Population control?

[LadyHatred]

Some time lastnight, my canister filter took a vacation and decided not to work (again). With no current in the tank, a plague of snails has appeared. I knew I had one or two in there but this...is like...Armageddon!

What do you think of this plan?

tear the whole tank down, boil the substrate.
take the driftwood to work and boil it (I dont have a pot big enough to boil it here)
Weak bleach/water solution for the one live plant incase there are snail eggs on it.

That would be the plan but some concerns:

~Could there be snail eggs in the canister filter hoses?
~Would boiling the wood in "city" water be harmfull to the tank once I get it going again? I can't be pouring dechlor into the steam kettle at work. Would a soak say...over night here in the tub be good enough to get it "pure" again work?
~How would I keep the bacteria alive in the canister filter while all this is going on? It's too big to run on any of the tanks I have here.

Help please!!

[Lady Hobbs]

Before I went thru all that I think I'd pick up some Rid-A-Snail. I'm about to give it a try myself.

I tore a tank down last year and cleaned everything in some bleach water. It kills the snails immediately of course. Then I rinsed everything out in dechlorinated water and had to cycle the tank all over again.

I am using a jar now with algae pellets to draw them in. It works but it's a daily task.

[Red]

Before I went thru all that I think I'd pick up some Rid-A-Snail. I'm about to give it a try myself.

Would never ever use a chem to get rid of snails. They will pollute the water and when all the snails die you won't be able to find them and pollute the water with all the rotting bodies.

[rich311k]

I would just catch them and manually remove them, a few boping around wont matter. They will also let you klnow if you are feeding to much.

[Lady Hobbs]

Boy, I started giving my featherfins shrimp pellets and here come the snails by the tons! Ya, the Rid A Snail thought was really last resort. Especially when they borrow and hide in the substrate.

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[bluebluecow]

hi

I tried the pick off method, but didnt work as i kept forgetting, so as i didnt want an assasin snail, hunts snails and eats them, aa i had a mussel in the tank and didnt want to risk that being eaten

I found some biological methods, my siamese fighters acually eat snail eggs have seen it yeah, any that survive are eate by clown loaches, when my cliwnies outgrow not that they have yet about 2 inches at mo, then they will goto my mums 6ft tank.

I now buy my plants from a new source as the tend to have snails aa i love watching the clownies hunt, i find if you obly feed clowniea once a day they hunt more, and i have 1 day a week where i dont feed the tanks

Liz

[Northernguy]

I don't think I would get that drastic about it unless you want to start cycling again.Try weighting down some lettuce with a fork,leave it for a while with the lights out.It should get quite a few snails to climb on and start eating.Use a net and scoop the lettuce out.Trash the snail and repeat.
You coulod also get a fish that will eat them.
When I tore down my tank I through out the gravel and replaced it with sand.
I steralized my filters and hoses in really hot tap water.I put it all back together with a new sand substrate and started my fuilters back up with clean snail free media from anothger tank.
I had no mini cycle and most important the #$%^&*() snails are gone!:19:

[LadyHatred]

Boy, I started giving my featherfins shrimp pellets and here come the snails by the tons! .

You think the population exploded due to the shrimp pellets? I used them for three days so....about 10 pellets. I didnt see any leftovers and did a gravel vac on Saturday. Are there like, snail eggs all dehydrated (think: seamonkies) in them or something?

What about assassin snails? I read they eat other snails but, will it lay eggs if I put him in there, thus ending up with assassin snail-ageddon?

[rich311k]

Set traps and feed less all you need to do.

[Sarkazmo]

Ummm... why the freakout about the snails?

Sark

[Lady Hobbs]

No one is freaking out but some don't like snails in the substrate, on the plants, on the glass and in the filter. Some don't mind having them. It's a personal choice.

[Sarkazmo]

I'd say that thinking about tearing down completely then boiling and bleaching everything is freaking out. :)

In reef aquariums Live Sand is used, it's full of micro and macro organisms that exist in the wild. Those creatures serve a purpose in nature and in the home aquarium. Sure this is fresh water we're talking about but I think it holds true that there are many micro and macro organisms that are beneficial to the tank as a whole. MTS for example aerate the substrate, eat detritus, dying plant leaves, uneaten fish food as well as algae. The same can be said of mystery/apple snails as well as Ram's Horn snails except for the soil aeration. Baby snails often serve as a live food source for many fish adding extra protein and nutrients.

I guess I just find it unconscionable to destroy life when it's doing no harm. Maybe that's just me.

Sark

[toddnbecka]

Assassin snails reproduce and grow much more slowly than "pest" snails like pond, ramshorns, or mts. Not as quick as clown loaches for knocking down the population, but they don't outgrow the tank either.

[LadyHatred]

I am okay with a few snails as I don't have a pleco yet.

The tank was bought used and for the first two weeks or so of it running with no fish, I saw one or two (might have been the same one) and then I added fish and saw three. Time goes on and I see a couple every so often. Then the filter goes down, for a much longer time I assume, and I see 30+.

So in the month or two that the tank has been running, the population has increased very quickly. I want to get rid of them now so that 6 months, a year from now, I will still have a fish tank, not a snail tank.

I tried a romain leaf lastnight and have seen none on it. It may be that the congos eat them but, I have no proof. With the filter running (most of the time) the snails hide.

I would like to try the algae wafer in a bottle. I think the corries can get into the top of a pop bottle though. I'll try tonight and keep my fingers crossed that no one gets "stuck" in there.

Loaches would be really neat. I have looked at them on and off. I do not believe I have the tank or experience to keep them healthy and happy though.

[toddnbecka]

Hiding when the filter is running, are they MTS? They are normally more active after dark. Try checking the tank a few hours after the lights have been off.
If you're concerned about fish getting stuck just leave the cap on the bottle and make a suitable size hole in it.

[LadyHatred]

After finding out what MTS snails look like, nope, thats not these ones. Their body is a toffee color and the shell is anywhere from transparent to white. They are smaller than the size of a betta's eye and have fairly long feelers comming off their head's

I couldn't set a snail trap as I had filter issues yesterday. I will set one tonight and see.

If these are all babies, what can I use to house a few and see what they look like when they grow? Will a big glass jar with some moss and air work?

[Northernguy]

Yes moss will work but romain lettuce might work better.

[Lady Hobbs]

And also cucumber.

[LadyHatred]

Cool thanks! :)