[Tiff]

Hi!

I started a planted tank about two months ago and found a few small snails along the way. I just removed them from the tank and for a few weeks I haven't seen any. (I'm assuming they came long with the plants I purchased). As of yesterday there seems to be more and more! (frustrating). How do I get rid of these????? I have two anubias, one java fern and several crypts. I'm afraid to take any of those plants out to bleach since the crypts seem to be pretty sensitive (still dealing with some melting). There are 3 different spots on the back of the tank that look like little bubbles...I'm nervous that they are some type of eggs (hoping not from the snails).

Any help would be appreciated!!!!!

 

[redman88]

any other inverts in the tank?

 

[Darkblade48]

Do you know what kind of snails you have? If they are Malaysian Trumpet Snails, many people actually prefer to keep them in the tank because they are beneficial and will help root through the substrate, thus preventing anaerobic spots from forming.

Otherwise, if you really have a snail problem, you can throw in a piece of cucumber (or some other vegetable) just before lights off into a narrow neck bottle (i.e. so that fish can't eat the vegetables before the snails get to it). Push the bottle so that half of the opening is in the substrate while the other half is just above the surface of the substrate. In the morning, take out the bottle and you will have plenty of snails.

Rinse and repeat.

 

[timwag2001]

sounds like rams horn snails to me. you could get a loach if your tank is big enough

 

[comatoast]

If Yo-Yo loaches are an option for you, they will end your snail problem in a hurry.

 

[non_compliance]

IF you don't have shrimp you could get an assassin snail.... it is what it sounds like.

 

[bradac56]

My first advice is to cut back on feeding, snail blooms is almost always due to more food in the tank than the fish can eat so the snails overeat and breed like guppies. That should slow the breeding down and you can wipe the eggs off of the glass to kill them (yes the little white dots in a circle are eggs).

You can also pick out the mature snails and smoosh them if you do not want to use chemicals which I wouldn't recommend at this early stage. To be honest you probably want a few snails in the tank, they help clean up nicely as long as they are not the mean plant eating variety or reproduce to much.

- Brad

 

[Tiff]

Thanks so much for all of the replies!

I'm not quite sure as to what type of snails they are. I have live plants with Cardinal Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, and two Otos. Not sure if I could do the loaches in that case. I will definitely try the cucumber/lettuce trick as I have read that before also.

Thanks everyone!

 

[fibertech]

Just use a small net and as they climb up the glass, net them. In a few days you will see the #s deminish to a more acceptable level. I also advise against Yoyos because they will toment your Ottos to death.

 

[lauraleellbp]

The "bubbles" on your tank glass are snail eggs. You can scrape them away with a fingernail and toss them out.

 

[Karackle]

I agree with bradac, I too would advise that you cut back on feeding, i had a snail population explosion and when i cut back on feeding the numbers decreased significantly.

As for bleaching your plants, you already have snails in the tank so bleaching the plants won't do you any good at this point, so I would not recommend you upset the balance of the tank by pulling out the plants to try it :thumbsup:

I'll be honest I never had much luck with the cucumber / lettuce / what-have-you trick when I had my snail explosion, I would smush some of the adults against the glass and let the fish feast on them (they do love it), i sent some off to someone needing them for their dwarf puffer and I cut back on my feeding, once i cut back on the feeding, the problem corrected itself. I now have just a few in the tank which is good because they are helpful, just unsightly in large #s.

 

[elihanover]

The "bubbles" on your tank glass are snail eggs. You can scrape them away with a fingernail and toss them out.

Or you could make tiny omelettes. :hihi:

 

[lauraleellbp]

Or you could make tiny omelettes. :hihi:

Spoken from experience?

What size frying pan would you need to make a snail egg omlette...

 

[Karackle]

What size frying pan would you need to make a snail egg omlette...

A doll house sized single egg pan I think. Cooked over a candle flame :hihi:

 

[Tiff]

I'll try and cut back on the feeding (but not the omelette..thanks for that by the way..I just got done eating fried eggs! Eek! :smile My cardinals are still really shy and not eating much (which is another concern). I tried feeding frozen bloodworms also but not much luck since they won't go to the top of the tank yet to eat. I lost two yesterday and an oto today :icon_sad:

I know part of it is because my water is hard and I'm sure they are stressed. I've been doing small changes with RO water (didn't want to change the pH too much at one time) and then did a 50% water change on Sunday with just RO water but my pH is still at 8! (frustrating) My tap water is about 8.5 I don't want to do straight RO water..I wanted a mix of tap and RO. Petco has this conditioned water which is suppose to be good but WOW EXPENSIVE!!!!! I don't have the $$$ for an RO unit.

Well thanks again on all of the advice! I really appreciate it!!!

 

[bradac56]

A small amount of peat moss would lower your ph but you would have to be careful since you can't put it under the substrate like normal since the tank is up and running already. The problem is it will stain your water like a tea (tannins) if it's in your water column.

Don't worry about the feeding give them a bit of tough love, go without feeding them a day or two and then they should be more than willing to eat. Fish can fast for days without any big problems as long as there well kept.

- Brad