens every so-often with my tank. usually when I replace the plants.

What is the most effective way to eliminate those pesky & unwanted snails that appear shortly after new plants are introduced? The snails I'm talking about are the "Mandarin" snails? the pointy ones that you just can't seem to get rid of without a total gravel change.

I've heard "put in an open mouth jar(snapple bottle) and turn the lights off overnight and the snails will go into it at stay there" to "there's nothing you can do about them." I've seen chemicals but not sure about that.

My setups:
#1 - 25T Eclipse II System
mostly tetras...neons, black skirt, lemons, and ect.
2 Clown Loaches
Common Plex
and an assortment of swords, valsenaria, and misc bunch plants.

#2 - 5 Gal Hex Eclipse
1 lovely Beta and a small potted plant.


Tank has been established for 2 years since last gravel change(6 years overall) and everything is fine. Balances are all good, plants are growing incredibly, and fish are happy & healthy!

I'm at a loss on how to get rid of those darn snails!


Thanks In Advance!

-TetraFreak
 
PinkBloodParrot said:
did you buy the snail from before or it just appear?
Click to expand...

Never bought snails...these are the ones that just "appear" when you introduce live plants.
 
If you give your clown loaches a chance, I am sure they will deal with those snails. Personally I don't mind the snails in my planted tank. They tend to keep my plants in tip top condition eating all the algae. They also do a great jop removing any rotting roots or other stuff in my substrate that my gravel vac does not pick up. Since the snails like to hide in the day, they are not really an eyesore when the lights are on and I am viewing my fish. Most snails breed ferociously but once they consume the available food, they will stop breeding. Your snail population depends on the amount of food available for them pretty much.
 
Snails are one of the most beneficial things you can have in your tank. Why do you want to get rid of them. They help keep the tank clean and their population is related to how much waste and dead organic matter you have. My advice is to keep them.
 
the jar trick only works if you put some food in it... like some lettuce. pull the jar out when you get a bunch of snails munching on the lettuce, replace the jar with fresh lettuce and so on...

this wont eliminate them completely, but will help to reduce their numbers.

i agree with knashash, i don't mind them so much in my planted tanks... they give me a barometer on feeding amounts. if their population spikes, you know you are overfeeding a lot, and they keep my substrate really clean. although some days i wish they were not there.

and $0.98's your change.

:cool:
 
Thanks All!

I always thought of these snails as more of a pest rather than beneficial to the tank's eco-system.

My loaches have difficulty with these type because of the hard shell that they can't crack. They do OK on the baby snails because their shells are soft.

I guess they will work as a guage on when there's too much decaying stuff. Hopefully I can keep the population under control better now that I know WHY they breed like rabbits! LOL


Thanks Again!

-TF
 
The MTS's are the only breed that loaches won't eradicate, but loaches will control them fairly well. that is probably why you see an explosion and then a reduction in numbers later.

I fully agree that Snails are a complete benefit in a tank. The only tank I have that doesn't house snails is the Cichlid tank. My Oscar and dempsey can't eat MTS's, but the pictus cats eat them shell and all. Either way no snail is safe in that tank.

I'd let the loaches do their thing and rteap the benefits of any snails that remain.
In the future, Carefull inspection of the plants will help and letting them sit for a few days in a bucket of tank water will also. MTS's do not lay eggs, so if they come with the plants, they are in the form of tiny snails. For egg layers such as Pond snails and red ramshorns, you can sterilize the plants with Potassium permangenate to kill the eggs.
Dave
 
whenever I add plants to a tank, I prepare a 9 to 1 water/bleach solution and soak them for 15 seconds. Then, Í put the plant in a bucket with a lot of dechlorinator overnight.

I saw this recommended in the plants forum. I've donr so, and I have had no problems at all.
 
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