Snails, snails, and more snails!

[Holyvision]

Hello there,

I recently planted a 30 gallon tank anew, and unfortunately there is a higher concentration of small snails than there usually is on plants. I need a way to control them, and chemicals would be too harsh (I assume) on the plants and other stock.

Any ideas on natural snail control? A loach would grow too large for a 30 gallon, and a puffer is too demanding for a community system. I'm out of ideas!

Thanks for any assistance,
--Holy

[troy]

You could get assassin snails which kill other snails.

[smaug]

One of the best ways is to cut way back on the feeding.Other then that I dont know.Are they the spiral pointy kind [mts]?

[gm72]

You can catch a lot of them by using a jar or dish. Put a piece of blanched cucumber in the jar and lay it on it's side or put the cucumber on a dish. Within an hour or two of the light being off it will be covered. Simply remove, discard, and repeat. I used carrots cut in half lengthwise to help control mine when I had such a problem.

[Holyvision]

They appear to be 90% MTS, with some sort of black snail in there as well; but it's too small to ID right now.

I'll keep an eye out for an assassin or two, hopefully someone on this forum will sell them soon ^^

As far as the feeding goes, I just put in the plants last Friday, so I haven't put any food in the tank what-so-ever, and I won't put anything in there for at least two more weeks while the plants root out. The only other stock then plants I will have in there within the two weeks are some cherry shrimp I've purchased from Arowana.

[nwnittany]

I had a major snail problem, too. My guess is from the plants I introduced.

In any case, I picked up a few yo-yo (pakastani) loaches and they have really had a feast with them. I don't think I'll ever have a problem with them again.

The profile on this site says they get about 4" and are OK for community tanks. They are best in schools.

Anyway, maybe one of the experts can chime in, but it would seem like they would be OK in a 30 (don't know your other stocking, etc). Not sure how they would do with your cherry shrimp....

[Holyvision]

I had a major snail problem, too. My guess is from the plants I introduced.

In any case, I picked up a few yo-yo (pakastani) loaches and they have really had a feast with them. I don't think I'll ever have a problem with them again.

The profile on this site says they get about 4" and are OK for community tanks. They are best in schools.

Anyway, maybe one of the experts can chime in, but it would seem like they would be OK in a 30 (don't know your other stocking, etc). Not sure how they would do with your cherry shrimp....

What site did you order yours from? I might have to get a couple

[nwnittany]

Holy,

I got mine from my local fish store. I'm fairly new to the hobby (been doing it a little over a year) and haven't had the courage to order fish by mail. And, we have quite a few good chains and specialty stores in our area.

I am really happy with the yo-yo loaches. Not only do they take care of excess snails, they are a blast to watch and even make some neat clicking noises. And, they don't get too big.

Like I said before, it's best to get the opinions of a few of the more experienced guys and gals here...I'm still a newbie. But, from what I know, it would seem to be OK for your tank.

One thing I can assure you...these little buggers love to eat snails !

[toddnbecka]

Most snail-eating loaches are schooling fish, and too large/active for a 30 in the long run. You're better off trapping them or picking them out by hand. Copper will kill snails, but also your shrimp.
I will have another shipment of assassin snails coming in a couple weeks. I put together a group order, but the DOA's outnumbered the extra's in the shipment. If you want I can add more to the order, price is $5 each + shipping. $32 will get you 5 (shipped Priority Mail), which all but guarantees you'll have both sexes.

[cocoa_pleco]

banded loach, got one in my old 20g and he ate every snail in sight. bandeds get about 4" long and are fine alone

[toddnbecka]

Banded loach? Do you mean a kuhli loach?

[gm72]

In any case, I picked up a few yo-yo (pakastani) loaches and they have really had a feast with them. I don't think I'll ever have a problem with them again.

The profile on this site says they get about 4" and are OK for community tanks. They are best in schools.

Anyway, maybe one of the experts can chime in, but it would seem like they would be OK in a 30 (don't know your other stocking, etc). Not sure how they would do with your cherry shrimp....

Agreed with the schools part. As for having them in a 30, that depends on the length of the tank. I have mine in a 40 and they are very active, swimming the entire length of the tank (this is a 40 long and so is 4' long). I think less swimming room than that may cramp them. Seeing how active they are, I wouldn't personally put them in anything less than a 4' long tank.

[Holyvision]

Most snail-eating loaches are schooling fish, and too large/active for a 30 in the long run. You're better off trapping them or picking them out by hand. Copper will kill snails, but also your shrimp.
I will have another shipment of assassin snails coming in a couple weeks. I put together a group order, but the DOA's outnumbered the extra's in the shipment. If you want I can add more to the order, price is $5 each + shipping. $32 will get you 5 (shipped Priority Mail), which all but guarantees you'll have both sexes.

Thanks for the input all, I really appreciate it. As for the assassins, that sounds like a plan to me -- a couple weeks of wait would allow the MTS to breed enough so the Assassin's would have a pretty much constant food source. Is 5 the number you recommend for a 30 gallon (moderate planted + ground cover) tank? I do not have extra tanks to allow for the keeping of fry/babies, so I'm not really looking to over-propagate; I just want enough to get the job done :19:

Thanks again for all the help

[toddnbecka]

I'd recommend 5 simply you assure you have breeding stock. I originally got 3, and apparently all were the same sex. Better odds w/4, almost certain w/5. Like any snail their population depends on the available food supply. In the case of MTS that like to burrow in the substrate it's less likely they'll quickly eliminate them all, but they'll certainly knock down and limit their numbers. Any other species that happen along won't even become established after the assassins do.

[Holyvision]

I just don't want to get rid of the MTS, only to have Assassin snails overpopulate the tank.

Whenever you place the order send me a PM and I'll see what position my tank is in to add some.

--Holy

[labnjab]

From what i've learned (correct me if I'm wrong) , assassins will only reproduce when the have other snails to eat, and they don't eat each other, so when your snail problems gone, you won't have to worry about them reproducing anymore.

[Holyvision]

Woke up this morning, and there are snail eggs all the hell over the glass of the tank :hmm3grin2orange:

I'm kinda a moron when it comes to snails, so forgive me. These aren't MTS (I don't think) because they don't have an elongated and spiraled snail...the closest definition of them I can muster is "It's just a plain 'ol snail.." I think a trapdoor snail is what they are called..?

Anyway, I'm now in the market looking to buy some Assassin's (pretty quick, situation getting out of hand, and had-a-snail will kill my shrimp and copper-sensitive plants). Let me know if your selling!!

--Holy

[Blue Guppy]

I had a snail problem too and had to do a major overhaul for my tank. I removed the plants and placed them in a large container and treated it with snail rid liquid appropriate for the container I had my plants in. I kept it like that for a few days since most snail eggs are laid on plants, that allowed them to hatch and die almost immediately from the snail rid formula.

Now for the sand, I had to place them in a shallow container and literally flooded it with a very high concentration of salt and very little water and left it like that for 2 days.

After cleaning the plants and water thoroughly with clean water, I setup my tank again. After a few weeks, I could still see 1 or 2 snails (smaller ones) tugging along which I easily picked off and right now I hardly see any of them.

Question: Do clown loaches do the same thing as the other locahes do by feasting on snails? Because those loaches that you guys mentioned are not readily available in my LFS.

[Sounguru]

Sounds more like Pond Snails too me. Cut back on your feeding let some of those guys get full size because you will need some full sized ones for adualy assaissns to start out feeding on.

It is not clear at this point if assassins stop breeding in the absence of live food, it may just be protien rich foods that they need. If the assassins do lay eggs they are easy to see and remove, and there will always be a market for these guys.

[toddnbecka]

It occurs to me that folks with puffers aren't going to appreciate the spread of assassin snails through the aquarium hobby. Eventually it will reduce the availablity of "pest" snails that folks scrape out of their tanks and give away or sell for a token amount just to get rid of them.

[Zebradanio12]

you could get a school of chain loaches they only get to be 2"