Snail Infestation

[Tommy Gunnz]

Hey everyone!

Got a problem that has boggled my mind! I have this 10 gallon tank in which I started out with and has been a 'hospital/fry' tank for about the past two months. Anyways, somehow or another I got infested with small apple snails in this tank (I let one grow up for ID purposes.) So, wanting to get this out of the tank, I tried utilizing a pack of three clown loaches in the tank for about a week which did take care of all the larger snails, but not the smallest ones which obviously can hide in the substrate. So, I took out the substrate and put two clown loaches in there, and I still had snails. So, as a last resort, I waited for my last batch of fry were large enough to move (been experimenting with breeding mollies and platies to see what color combos I can get), I took the tank down and washed everything in hot water, let it dry out for a day, and put it back up. Guess what! Yea, still had tons of these tiny snails running around. Not to be out-smarted, I just decided to take the whole tank down, clean it again, let everything dry out really well (for over a week) and THEN I put the tank away for over a month!

So, now I have had this tank up and running for a four days and when I just looked in there and fed one of my new friends, I see that the entire water line is covered with about 20 to 30 teeny-tiny snails.

Its not that I really have anything against these little creatures, but my fear is that soon the tank will be completely over run by them if they are as tough as they have been so far. How can I get rid of these snails in a manner that wont completely ruin the tank forever (I still want to use it as a quarenteen tank) or should I just give up on this one and get another one? I am using the same substrate as has been in there for this whole time, but i did spread it all out on cookie sheets and dried it for a couple of days in the sun. The filter media is all new and I ran the housing through the dishwasher without using any soap (I figured that the heated drying option on the machine would be too hot for anything to live through since I have often burned myself taking dishes out too soon).

So, I will get off my soapbox now and just ask how I can get rid of them and how do I prevent this from reoccuring?

P.S. I have never used live plants in any of my tanks nor have I used any substrate/rocks/bogwood that has been in another tank in which may have held snails.

 

[unspoken930]

well if you dont mind tanking hte tank down, use the chemical snail killing stuff... i cant remember the name right now though sorry... but anyways it will kill all of the snails (i think, though i have heard apple snails can survive without water and though poisen becuase of the trap door for a month..) and then you just scrub the tank out to get rid of all of them. When scrubbing out the tank maybe use heavily concentrated bleach and let that sit for 10 minutes then rise alot then set out in the sun for 2 weeks or something. If that doesnt get rid of them then..... they deserve to live? lol

 

[fish_fetish65]

"had-a-snail" is a great chemical that will kill them off fairly quickly without harming fish or plants. they are annoying little buggers, aren't they?

 

[Synirr]

The substrate is probably your problem, I've had snails magically appear out of substrate that has been in a bucket completely dried out for literally months. I'd suggest taking the tank down again and getting new substrate, or alternatively, taking all the fish out and bleaching it. One part bleach to 20 parts water is what I use to nuke a tank, that would probably get rid of any snails, you'd just have to rinse everything off really well afterwards and use extra dechlor to make sure you get rid of any remaining bleach

 

[BigC]

a good method of reducing snail numbers but will not totally eradicate them is to place a jam-jar with a cube of washed beef in it and place it in the tank on its side during the night and before you turn on the lights in the morning remove the jam-jar. It should be full of snails.
Regards
BigC

 

[Snick]

i recommend just that. keeping a nice amount of snails is good, as they are exellent algea cleaners and help keep the tank clean. i will just keep the population of snails down so that they are not to many but still keep some. i myself had EXACTLY the same problem in my 10 gal, with apple snails and i kept their population down and the aquarium was always clean! I later found out that malaysian trumpet snails are better as they churn the sand, so i cleaned out the 10 gal, replaced the substrate, left it to dry for about 2 weeks (not on purpose, i was really just hesitant about what i was going to do with it, then i decided to fill it bck up) and filled the tank with sand. i put the trumpets in and they als are a formidable cleaning crew and i recommend them to anyone, of course they reproduce like crazy but still you can keep the population down!