Die Snails, Die!

[Underwurlde]

I have a snail infestation and I want them gone! Damn their stalky little eyes.

I do not want them in my tank because:
1) They are exponentially reproducing - hence I have to keep manually removing them (at least 60-70 so far!)
2) They are dirty. Very dirty (mmmmmmarton)!
3) Carry on unchecked and they will biologically overload the tank and kill my fish.
4) They munch on my Java Ferns

So, I want them gone. Period.

I believe they are "Bladder/Tadpole/Pouch Snails - Family Physidae", aka Physa fontinalis. One hitched a ride on a plant I purchased and the rest is history. (NOTE: CLEAN YOUR PLANTS WHEN YOU BUY THEM).

I looked at purchasing some snail removing chemicals but am wary of the side effects, so any advice please!

Cheers,

Andy

PS
I looked at buying a water additive (chemical to you & me) that 'Knocked them out' - a copper sulphate based product -
So I asked: 'Does this product kill the little buggers'?
Reply: 'No. As it states it just knocks them out'.



Thought: 'You're kidding me right?!? Why, in hells teeth, would I want to put some snails to sleep? They don't exactly move quicky, the small ones are impossible to spot and once the ones that I have not removed wake up, they just carry on as usual, reproducing faster than rats and crapping everywhere! '

 

[voo]

Have you tried leaving cucumber in the tank overnight and removing it in the morning? Or what about a snail trap?

Using chemicals that would kill the snails could leave you with a big ammonia spike when they die and are left rotting in the tank

 

[Underwurlde]

Yep, tried that.

The problem with these critters is that you HAVE to get rid of them ALL in one hit.

I do not mind a spike. I will have fished (pardon the pun) most of them out anyway, but like I said, it's the (very) small ones that I can't spot that is the issue which is why the problem persists. Oh and their eggs are like clear globs of snot - again, impossible to spot.

Thanks,

Andy

 

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

You could have several pieces of cucumber or lettuce attached to string and bait them that way. Multiple traps work better then one. When the snails latch on to the food, bring em up!

 

[Underwurlde]

Thank you for your answers but I think the trap / cucumber method (that I have tried) would just simply not work at removing ALL of them. For sure this method cannot get rid of any eggs that are in the tank!

I think I need a 100% sure fire method of getting rid of them ALL in one hit and in my mind this means a chemical solution to completely wipe them out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as would any advice for the use thereof (pros & cons).

thanks,

Andy

 

[voo]

Will the chemicals get rid of the eggs? Or just kill the babies as they hatch?
What about some kind of loach, clown loach? They'll eat the snails.

 

[Underwurlde]

Hi again,

Hmm, that's what I thought - what about the eggs? & what about the effects on the fish AND the effects on my bacterial culture in my blue filters???

I'm looking to get some of this: ’eSHa Gastropex Snail Killer’

It claims to kill the eggs, (and also some types of algae). I just need confidence in using it - is it any good and will it harm my tank set up???

Andy.

PS - I think a clown loach may be too big for my tank & again, not 100% effective.

 

[voo]

If it's the tank listed in your signiture, then i'm not sure if the shrimp would be harmed.

 

[Underwurlde]

Ah!

voo, indeed I have only one tank, as listed in my sig. Why do you think the shrimp may get harmed???

Thanks for alerting me!

Andy

 

[fiona and my babies]

i had a problem ith my tank, got some new plants and they had snails on them.......ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
i was told to use a snail killer but i didnt want to keep putting this in the tank as i didnt want to harm the fish. was told then that i should get a clown loach.
not only does he look phat but he has eaten all my snails and i havent seen any more hatching out in the last few days

praps you could try this?

 

[Beemeeup]

i had snails in a small 5 gallon tank and after trying to catch them - i then put in two loaches (i think they are yo yo or pakistani loach) - there were no more snails after they took over and that was 6 months ago.

 

[Tetras]

Underwurlde,

I have the same problem as you, and am fed up manually removing them, thought I had got them all including eggs, but now I see them popping up everywhere. I am plotting to collect them all and bring them back to LFS that sold me the plant they were on and tell them that I believe they belong to them.

Ok, shrimps are not that tolerant to copper, in my case I don't use liquid plant fertilizer because they have copper in them.

Sorry I am not much help, but hope that the shrimp info was usefull

Good luck

 

[MoMa]

I wish I had your problem.
I have fish that eat snails (puffers, clown loaches) and have to breed them in a separate tank.

Here's a couple of non-chemical ideas...

Check in the Brackish forum on this board. Figure out which memebers are near you and have puffers. If you have anybody nearby, PM them and see if they want to be involved in a "snail exchange" of sorts. (i'm not sure what you'd exchange really, except maybe a beer or two). It wouldn't get rid of all the snails, but it would give you a place to get rid of them. The few that would be left in the tank in between breeding periods wouldn't overrun the tank.

Or, check the forums for someone near you who has Clown loaches or other snail eating fish, and see if you can borrow one of the fish for a few weeks.

I've also heard of draining the tank and boiling all the substrate, etc. I don't like this idea as it stresses out the fish (and it seems like an awful lot of work).

I would avoid the chemicals as just about any chemical designed to eliminate snails will eliminate most other invertebrates as well.


good luck!