Snail Invasion

J

Jin

Small Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2002
39
0
0
#1
I have a 29-gallon tank that has been taken over by snails yet again.

I had this problem a little while ago as well.  99% of them seemed to die after I last cleaned my tank & then started treating one of my fish for dropsy.  She died a little while later anyway.  :'(

I’ve had folks suggest adding copper & other heavy minerals to the tank, but I’ve also been informed that it could upset the balance of the tank quite a bit (especially with my plants) & odds are it won’t kill the snails’ eggs.

Are there any fish or other aquatic critters that eat snails?  What is the best way to go about getting rid of themwithout too much collateral damage?

Thanks much.
 

J

Jin

Small Fish
#4
Oct 22, 2002
39
0
0
#4
I've got 2 angels, 2 pearl gouramis, 2 otos, 1 borneo pleco, 1 pictus cat, 1 redtail shark, & 2 neons.

I'll be moving the angels to a bigger tank & the neons to a smaller tank soon.  I might move some of the other fish or all if I have to resort to using medications to get rid of them.

As far as squishing them goes, It would take days.  I think when I looked last night there were about, this is a guestimate, 3 or 4 per square inch of surface in the tank.  (Except the glass itself.)

Hmmmm, loaches…  I had no idea they ate snails.  I'll see if I can find the suggested variety.  I’ve never seen a ram…well, that I know of.  I’ll look for those as well.

Thanks for the advice.  If anyone else can think of anything helpful, I’d appreciate it.
 

J

Jin

Small Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
39
0
0
#6
Those are some great looking fish.

I might try to pick some up tonight after I test my water.

Thanks again.
 

arcab4

arcab4

The Big Fish
The Big Fish
#7
Oct 22, 2002
1,554
30
48
46
Sunny Southern California
#7
i have a few of those german blue rams in my tank..along with tons and tons of trumpet snails and some other type of snail. i've never seen them eat the snails. but they sure look great in the tank...colors totally stand out when u feed them frozen brineshrimps instead of flakes.
 

Matt Nace

Matt Nace

Superstar Fish
#8
Oct 22, 2002
1,470
1
38
Pennsylvania
#8
I would try a YoYo...I believe their names your dealers may have them as is Botia lahachata.

Don't add any copper or anything, you dont need all them dieing in the tank...just eaten ;)

I have read where people have placed food after lights out in a dish..and the snails all go for the food...but your pleco and catfish may be there intead.So your best bet would to get a 3 day dissolving piece of food(I belive by Tetra) You put it in there , and slowly the fish can eat it. So it would still be there long enough for the snails to get to it. Then simply lift up the snails on the dish it is on. The YOYO will take care of the rest. Repeat as needed.

The food method is to hurry up the process.
 

Matt Nace

Matt Nace

Superstar Fish
#10
Oct 22, 2002
1,470
1
38
Pennsylvania
#10
I am guessing 3 or so inches :-/ .

Mine is currently close to that anyway with it's tail.

He is a pretty nice loach. I have had loaches that were kinda nice...and ones that were really mean too.
 

J

Jin

Small Fish
#11
Oct 22, 2002
39
0
0
#11
Well, the fish hunt goes slowly.

I started my search last Friday.  Only one store in town had any loaches at all & they were little baby clowns.  (~.75 inches long.)  The same store is getting some blue rams in today.  I might wait on them for my new tank.

Not to be discouraged, I grabbed the phone book & tried to hit every fish store within 15 miles of my house yesterday.  Of the 6 or so stores I hit, only 1 other had any loaches.  They only have khuli & clown.  The clowns are about 3.5 to 4 inches long & are $15.  Is that a good price?

I never saw any sign what so ever of yoyo loaches.  They might not be very popular in Colorado or something…  I’ll try & see if they are listed under another name at any of the places nearby.

The food tablet sounds like quite the interesting idea.  I will try that as well.  I got many of them out last week during a water change, but I’d still say there are around 100 of the buggers in there.

Thanks for all the great feedback.
 

J

Jin

Small Fish
#13
Oct 22, 2002
39
0
0
#13
Hmmm, talking catfish eh?  What do they say?   :)

Seriously tho, thanks for the advice.  I’ll see if there are any of them as well.  Do they along fine with pictus cats?
 

J

Jin

Small Fish
#15
Oct 22, 2002
39
0
0
#15
Interesting article – lots of good pest control ideas in there.

The same place I finally found the larger loaches in also just got some blue rams.  They are great looking!  I think I’m going to get a pair of each…if I can fit them in anyway…
 

M

Malok

New Fish
#18
Oct 22, 2002
6
0
0
www.infoserv2k.com
#18
i use lightly blanched spinach leaves attached to a rock leave there over night remove at morning replacing with a new one repeating as long is it must, got rid of 'em all, also removed plecs and corys during that period cause they where eating it all.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.