Those annoying snails!

[2xtheman]

I am going to upgrade my 10g into a 20g and want to get rid of my snail infestation. I'm pretty convinced that I'll have to get totally new substrate, but how would I get them off of my favorite decorations? I have some driftwood and some skulls (plastic and clay).

There are also some plants. Will I have to get new ones?

[glarior]

Multiple ways...

Clown loaches do a wonderful job on eating any snail in the tank. It will be a feast for them.

For the decorations that can be taken from the tank you could run some hot water over them or soak them in hot water for a little bit.

I am sure others may have better suggestions....

[Jaster]

Put a couple pieces of lettuce in the tank. the snails will go to eat it up and you can lift the whole of them out.

[2xtheman]

I've tried putting lettuce/cucumber and other veggies in, but that never gets rid of them all. I want to totally eliminate them so they do not bug my plants.

I like the clown loaches idea. Will they get along with my usd catfish and glass catfish?

[glarior]

I'd assume so... They like to be in pairs too. The clown loaches are very community tank orientated (IMO)

[KcEE]

Try to get some research done on the clown loaches before purchasing them. Clown loaches are beatiful and lovely fish but very sensitive too.

[PostalPenguin]

I would guess that when transferring if you dipped the plants in potassium permanganate it would kill any eggs and snails you cant see. The decorations could just be dipped in bleach and rinsed well.

[DrNic]

I've recently seen some snail removal water additives at the pet store. The bottle says that they don't hurt the plants or fish but I haven't tried it.

Since you're upgrading anyway, I know that some people do salt dips of their decorations and gravel to remove snails. Just make sure that you rinse everything REALLY well before adding the new water and fish.

[bushwhacker]

a 10% bleach dip for your plants, hot salty water for your decos depending on the substraight you have you can boil it for a bit and sift out any snails.. i'd just replace it anyway

[HeatherB]

The first plant I ever bought from an open tank in the pet store, I was terrified that I would get the dreaded snails! So, I left the plant in the car for a while, it was pretty cold, then brought it in and rinsed, rinsed, rinsed in the bathtub for probebly like, uhh, 30 min or more in HOT water. I wrapped the roots in wet paper towels and then left it sit for a good hour or more. I figured that would have had to kill anything that was in or on it!

I never had a problem with any snails! Mind you this was with an Amazon Sword and other hardy plants. I don't know what kinds you have, but if they are fragile I would not suggest Hot and Cold and no water treatments like I did!

[2xtheman]

I've thought about putting all the substrate under hot water (or in boiling water), but wouldn't that kill all the beneficial bacteria? I'll be using my old hob filter to help seed the bigger tank (and the larger hob filter), but will that be enough with all the substrate bacteria gone???

How salty would the water need to be to get rid of the snails/eggs? Just because I would rather use salt than bleach, to avoid any possible chemical contamination.

I guess if I get some loaches, I won't have to worry about the snail problem at all!

[bushwhacker]

you can make the water to clean th decos as salty as you want just rinse them off good after.. dont worry about the bacteria in the substrate as 95% of its in the filter anyway... as for the plants yeah you need the bleach dip 10% for just a few min and rinse em really well

[bushwhacker]

quick story about substrate, i tore my 75 g down due to algae in the sand, tried some other stuff which i hated.. got new sand redid the whole tank put the old filters back on it and popped the fish back in no spikes no stress just a nice clean tank

[Wild Turkey]

The only way to rid yourself of them completely i know of is to use copper meds, and i dont recommend it.

Most people have snails, i have snails in almost every tank, its just "How many?" Keep their numbers low by removing some each week using the lettuce method, or a trap, whatever. You can use Jess's bug trap and use a hole punch to make it pond-snail accessible.

Other than that the main factors are dont overfeed, and remove dead leaf matter. Basically, if you keep their food source low, you wont have crazy multiplication problems.

[2xtheman]

There really isn't that many snails in my tank, I just don't like them and I think they hurt my plants.

Another thing I am wondering about is their remains. I've had them for a long time and none of them are too large, so I'm presuming that some have died along the way. Do their decomposing bodies affect the water quality negatively?

[Wild Turkey]

For the most part the snails are reducing stuff that would amount to extra ammonia produced (extra food, leaf matter etc) and the snails bodies are so small, it kind of balances itself out. Also, in theory once snail death and rebirth becomes commonplace, you should have the extra bacteria to sustain it, if its needed. They will also eat each others remains

As long as they arent out of control, they arent a big problem. They tend to eat dead and dying vegetation long before considering my live plants as a food source. Same with mts.