Influx Of Snails

[Hoppo]

I'm noticing a crazy outbreak of snails in my tank. When I first purchased my plants, I noticed like 3-4 super small snails that hitched a ride with them. This was 2 weeks ago, but now when I look into my tank, it looks like the gravel is moving with a bunch on the glass. I thought a few were cool to have, but now its abit out of control. I'm guessing the orignal's are now the size of a small pea and the new ones are like pencil points.

Someone suggested I get a snail assassin, when I first reported about the snails. What is a Snail assassin? Please help.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Not a snail expert, but I have read a few threads about it. Assassin Snails are a specific breed of snail that will effectively eat other snails, and reproduce at a lower rate than the pest snails.

Another suggestion I saw is to weight down a piece of lettuce in the tank overnight, which should attract the snails, and then you carefully lift it out the next morning and put the snails in your garden!

 

[chrisodapz]

hi,

I had a tank recently same as got a plant didnt realize it had a snail for a few weeks then i spotted this big snail and thought thats ok then it laid loads of eggs and i had snails everywhere, best bet is get them out of the tank best you can untill the day comes no more left to breed. they are a pest.
i did here that i think they are called clown loaches will get rid of your snails but i think there are minus points to having them

good luck

chriso.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Please do not get any loaches to control a snail problem, loaches can get big and your tank may not need their needs in a number of ways.

snail tips:

Use spinach leafs, boil the leaf for 2 min add to the tank and remove when covered with snails.

crush the ones the glass with your finger,(wash your hands after to avoid any infections)

feed less, the snails will die without food, put the tank on diet it will thin the ranks and do no harm to the fish to slim up for the summer

 

[mark4785]

Manual removal of the snails you have is the best option. By your description, you have the same or a similar species of snail to myself and I've nearly eliminated them by either scraping them out with my nails or sucking them up into the gravel vac.

I don't recommend using assassin snails to remove another snail problem because if they consume and kill the problem snails you may experience an ammonia spike due to the amount of decomposing snails.

Another seemingly good tactic for removal is the application of lettuce to areas where the snails are situated. They will be attracted to the lettuce, especially when the lights are off. When they are all sat on the lettuce remove it and bin it!

 

[Hoppo]

ok great. Thanks for the help everyone. I'll get a salad ready for my tank.

 

[Alasse]

I have a tank with clown loaches in it, any new plants get dropped into there for a few days, then moved to permanant home, the loaches give the plants once over *L*

Fry tanks i encourage snails, excellent for cleaning up any uneaten food. I have a few snails in all my tanks other than the loach tank, the only time i ever see them out of control is if i am overfeeding

 

[waterdrop]

When you pull a bunch out of your tank, the best option is to toss them in your garden or yard so that they get recycled right away. They will crawl out of indoor trash if not crushed and may smell if crushed.

~~waterdrop~~