Mega Snail Invasion

[pablothebetta]

I have a rather large snail problem at the moment in my 28L tank. Wherever I look there are snails, in the corners of the tank, on plants, up the sides, even on the sand. The two assassin snails I bought a few weeks ago when I thought I only had about 6 individuals seem to have no impact whatsoever on the population, there are simply too many.

I have shrimp, so any treatments containing copper are a no-go. I thought about trapping them in an old spice/herb container or jam jar, but then I didn't know how to get rid of them after that. I really don't have the guts to simply squish them. I don't want my fish becoming stuck in the container either, any way to avoid this?

How should I get rid of them?

Many Thanks

 

[FishBlast]

I have a rather large snail problem at the moment in my 28L tank. It's in the TOTM competition atm if anyone wanted to know what it looked like. Wherever I look there are snails, in the corners of the tank, on plants, up the sides, even on the sand. The two assassin snails I bought a few weeks ago when I thought I only had about 6 individuals seem to have no impact whatsoever on the population, there are simply too many.

I have shrimp, so any treatments containing copper are a no-go. I thought about trapping them in an old spice/herb container or jam jar, but then I didn't know how to get rid of them after that. I really don't have the guts to simply squish them. I don't want my fish becoming stuck in the container either, any way to avoid this?

How should I get rid of them?

Many Thanks

If it were my problem, I'd just dump the snails in the local pond... and then get blamed for introducing invasive species. LOL!

 

[Aqua Tom]

Put a lettuce leaf in the tank, weigh it down with a pebble. Leave it overnight & remove it in the morning, it will be covered in snails. Just repeat for a few nights.


Tom

 

[pablothebetta]

Put a lettuce leaf in the tank, weigh it down with a pebble. Leave it overnight & remove it in the morning, it will be covered in snails. Just repeat for a few nights.


Tom

What should I do with the snails, though? I really don't want to just squish them...

 

[Fishy friend2]

Stick them in saltwater, it worked great for me

 

[pablothebetta]

Some pictures to show the size of my problem. I believe they just show one area of the tank on one particular side where, for some reason, they seem to like to gather more than other areas. The other sides aren't quite as bad, but the little things truly are everywhere:

 

[Fishy friend2]

Did you try not feeding for 3-5 days

 

[pablothebetta]

Did you try not feeding for 3-5 days

No, I haven't actually. I have never seen any leftover food laying around, so I suppose I have kind of presumed my fish/shrimp have eaten it all and that there hasn't anything left over. I clearly must have been wrong if I've ended up with all these snails!

Relating to your earlier comment about saltwater, does this mean salt kills snails? Would putting them in any salt solution kill them, or is there a 'kinder' way?

 

[Fishy friend2]

Put them all in a small container, then add the snail killer?

 

[pablothebetta]

Any recommendations on 'snail killers'?

Thanks everyone for all the input, greatly appriciated

small container

May seem a little silly, but would a jam/spice jar or other similar container do?

 

[Aqua Tom]

Just throw the lettuce leaf covered in snails into the garden & let nature take its course.


Tom

 

[Fishy friend2]

Yes, that should be fine, and I personaly havnt used any types of snail killers so I can't help you with that one

 

[pablothebetta]

Just throw the lettuce leaf covered in snails into the garden & let nature take its course.


Tom

Just wondering, but would this theoretically drown them in air?

Yes, that should be fine, and I personaly havnt used any types of snail killers so I can't help you with that one

Might salt (in a salt & tank water solution) work, if salt kills snails, or might this take longer than other methods?

 

[Fishy friend2]

I think that they just dry out

 

[pablothebetta]

I think that they just dry out

With the water?