what do you do...
- Thread starter xtr1gunf00lx
- Start date
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking... are you asking how to get rid of the snails or how to not hurt them while you're vacuuming?
If you want to get rid of them, you can put a piece of cucumber in the tank overnight... the next morning, you should have a bunch of snails on it when you take it out. They really don't hurt anything though, so it doesn't hurt anything to leave them in the tank. If they are overpopulated, you can just feed the tank less, so there's less extra food around for the snails to eat.
If you're asking how to not hurt them while you vacuum... just vacuum as usual, and let the old tank water sit in the bucket for a few minutes before you dump it. By that time, the snails that got vacuumed up will have a hold on the side of the bucket and will stay stuck while the water is dumped... then you can just pluck them out and put them back. I'm not sure why you'd want to cycle, since you already have fish in the tank, unless you mean a fish-in cycle and that is just more water changes anyways.
If you want to get rid of them, you can put a piece of cucumber in the tank overnight... the next morning, you should have a bunch of snails on it when you take it out. They really don't hurt anything though, so it doesn't hurt anything to leave them in the tank. If they are overpopulated, you can just feed the tank less, so there's less extra food around for the snails to eat.
If you're asking how to not hurt them while you vacuum... just vacuum as usual, and let the old tank water sit in the bucket for a few minutes before you dump it. By that time, the snails that got vacuumed up will have a hold on the side of the bucket and will stay stuck while the water is dumped... then you can just pluck them out and put them back. I'm not sure why you'd want to cycle, since you already have fish in the tank, unless you mean a fish-in cycle and that is just more water changes anyways.
Snails really don't matter. If you don't want to be rid of them, you needn't worry...because it's really difficult to get rid of them.
And if you do want to be rid of them, rethink it after all - because the amount of work it takes vs. the actual success rate of fully ridding a tank of snails is quite big. Not to mention they're hardly a bother. As long as there is no overfeeding and the tank is kept clean, you'll never have more than a few at a time...and they help break down old food, fish wastes and decaying plant matter.
And if you do want to be rid of them, rethink it after all - because the amount of work it takes vs. the actual success rate of fully ridding a tank of snails is quite big. Not to mention they're hardly a bother. As long as there is no overfeeding and the tank is kept clean, you'll never have more than a few at a time...and they help break down old food, fish wastes and decaying plant matter.
A fish store "might" take in baby apple/mystery snails or ramshorn snails. They definately won't take in the small "pest" snails (usually brown or tan) or the trumpet snails (long "trumpet like" shape). However, I love my trumpet snails, I think they're very pretty, and I don't mind my other pest snails. They do help to keep the tank clean. If you see a large increase in the population of snails in your tank, it usually means you are overfeeding the tank.