Snail control narrowed options

[Basilisk]

I looked all over the posts containing "snail" but couldn't find quite what I looked for.

I have a disgusting snail outbreak, and the options to get a grip of it are not good. I have clusters of eggs all over the leaves, the wood and the glass. This points toward the pond snails, because trumpets are livebearers (unless I have other kind of conical shelled snail), and I dropped only some diminute ones a couple of weeks ago, which I hardly ever see. Although I have not seen yet too many of them around, the eggs will hatch eventually and make a mess. I wouldn't mind if they didn't poop over the wood, it looks nasty, and if they did not feast on my favourite leaves. They have eaten the damaged parts of my short vals, but then followed on the Aponogeton crispus drilling holes that made me explode in anger. Then, they ate half a leaf of a lillie, and ate bits of other leaves, which made me burst too, but less severely.

This could be the tricky part of the problem, because I have not any algae, not a single green spot, but one hair that was eaten on the double, which is a strange kind of success. Algae wafers remain after every night and everyone eats of them, and flakes often sink uneaten, as a few artemia carcases.

I have been harvesting snails and throwing them to the garbage, when I don't crush them with my fingers.

Botias are the usual advice, but I don't want botias because I have already a good population of bottom dwellers: royal pleco, rubbernose pleco, two Colombian loricarias, and a banjo catfish. Botias just don't fit among the other guys, they would for sure eat my shrimps, and would be hell taking them out later without making a mess with the plants. Also, they might nip the leaves, and then what good would they be?

Shrimps won't eat the snail eggs, at least they have not done that so far, and there are plenty of them.

How safe would it be to use Aquarium Phamaceuticals 'go away snail'? I think of having the shirmp out while dosing, but what would the effect on plants be? I also concern about my royal, which is a more sensitive fish.

Is there any unregarded way to keep them at bay?

Any comment is more than welcome.
Thanks in advance.

[Clone]

If your chemical treatment is copper based then you will have to remove your shrimp. You should also do the best you can to remove all the snails and snail eggs out of the aquarium prior to dosing so you don't have a rotting mess.

Friends of mine, and many in this forum are pretty high on dwarf puffers for snail control. They are nippy but may work for you.

On a related note, a good idea for the site may be to collate profiles for "snail patrol fish."

[Fat Guy]

Get a yo yo loach.

Dwarf Puffers will terrorize your fish.

[corigan]

Originally Posted by Fat Guy

Get a yo yo loach.

Dwarf Puffers will terrorize your fish.

He said in his initial post he didn't want to get botias because of the competition that would incure between bottom feeders in his aquarium. Though really he doesn't have all that many bottom feeders. I have way more bottom feeders than that in my aquarium and have no problems housing 2 zebra loaches with them for snail patrol. I have a pair of P. Taeniatus Moliwe's that have claimed a cave area in my aquarium. They chase off any of the other bottom dwelling fish form their area. Red Fin African Barbs, Green Hump Corys, Candy Stripe Goby, and my African Glass Catfish all get chased away. The only fish around that they ignore and let swim/eat in that area are the loaches.

Matt

[Basilisk]

Thanks Clone, I think I' will go with chemicals if necessary. I have picked as many snails as I could, and also noticed a new species that might have hitchhiked on somje plant, they are small and have ramshorn-like shells. The big trouble now is taking the egg clusters out, they are really tiny, I just scrub them and let them be sucked by the filter and replace the floss twice a day.
The snail patrol fish profiles is a good idea, yet I have not seen any dwarf puffers around in a long time, despite their popularity.

As for the loaches FG and Corigan, I really don't like them much. I had some before in community tanks, and they did good job on snails, but this one is supposed to be a South American community. Not to keep all from the same river or so, but loaches... I know there are dwarf puffers from SA, but haven't really looked. It would fit better, if I ever find one. I forgot to mention one farlowella, and I also intend to get some more loricarids.

I am still trying to figure this out.
Thanks to all.

[amanda huggenkiss]

Any chance of borrowing someone's loaches temporarily? Or purchasing a couple with the understanding that you'd be returning them once the snail problem was cleared up? Seriously, my tank used to be completely overrun with snails. It was ridiculous. My LFS recommended clown loaches so I got a pair. They got rid of the snails in no time at all.

Something to think about.

From your post, it sounds like you want to use chemicals only as a last resort.

[GDominy]

I am always extremely reluctant to add chemicals to remove snails as you never really know how many snails you have.

Sometimes the death of a few hundred snails can be more devastating to a tanks health then the snails themselves. Be prepared to add lots of Ammonia removing filter media after the snails start dying. Often the ensuing ammonia spike following a massive snail dieoff can be larger then your plants can handle.

As was mentioned before, any chemical that kills your snails will also kill your shrimp (and will kill your shrimp faster then the snails most likely)

[Capt.]

Could you try putting something the snails will eat, like a piece of lettuce in the tank? Then when the snails are all over it pull the piece out and get rid of the snails.

Also if you have snails multiplying that fast it is probably a sign of overfeeding.

[Aqua Dave]

My angelfish actually do a good job of controlling the snail population in my tank. I think the problem you'd have with any fish that would control the snails is that they'd also "control" your shrimp.

David

[Basilisk]

Thanks for your responses.

Gareth: Yes, chemicals are equivalent to nuclear weapons, I'll avoid them as possible.

Capt: just did that before you said it. I have few snails now, but the eggs are still there. Overfeeding? yes, the stupid plecos did not like the algae pellets I bought them, they just smashed them and left them behind the wood, I had not noticed.

Well, the problem of keeping them at low numbers is sort of taken care of, no botias needed still. I don't feed the fish anymore.

However, something bad about the eggs. I see them on the glass, clusters waving with the current. But when I scrub them, my fingers have brown mulm. Diatoms? I think the clusters of eggs are having diminute detritus particles sticked on them, or even algae growin on.

The shrimp is not working at all, it just swims to and fro, but I never see it cleaning. Time to get some otocinclus?

[Aquaman]

I just got some A. Cacatuoides and they have pretty much cleaned out the snails in my 90 gal. I was suprised how quickly they went about it as they are kinda small still 1"-2". they are awesome fish and may be the answer to your snail prob if you can find them.

[Basilisk]

Now I hate you.

Ok, just envy you. I am waiting for my couple of cactuoides, they might arrive by may, maybe later. At least double reds, no normals wanted. Not an easy one to find. Well, it is good news they do the snails, I won't have to care about them in the future. My South American policy is being torn down, as I bought some pigmy gouramies today, they will be in another tank later.

I just examined the snails I took out, and I have a lot of different ones:

- The most unusual shell shale is totally flat on one side, and it grows thicker on the other as it curls. Never saw one of these.

- Regular brown snails (elongated coil shape)

- Spotted, with the regular snail shell shape

- Black, with the regular shell

- Stripped with regular shell

. Ramshorns shell, brown

. Ramshorns shell, very pale brown

. Conic shelled snails, but I don't think malaysian trumpets, they son't burrow.

I would like to have this snail diversity without the problems that they carry. If only one is guilty, no way to find which...

[Basilisk]

Can you guess who took care about those disgusting snail eggs?

Platy fry. Not the adults, but the three 1cm long platies that were born in my tank. I have two platies to feed the plants until my lemon tetras arrive, and their fry found quite amusing to toss the snail eggs. They ate some of them, and the others they just tossed around.

This turned out quite different from what I expected.

[amanda huggenkiss]

Cool!

[Basilisk]

Now I have the tank of the nuts and mysterious kills.

First the least fish I would think to eat snail eggs does. Now, empty shells appear over the sand every day. I don't have the loricarias anymore, yet, I doubt they could have been responsible for that.

Now this is population:

5 platies, 2 adult, 3 small youngs
1 royal panaque (royal pleco)
1 rubbernose/rubberlip pleco
1 farlowella
1 banjo catfish
1 african dwarf frog
1 ghost shrimp
7 pigmy gouramies (dwarf croaking gouramies)

And one detestable betta.

Make your bets, and guess who the hell is eating the snails, because I have no idea, and haven't seen anyone in the move.

PS- Yes, the whole South American idea is kind of blown off