Pest Snails

[ardandy]

Having an increasing population of Assassin Snails my tank has gone from many pest snails to none at all!

They're happy eating fish food (they come out when its feeding time!) but I prefer to feed them 'Real Food', as in snails. This is better for them breeding and I believe in their growth.

Other than buying snails and putting them in the tank, is there a way for me to sustain the pests without needing another tank? Is there anything from the garden I can use for example? In fact, do LFS sell snails AS food?

Thanks!

 

[aly_starh]

There are some pest snails on ebay,

just buy a batch, and keep them in a seperate tank with fish food so they can breed, or even a normal water thight container, then you will have an endless supply of snails for your assassin snails

 

[iffles]

I have pest snails too, and I just have a cup of tank water near my tank and when I see a snail I put it in because I don't like them in my tank. They survive, so if you just got a container (as said above), and get a few pest snails from your lfs plant area (i'm sure they will be more than happy to give you a group) and put in food for them, you should soon have lots of snails to feed to your assasin snails. You don't really need a whole tank setup, just a bowl/container with maybe a few liters volume. I don't think you need a heater/filter any of that stuff cos mine are living in a cup with nothing in it except a few bits of gravel and some java moss.
I don't think lfs sell snails for food, because they think no one willl buy them (most people can get complimentary pest snails with their plants).
So I would:
1) Get a jug/container
2) Fill with tank water/dechlorinated water
3) Add some hardy plants that can survive coldwater conditions (eg Java Moss)
4) Get some Pest Snails from your lfs and if (very unlikely) they don't have any pest snails because they got rid of them somehow (dips/anti-snail) get some from a friend or ebay
5) Put them into the container and add some food and fertilizer every now and then
6) After they are in sufficient numbers, take some out and release them into the assasin snail tank and continue to put them in in small amounts