Removing Snails Discreetly

[dem0nz]

hey

the other day i thought i saw a small snail in my tank but i couldnt reach it and to be honest it looked a lot like a piece of dead leaf
then yesterday my girlfriend noticed 2 snails in my tank.

now my problem is that i dont want them there but my girlfriend has decided that i am keeping them,she's only doing it to wind me up lol but i need to find a discreet way to get rid of them.
if i dont mention them to her she will forget about them as its just her thing for the week
does anybody have any suggestions
sadly my tank isnt big enough for a clown loach but are there any medications or nano tank fish that will remove them?

 

[emzyp]

i will have your snails!!! im after some to breed, pm if you are interested please!!

 

[Corleone]

Just about any loach (particularly from the botia genus) will eat snails. A friend of mine had two skunk loaches barely an inch long slice up a huge apple snail.

Another option, just feed the snails. Put some lettuce or zucchini in the tank overnight, and early in the morning, pull it out snails and all. Has the added bonus that if your girlfriend doesn't see the snail covered lettuce in the trash, you can tell her you're trying to take good care of them at the same time.

 

[blue acara]

Use a thing called Aquatic wormer plus. Its a fish medication use to cure flukes but it also kills snails, all of them will die. Dose again a week or so later to kill any that were eggs. Fish seem uneffected during dosing. Shrimp dont like it but should survive.

 

[NonstickRon]

I just reach in my tank and squoosh them with a fingertip and then toss em in the trash.

 

[WILDER]

I wouldn't use meds to kill snails only if you are desperate, as the rotting snails can be toxic to fish.
Get a bottle and out some lettuce in there and keep removing the bottle to get rid of the snails.
Make sure the fish can't get in the bottle.

 

[shelaghfishface]

LMAO ... just nick them while shes out and act innocent when she gets back......you`ll be in big trouble when she notices theyre gone tho


yeah like wilder says ,give them lettuce,tell her they were looking a bit overweight

 

[dem0nz]

lol i have spoken to her and we have decided that they can stay because they are doing no harm
but we have agreed that if they start breeding a bit crazily or they eat the plants then i can remove them

i could do the other ideas but if i leave it a bit then i wont look like the evil snail killing boyfriend
then when they break the conditions i will prob do the lettuce trick

emzyp-i will pm you when i have to get rid of them and if you are still intersted then you are welcome to them

have no idea what type they are...i will try and get a photo

 

[blue acara]

I wouldn't use meds to kill snails only if you are desperate, as the rotting snails can be toxic to fish.
Get a bottle and out some lettuce in there and keep removing the bottle to get rid of the snails.
Make sure the fish can't get in the bottle.

Rotting snails like any other decaying organic matter in your tank will produce some ammonia. As long as the snail population isn't massive the bio filter should deal with this increase in NH4. A wise precaution us to use a gravel vac or similar 12-24 hours after medicating to remove the dead remains of the snails.

Lettuce traps will help to control the population of snails, but will never kill them all. Some snails and eggs will always remain and you must replace the trap to keep levels down.

 

[Nick16]

I have lots of mts in my fry tank but there is no substrate so whenever i see them massivly multiplying is throw some away!

 

[OldMan47]

The best way to cut the number of snails in your tank with no other harm being done is to cut back on feeding. Without a food surplus, the snails will not expand their numbers out of control. You will always have a few but nothing drastic unless there is a food surplus.

 

[Corleone]

Lettuce traps will help to control the population of snails, but will never kill them all. Some snails and eggs will always remain and you must replace the trap to keep levels down.

I don't have to use traps anymore. After an initial boom, I used them for a couple months, pulled a few hundred snails out and fed them to a friend's convicts. As Oldman said, if they continually grow out of control, the snail population is a symptom of a different problem. Having snails eat overfed food is better than having it sit and rot or grow fungus.

 

[Amunet]

I actually don't mind the snails in 1 of our 10gallons. I thought I would go crazy if we ever got snails, but... after watching them grow.. I think they're cute
Spotted 4 at first, then they had babies, but I think alot of them have died off after we moved b/c I cleaned the tank out fairly well (saved all the snails that I spotted lol), so reduced their food greatly.
Now, I'll MAYBE see 1 larger one and a few babies.