Evil Snails

[NewFeesh]

So I'm just a week into my first fishless cycle ever. I bought a few plants and stuck them in the tank--checked 'em for snails but obviously not carefully enough.

I also have creepy white algae/fungus/gross stuff growing on my driftwood.

I don't want the snails to eat my plants. But should I:
1)KILL THEM!!!
or
2) keep them around to eat the nasty algae? Or will they just go for my plants first?

Thanks for your help!

 

[waterdrop]

They won't eat your plants, they eat much smaller stuff than that. They are technically harmless and even beneficial in minor ways but as most of us know, they more often get out of control and can really be a lot of trouble. Many will choose to start he combat early, eliminating them in any way possible. Since you don't have fish to feed them to and since they would decay if you crushed them (as you can do later to feed your fish) you need to remove them. Don't put them in the indoor trash as they will crawl out if not crushed. If you have a lot of snails you can place some veggies on a tea saucer and leave it overnight submerged in the tank. The idea is that the snails will be on the veggies in the morning and you lift the plate slowly and catch them on the plate when they do their usual trick of dropping off to get away! There are also loaches that eat snails but these can make a mess of a stocking plan. Don't use chemicals to combat snails.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[AstonN24vantage]

clown loaches are the ultimate snail eliminators

 

[Katty]

This is purely anecdotal and can depend on what types of snails you ended up with, but in my tank I have very small "pond" type snails. I also have plants. As far as I can tell they don't touch my plants at all. I actually realized I liked them and I thought they were cute so I stopped trying to get rid of them

BUT, if you plain just don't want creepy crawlies like that in your tank you should start pulling them out early before they get a chance to get a hold over your tank. Waterdrop has good advice for catching the snails and crushing them. What I used to do when I was trying to get rid of them was I'd grab all the ones I could see, drop them in a saucer covered in a layer of salt, then when I was done layer some salt over top for good measure. Then I'd just chuck the whole salty mess in the trash.

Also, if you decide you don't mind them and don't choose to remove them now, you can always start taking them out if you see them munching on your plants or taking over the tank. Too many snails can be a sign of overfeeding though.

 

[NewFeesh]

Okay. I guess I don't technically mind HAVING them. But they mustn't eat my plants. Will they eat my algae? I've just recently noticed white flecks on the sides of the glass--please tell me that's just more algae and not billions of snail eggs . . .

 

[Sesshis_grl]

you could add a puffer...they'll be gone real quick

 

[NewFeesh]

All the fish that eat snails would have to be added after my tank stops cycling; it's knee-deep in ammonia right now.

I don't suppose pet stores let you "borrow" fish for snail problems and then return them, do they?

 

[kiriyama]

Chuck in a couple of assassin snails, job done!

 

[Katty]

Depends on what the flecks look like. Sometimes the flecks can just be stuff like bacteria growing on the glass. Aquatic snail eggs though often look like one or many little specks encased in a clear jelly though.

You could always ask! Worst that could happen is they'd give you a funny look.

Some snails might eat a little algae, but prefer stuff like uneaten fish food. There are some types of snails that will gladly much on algae only (nerites). And there are also some types that, as you fear, prefer plants.

When you get your fish in, if you get a big boom in snail population, it's likely due to overfeeding your fish. More food = more baby snails
Making sure all of the food is eaten or removed, cutting down on feeding, and gravel vacuuming the tank usually cuts down on the snails.