Help snail infestation used tank

[Jabottom]

Hi! I purchased a used tank yesterday form an elderly couple that is having to downsize residences. The fish are very healthy, but when I filled the tank with fresh water yesterday I noticed snails. This morning there are hundreds! All over everything! What do I do? Do I need clown loaches and assassin snails? Do I need to try to pick them off of things? How do I clean my siphon equipment to keep them from spreading to my other tanks....or do I just need a dedicated set?? Help! I’ve never seen this many snails!

 

[Colin_T]

Just take them out manually and squash them or chuck them in the garden. They will dry out and die in the garden so you don't have to worry about them attacking your garden plants.

 

[itiwhetu]

Look on the bright side, you can breed snails. That is kind of cool.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Please don't buy clown loaches as snail control. That's an old school recommendation that neglects the needs of these smart, social fish, which get very large, need groups of at least six because they form social bonds and a strict hierarchy, and suffer when kept in ones and twos and are kept for snail control rather than having their needs met. They aren't suitable for most home aquariums, unless you have a tank of at least 100 or more gallons and can house six or more for their lifespan.

Check out how big clown loaches can get when kept well. These fellas are in an 800 gallon tank:

You can manually remove them and reduce the population by ensuring you don't overfeed, and cleaning the substrate often. No excess food means no food for the snails to explode in popuation. There are also snails traps on the market, and a lot of DIY snail trap methods out there to help you reduce the current population.

They're Malaysian Trumpet Snails. Having a few in the tank is actually helpful since they turn the substrate and help clean up by eating excess organics - I added some to my sand tanks deliberately for that purpose. Admittedly, your population is out of control! LOL. But you can manually reduce it without turning to clown loaches. A few assassin snails could also help.

 

[Gypsy Tart]

Just take them out manually and squash them or chuck them in the garden. They will dry out and die in the garden so you don't have to worry about them attacking your garden plants.

Couldn't you just put them into a pond ? Why kill them?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Couldn't you just put them into a pond ? Why kill them?

Because aquariums have diseases and pathogens that the wild fauna haven't been exposed to. Never put anything from an aquarium into the wild, ecosystems have been destroyed due to aquarists releasing fish, plants and inverts into the wild.

ETA: As an example, say he catches a hundred or so of these snails and releases them into a wild waterway, and they survive and breed in an area they never evolved to be in. They out compete the snails that evolved to live there, wiping out a population. Goldfish, plecos and other fish released into non-native placs have done exactly this.

 

[Gypsy Tart]

Because aquariums have diseases and pathogens that the wild fauna haven't been exposed to. Never put anything from an aquarium into the wild, ecosystems have been destroyed due to aquarists releasing fish, plants and inverts into the wild.

ETA: As an example, say he catches a hundred or so of these snails and releases them into a wild waterway, and they survive and breed in an area they never evolved to be in. They out compete the snails that evolved to live there, wiping out a population. Goldfish, plecos and other fish released into non-native placs have done exactly this.

I see. However, how did they get into the aquarium in the first place ?
In that case, couldn't you possibly kill them in a humane manner?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I see. However, how did they get into the aquarium in the first place ?
In that case, couldn't you possibly kill them in a humane manner?

How did what get in the aquarium, the snails?
Well they originate in Malaysia, but have been bred in tanks, so these were probably tank bred. Either way, they don't belong in the wild waterways of Tennessee, where OP is.

Crushing a snail is about as humane as you can get, instant lights out.

 

[Gypsy Tart]

How did what get in the aquarium, the snails?
Well they originate in Malaysia, but have been bred in tanks, so these were probably tank bred. Either way, they don't belong in the wild waterways of Tennessee, where OP is.

Crushing a snail is about as humane as you can get, instant lights out.

Yes, the snails as they are the invaders.

This reminds me of a giant crayfish (from the US) that someone must have put into a river somewhere in the UK. Apparently, it has overtaken the entire region and has killed many other species.

American signal crayfish invade Northumberland river

An invasion of American crayfish discovered in a Northumberland river could have a "devastating" impact on the native species.

www.bbc.com

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yes, the snails as they are the invaders.

This reminds me of a giant crayfish (from the US) that someone must have put into a river somewhere in the UK. Apparently, it has overtaken the entire region and has killed many other species.

American signal crayfish invade Northumberland river

An invasion of American crayfish discovered in a Northumberland river could have a "devastating" impact on the native species.

www.bbc.com

Yes, and it also mentions another problem I was referring to regarding pathogens;
" Signal crayfish carry a fungal disease known as crayfish plague that has wiped out the native crayfish from most rivers in the south of England."

That disease is carried by a lot of foreign crayfish, and our native British white clawed crayfish hadn't been exposed to it before, so it wiped out a huge chunk of our native species. As a result, most species of crayfish are banned from import to the UK, to try to prevent more of this disease being bought in.

People releasing creatures and even plants from aquariums has caused untold damage to non native ecosystems. Never ever release anything from a tank into the wild. It might not feel nice to euthanise things like snails, but it's not kind or soft-hearted to put them in the wild, it's selfish and wildly destructive.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yes, the snails as they are the invaders.

This reminds me of a giant crayfish (from the US) that someone must have put into a river somewhere in the UK. Apparently, it has overtaken the entire region and has killed many other species.

American signal crayfish invade Northumberland river

An invasion of American crayfish discovered in a Northumberland river could have a "devastating" impact on the native species.

www.bbc.com

Others to consider.

This video of a state park in Florida, plecos are not native in this lake, but enough got dumped her that they've been breeding and have taken over the lake. They've destroyed the bottom of the lake by digging their breeding holes and eating everything in sight, just look at how many there are, and the impact this has had on this native ecosystem, where plecos don't belong. Would have been better to euthanise than to have dumped these fish.

Goldfish are also all over the place where they shouldn't be. People buying them to keep in small tanks for their kids, fish gets to big, they dump it. Goldfish can tolerate very cold water, eat and poop voraciously, out compete native species by eating all the insects and plant matter, completely changing the river and pond systems, and breeding wildly.

These problems have been caused by irresponsible fish keepers.

 

[Jabottom]

Just take them out manually and squash them or chuck them in the garden. They will dry out and die in the garden so you don't have to worry about them attacking your garden plants.

Thank you! I’ll try to do that!

 

[AilyNC]

Poor snails

 

[Jabottom]

Please don't buy clown loaches as snail control. That's an old school recommendation that neglects the needs of these smart, social fish, which get very large, need groups of at least six because they form social bonds and a strict hierarchy, and suffer when kept in ones and twos and are kept for snail control rather than having their needs met. They aren't suitable for most home aquariums, unless you have a tank of at least 100 or more gallons and can house six or more for their lifespan.

Check out how big clown loaches can get when kept well. These fellas are in an 800 gallon tank:

You can manually remove them and reduce the population by ensuring you don't overfeed, and cleaning the substrate often. No excess food means no food for the snails to explode in popuation. There are also snails traps on the market, and a lot of DIY snail trap methods out there to help you reduce the current population.

They're Malaysian Trumpet Snails. Having a few in the tank is actually helpful since they turn the substrate and help clean up by eating excess organics - I added some to my sand tanks deliberately for that purpose. Admittedly, your population is out of control! LOL. But you can manually reduce it without turning to clown loaches. A few assassin snails could also help.

Thank you! I will try some snail traps....the tank came with several assassin snails but the must not be able to keep up.

 

[hansgruber7]

Snail populations also grow from overfeeding. I found that when I bought an assassin snail and cut down the feeding to minimal, my pest snail problem was almost entirely solved. You can also remove them manually or with a snail trap.