Snails

[Helium_Junkie]

I have started finding tiny snails in my tank, are they a problem? Should I leave em? Do they serve any purpose?

 

[Joviella]

Snails can become a major problem if left.........they take over the tank. Clown loaches and other botia species love to eat snails. I wouldn't bother with any "get rid of snail" products as ,in my experience,they don't work.

 

[Stryker]

Snails cause no problems. They also help keep down some types of algae (depending on the snail).

If you have plants the snails *should* leave them alone.

 

[nitro]

yes some snails are good. they only snail i keep is Malyasian trumpet snails because they burrow underneath the gravel or sand to help stop the build up of anearobic resperation(more likely to happen in sand) and they look kinda nice and stay small and eat uneaten food i think.

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Snails are an important part of the fauna in any tank. You will have many if the conditions are right for them to do so. However, if you have any problems, then there are more natural ways of removing them.

A slice of cucumber (then removal of slice and feeding snails), a few loaches or perhaps reducing the amount of food fed to fishes can help.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

The Best think to do is to leave them alone. I have ton's of snails in both of my tanks and I can say that not once have they ever attacked of maimed one of my fish. I also think fish like having them in the tank, they seem to take great pleasure in knowing them off the walls and watching the currant sweep them up and blow them around the tank.

 

[karrihug]

i had a couple hitch hikers on plants in my 55 and now it is overrun. i tried cucumber and they finished it off before we could get them out. yesterday i bought 3 clown loaches. when they get too big they will go in my 210. should grow fast with all those snails to eat.

 

[clutterydrawer]

I had some when I was new to fishkeeping and I'm ashamed to say I poisoned them all. they did eat algae though.

I have some now in a cookie jar in which I've set up a sortof water garden thingy, they're actually quite sweet.

 

[SirMinion]

Some eggs hitchedhiked on some plants, now my tank has a snail swarm.

They won't harm the fish (apart from adding an additional load on the filter, and draw on the oxygen) but they are decimating my plants.

The larger ones get picked out and put in the puffer tanks, but there's too many tiny ones to make an impact on their population by manual removal.

I bought some small clown loach, but they don't seem interested.

I can't use 'snail away' because I have other inverts in the tank.

aaarg!

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Easy (I hope) SirMinion. Remove your fishes, plants and selected snails and then wipe out everythig else.