Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Krull on September 9, 2013 at 9:49am

I've tried dropping a leaf of lettuce in overnight.  Idea is they all crawl on and you take the lettuce out in the morning, didn't work.  Heard assassins work well, haven't tried.  Assuming they are ramshorns, they clean up the algae nice and only eat dead leaves on plants.  To control their population I am careful not to overfeed my fish, and do regular water changes to keep algae in control (their food source).  Have fun with your new set up, sounds sweet.

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Permalink Reply by Peter on September 9, 2013 at 12:01pm

I try cucumber as the greens to get them out. They actually burrow into the cucumber. The method works great for me. U can add some loaches wen ur getting fish or assasin snails even tho u need lots of assasins to make a diff. U can dose copper if u never plan on keeping shrimp in the tank. They aint bad just look ugly

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Piti on September 9, 2013 at 7:03pm

Having a few snails is never a bad thing unless you just don't like the loof of them.  I usually drop an algae wafer over night and in the morning pull out the snails swarmed over it.  If you break the shells they make a nice treat for fish.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron G on September 9, 2013 at 10:05pm

Thanks everyone for the replies, much appreciated.  I guess controlling them rather than eradicating them is the way to go. I think I'll try the cucumber thing...

Cheers!

Aaron.

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Permalink Reply by seth roach on September 10, 2013 at 10:59pm

yeah once they are in there you might as well pretend to like them because eradicating them is pretty much an aquarium keeping urban legend...ive learned to cope with them; careful squishing them sometimes they break and go directly into your finger which is really quite painful. You can also try adding more snails you want to fight the population of the pest ones, there are some pretty cool looking snails out there. One of the only things that really bothers me about them anymore is one of the tanks ive had up for a year or two has an excessive amount of left over shells littering the substrate, like hundreds. And they are so light that they dont really vacuum out very well. Im not looking forward to solving that problem the tank has a lot of crypts that really really dont like being disturbed....

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Permalink Reply by George Barrett on September 11, 2013 at 11:40pm

as long as the snails have something to eat they will not eat your plants so your good there. but if you really don't like them just start squashing them. also I feed my snail the top end of the zucchini or yellow squash they love it so you can bait them that way. they actually are entertaining and do a great job cleaning algae. also you can get some loaches to keep them in check. lots of loaches to choose from kuhli loach is one of my favorites. careful of dojo loaches when the get bigger they sometimes play in the substrate and accidently uproot plants you just planted

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Permalink Reply by Aaron G on September 12, 2013 at 7:48am

Thanks! Some good advice here. Much appreciated. I'll be squishing and baiting and am getting some assassin snails but I'll also have to learn to like my uninvited guests.

Cheers!

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Permalink Reply by Zachary P on September 13, 2013 at 2:55pm

They havent harmed my tank. I encourage the snails to eat the leftovers at the bottom and eat off my dead leaves. Saves me trim time. Also...I take them out and feed them to my puffers in my brackish tank once they are all fattened up.

I actually go to my LFS and then let me pick the snails out of the plant tank for free.....So no complaints here.

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Permalink Reply by Rebel Cat Lady on September 15, 2013 at 6:42am

Clown Loach Clown Loach Clown Loach.... lol....they do a great job of eating them. Mine did ok when I would catch snails and bring them in from the creek by my house but when I switched the loaches to another tank the snails took over to the point i took as many as i could out the rest were put along with the gravel into a bucket of boiling water... mean I know but i had THOUSANDS no joke.. so just try ur best to get them under control while you still can

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Permalink Reply by Aaron G on September 17, 2013 at 9:47am

Along with my Rummy Nose Tetras and Amano Shrimp I added four Assassin Snails to the tank. Those and some judicious squishing and I haven't seen a single uninvited snail in days. I'm sure there are still some in there - probably hiding from the Assassins but I'm very happy now.

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Permalink Reply by anthony desanto on September 18, 2013 at 8:30pm

I agree with Marissa if you want them gone clown loach is the way to go I had hundreds I got 2 clown loaches snails were gone I kept the loaches for a year they got huge no snails theve been gone for six months now and I have maybe 10 snails when the get out of control I will most definitely use the loach method if you want to control then cucumber or pea pods you can even submerge it in a jar that way you just pull the jar and all the snails are already in there on the veggies for you

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Permalink Reply by TeamKRF on October 6, 2013 at 10:03pm

If you already added assassin snails and amano shrimp I would keep away from adding loaches. I use a 1 inch diameter clear PVC with a 90 degree elbow. I put in tank standing upright and toss some algae wafers down in it, let it sit overnight or so, you'll know when being its clear, a simple DIY snail trap, rinse out with hot water and reuse when needed. Be sure to check for assassins or shrimp before rinsing out. I had/have both assassins and amanos in the tank I used trap in and never had a assassin or amano in trap not to say it won't happen.

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