O.o

[fidjet2]

I know this may not sound like an emergency for some of you, but it is for me.....I have like a BILLION snail/eggs in my tank....i don't know what to do anymore.

I have cut back feeding, i have put cucumber in- just a couple of hours ago...no snails on it yet... But it would take a heap of cucumber to get these snails out.

SOOOOOO i need to know what to do
Should i take everything out- including water(put it all in a big tub or somthing)- and then clean the tank top to bottom?
Other wise there are the snail killer chemicals?
I don't have a big enough tank for clown loachs- 90L(20G)
And i can't get my hands on any assassin snails in australia.
please help

 

[fidjet2]

O, and i forgot, there is also a weird looking snail-
http/tinypic.com/r/ffddtv/7


what type would this be- is it a ponda snail still?
-sorry about the bad pic- the snail is so small its hard to get a good one with my camera

 

[creeker]

The snail in your pic is a Ramshorn. They also populate like crazy.

 

[fidjet2]

i don't know how it got in i haven't added anything new for ages- well you would think i would have seen it by now

 

[creeker]

Usually you get eggs or tiny snails when you add plants. Sometimes takes a while for them to become visible.

 

[the_lock_man]

Hi Fidj. I suggest a combination of treatments.

(1) Remove any eggs that you see, pop them in the bin.
(2) The cucumber or lettuce leaf left overnight will get rid of them over a period of days/weeks.
(3) When you have time on your hands, maybe at feeding time, take as many as you can, squish them, and drop the bodies into the tank. Free live food for the fishies - they all love them. Do this instead of your normal feeding.

I wouldn't suggest a chemical - the ones I looked at before I bought my assassins (Interpet and a couple of others, don't remember which) don't actually kill the snails, they just stun them. Seems like a waste of money to me.

 

[fidjet2]

Thank you both-
Lock man- thank you- problem is, that most - well pretty much all- of the snails+eggs are at the back and in the back corners. i have a built in filter and i am scared to remove it-if it is possible- because with my luck i wouldn't be able to put it back on so the only way to do a thorough clean would be to take out everything- and everyone-

would that be alright?- would give me a chance to do a real good clean of everything- not just the snails-
I would buy a 100litre storage tub and put the filter and heater in there with the fish- that way i can keep all the water i need so i don't harm the fish as much as changeing most of it.

 

[the_lock_man]

No reason why that wouldn't work, it's just a lot of work.

 

[Kelly-Jo]

You can also try turning the light off and waiting for an hour or so and then fishing out as many as you can. When we turn the light off on my boyfriend's tank, all the snails come out and are visible. This will give you a greater chance of eradicating the majority.

 

[colleen0309]

I have the same problem in my shrimp tank. The pond snails came in on some new plants. I pull them out as fast as I can, but most of the time I can't keep up with them. On the plus side, my cichlid tank gets treats almost every day now.

 

[fidjet2]

thank you all,
just a question-
If all else fails, would it be safe to take everything out and put into a 100L tub?
thanks again

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Maybe try to find some assassin snails? I hear good things about them.

 

[ShaedM]

are snails bad for tanks? people keep them in their tanks don't they?..confused now lol

 

[creeker]

are snails bad for tanks? people keep them in their tanks don't they?..confused now lol

No they're not bad for the tank. People just don't want 500 of them all over everything in the tank. Most of the snails people keep are big ones that don't reproduce as much. The ones the op is talking about are tiny and numerous.

 

[fidjet2]

i bought a 94 litre storage tub, but its plastic....will the heater melt it in about an hour- or less? - i shouldn't take longer then an hour *hopefully*
i just thought of somthing, how would i filter the tub- the only other filter i have is for a 55L tank, its has some media in it from my main filter that has been in there for about a week and has been running in the tank.
would that be alright for about an hour?

Dieses Madchen- i have looked online and everywhere, i can't find any assassin snails in australia.

O and my cucumber didn't work it was in overnight and there is still no snails on it.