Pest Snails Taking Over!

Lizzie71 · Jun 6, 2008

I have a planted tank, and some time ago I bought some plants which seem to have brought some guests with them

They have multiplied and multiplied and now I seem to have hundreds :sad:

I have tried one of those chemicals that is meant to kill snails, with no luck. I have tried the cucumber trick, which gets rid of a few but still plenty more left.

I am wondering about a dwarf chain loach to get rid of them, but I don't really have the extra space in the tank at the moment. I really don't know what else to do. Any advice?

jacko9901 · Jun 6, 2008

Lizzie71 said:
I have a planted tank, and some time ago I bought some plants which seem to have brought some guests with them They have multiplied and multiplied and now I seem to have hundreds

I have tried one of those chemicals that is meant to kill snails, with no luck. I have tried the cucumber trick, which gets rid of a few but still plenty more left.

I am wondering about a dwarf chain loach to get rid of them, but I don't really have the extra space in the tank at the moment. I really don't know what else to do. Any advice?

i had loads of snails in my tank and then they all dissapeared and died off. i still have some snails but i dont see as many now.

how bad is your problem. can you see snails litterally everywhere or is it just quite alot of snails.

FiSh123FiSh · Jun 6, 2008

I don't know about dwarf chained loaches but I know yoyo loaches work.

Lizzie71 · Jun 6, 2008

I have loads of snails. Maybe not absolutely everywhere, but I'd certainly say there are 50+ of the little nightmares!

n3ont3tra · Jun 6, 2008

Almost all loaches eat snails, the only exception I can think of is a kuhlie loach. How large is your tank, most loaches are very very active?
You will need to find the root of the problem too. Snails will eat all of the leftover food and decaying plant matter and things, so try to cut back on feeding and make sure you're siphoning the gravel or sand.

Lizzie71 · Jun 6, 2008

Tank is 24 inches by 12 by 15. For stocking see my sig.

I don't overfeed, but I do put in sinking pellets and algae wafers for my plec and otos which can stay at the bottom of my tank for a while, and do attract snails. I can't really stop doing this as the plec in particular needs feeding

modaz · Jun 6, 2008

if its possible get yourself a couple of loaches and let them clear the tank of snails and then pass them on to someone, or see if your LFS would be prepared to take them back after the job is done, some shops may agree to this but very few.

Mikaila31 · Jun 6, 2008

IMO its very hard to control snails in planted tanks, I have a couple hundred of the things in my 20 gal. I have tried to get rid of them unsuccessfully a couple times. In the end I learned to live with them. Although they're numbers do go down when I let the cherry shrimp population get over 150

. I'm guessing they compete with each other.

debbie888 · Jun 6, 2008

I had a similar problem....I got myself 2 raphael catfish.....recommended by someone on here...I now have no snails

I Make Gum · Jun 6, 2008

I have never had loaches, but I have heard from several other forums (and some on this forum) that they take a while to settle in and to get comfortable enough to eat the snails. Also, one bit of info I've found about these guys is that you need several as they are community fish. This means at least 3 so they have a pecking order.

If you are looking for a quick fix and are willing to "borrow" some fish from the pet store, get yourself 3 male dwarf puffers. The first thing they will do will be to eat your snail population to extinction. If you give them enough time for the eggs that have been laid to cycle to life, you will have NO snails.

THE KEY TO THIS: YOU WILL HAVE TO (temporarily) RELOCATE YOUR TANK INHABITANTS. None of the fish you have are suitable tank mates for dwarf puffers. Snails are part of their natural diet. They will get to work immediately (it took mine about 1/2 day to get comfortable enough in the tank to search for food--it took longer for them to get used to me, but the snails were a quick find for them). If you get them, DO NOT PUT THEM IN WITH YOUR BETTAS!!!! They will aggressively pursue and nip your bettas' fins down to the body.

34 liters may hold your fish for a few weeks (perhaps about 3 for the snails' eggs to hatch and grow) but this could be stressful and will take a lot of work.

Unfortunately, though, unless you are willing to get several loaches, any snail fix you will see will require some effort.

I guaruntee, though, if you let the dwarf puffers over run your tank for a few weeks, problem solved! (From now on, when you buy live plants, wash them thoroughly. You can use warm soapy water as long as you rinse the plant off *EXTREMELY* well before putting it your tank. Most of the live plants I bought all came with a companion snail and chances are they already have egg clutches laid on the leaves. That's why I bought the dwarf puffers. Now i actually raise snails for food for them!

GOOD luck!

n3ont3tra · Jun 6, 2008

Keep in mind that snails aren't a bad thing to have. They eat excess food.
You could also try getting a different type of snail, like apple snails. They don't breed as much as apple snails and if they do start to breed they are much easier to control. They will usually out compete the pest snails.

eschaton · Jun 6, 2008

I know you don't think you are overfeeding, but if snails are multiplying, they are eating something. And snails can't beat a fish to food.

In general, you ought to just learn to love the little buggers. Not a single pest snail can eat a healthy plant. They perform valuable tank services like cleaning up uneaten food and dead plants. If worse comes to worse, just introduce slightly more attractive scavengers like shrimp to the tank and let them have a go.