How Did I Get These Snails

[kewskills]

hmmm, i noticed today that 1 of my tanks has lots of tiny snails, i think they are Planorbids, Ramshorn Snails.

bit confused how i got them as this tank has no plants and has not had anything new added for several months.
anyway, how can i get rid of them?

tank is 60 ltr, 6 cories and 3 mollies. freshwater no salt.

any help appreciated

 

[stang1]

Sometimes you just have to remove them by hand, that's what I generally do.
Another method which seems to work pretty well is placing some cucumber in your tank for a while. You'll be amazed how many snails this attracts! Once you've got a few on there, take out the cucumber and dispose of the snails.

 

[lilfishie]

any new fish sometimes there eggs come in the water, i agree with stang, cucumber works well, just do it a few times until there aren't any left

 

[poopsydrew]

Agree with the above. If they didnt come in with plants then it had to be with new fish, it might not even be eggs but just tiny tiny baby snails and once they are in they reproduce like crazy. Cucumber will work well but you will probably always have some snails in your tank (which i dont think is really a problem as they can help keep uneaten food and algae in check). Sometimes i wish my tank had more snails but a lot of the fish i own clear the tank of all of them. Good luck.

Drew

 

[kewskills]

Thanks for all the answers, bit odd as i said not put anything in for about 3 months, maybe they have been there for a while but not noticed them they are very small.
well i dont want to kill them so as i believe they are harmless will leave them for the time being.
not alot else to do really. everything has a right to live

 

[lfox]

a while ago i had a overload of snails in my tank that came from weed........... but any way,
i was told that pakistan loaches and clown loaches will eat them up pretty quick.....plus, they are pretty cute to watch and are really hardy.....

you can also get snail drops from your local pet store that will kill the snails, the only problem with that is it will kill the snails but then you have to remove them before the water goes off [coz of all the dead snails]

hope this helps.....

 

[kewskills]

thanks lfox for the reply, i have thought of the loaches before but have plans for new fish already. i really dont want to harm them in anyway so i guess they stay put for now

beautiful pics by the way

 

[lilfishie]

clown loaches are good snail eaters but many are unaware of there potential size of 12" and both of them prefer to be in groups which many don't realise too. think the cumcumber would be the best option for you kewskills

 

[kewskills]

clown loaches are good snail eaters but many are unaware of there potential size of 12" and both of them prefer to be in groups which many don't realise too. think the cumcumber would be the best option for you kewskills

thank you i'll give it ago, once i find somewhere to rehouse them

 

[The-Wolf]

you could use flubenol 15,but you would need to keep your eye
on the water parameters after treating due to the decaying bodies of the snails.
too many dead snails will equal toxic water.
http/www.flubenol.co.uk//index.php

 

[kewskills]

you could use flubenol 15,but you would need to keep your eye
on the water parameters after treating due to the decaying bodies of the snails.
too many dead snails will equal toxic water.
http/www.flubenol.co.uk//index.php

thanks wolf

 

[Stroker]

I was told to try the clown loach route so I bought two and put them in my 10 Gallon tank. Luckily I found out how big they can get real quick like so I was able to get a bigger tank. I was still only able to get a 20 gallon but it will do for a year or so before they get too big. They did do a great job on my snails though. Don't think of it as harming the snails, think of it as feeding your new fish.

 

[poopsydrew]

Im not a big fan of buying fish in order to perform a chore or task one could do on their own. If its a fish you can house and actually want/care for I feel its ok, but to buy a fish to perform a certain job that could be done by the keeper, is something I disagree with IMHO. Good luck kewlskills!

Drew