Pest Snails

[damanax]

Hey all.
 
I was doing some maintenance on my planted tetra tank this morning and noticed that I have snails everywhere! They seem to have developed a taste for my anubias and vallis 

 I have also found some in my guppy/dwarf gourami tank but the gourami has taken a liking to them so I'm not too concerned about that tank.
 
I've removed a whole bunch of them but is there any way I can completely remove them from my tank? There could easily be more snails/eggs in there despite my removal efforts and obviously my tetra aren't too interested in them.
 
I've heard assassin snails are good but I unfortunately don't have access to them. I could get pics of the invaders if it would help  

 
Thanks.

 

[BerryAttack]

put lettuce at night time in a jar in the water, in the morning remove.. repeat until there are no more snails on lettuce.
 
if you have the white cone snail, which only comes out at night are usually very good. they eat dead plants and don't go after the good parts of the plants.

 

[guppy2002]

oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh I hate those pesky snails. they are the hardest thing to get rid of, are they small, black, and round? I got a live plant once and there was one TINY snail on there but we decided to keep it. but then there was 5 snails...then 10...20...30...40. even after taking the whole tank outside multiple times and hosing it down, some always seem to survive....and multiply. ugh.right now I only see about one or two in my tank. I really hope it stays that way.....

 

[damanax]

They're small, round and blacky/browny. That sounds horrible, they really that hard to get rid of? I'm concerned about their numbers in the tetra tank because I can't add any kind of fish that eats snails and when I go away it's going to be crawling with them.
 
The dwarf gourami seems to be keeping the numbers in check in the other tank thankfully, only seen 2 tiny ones and have removed both.

 

[Baccus]

There are snail killing chemicals that should kill all snails in a tank, but I would only suggest using this if you are NEVER going to house shrimp or desired snails in that tank. I can not vouch for how effective any particular brand. Also I am not sure what impact a heap of dead snails will have on your water parameters, I would expect that a massive kill of anything in a tank is going to reek havoc with ammonia spikes, and thus cause problems to your other fish still in the tank, unless your on hand to do regular water tests, changes and remove all the dead snails you can find.
 
As well as the simple trap of a lettuce leaf and remove the snails from that, you can get dedicated snail traps which are quite good, just a bit fiddly setting all the little bars that hold the top and the bottom of the trap together while being spaced in such away as to hopefully keep out hungry fish.

 

[DerpPH]

Assassin snails might fit your bill. but unfortunately you cant import them
 
They are not pests and will eat your pest snails,
 
or you can try loaches

 

[ech0o]

not sure what else is in the tank, but a dwarf puffer loaner would clear them pretty quick

 

[Baccus]

not sure what else is in the tank, but a dwarf puffer loaner would clear them pretty quick

 
Unfortunately I am pretty sure in Australia that even the true dwarf freshwater puffers are not available.

 

[Arcticfox1977]

I had about 40 pest snails. They did a great job of algae. However bought 2 assassin snails and they emptied the tank of pest snails. Loads of white shells lie about.

 

[hobby5]

??? I am really surprised how much you all hate those useful little snails.
 
1) They only eat dead plant matter (or leftover fish food), so they are no danger for your plants at all but useful in helping removing dead plant stuff.
2) They only excessively multiply if there is enough food for them. This usually means you feed too much!
3) They are a very good indicator for your tank health. If your snails act odd there is something wrong.
4) Have a closer look they are beautiful on its own.
 
Just me 2cents

 

[ech0o]

I prefer to have pretty snails overrunning my tank though, not bladder snails 

 

[damanax]

I don't really want to try any kind of chemicals. I tried the lettuce leaf last night and but these snails are either lazy or clever and didn't touch it. 
 
Yeah Dwarf Puffers/Assassin snails are things I can't get a hold of.
 
I heard about loaches but there isn't any kind small enough for me to add without majorly overstocking the tank.
 
I might just have to remove any I see and hope that keeps their numbers in check.

 

[DerpPH]

I don't really want to try any kind of chemicals. I tried the lettuce leaf last night and but these snails are either lazy or clever and didn't touch it. 
 
Yeah Dwarf Puffers/Assassin snails are things I can't get a hold of.
 
I heard about loaches but there isn't any kind small enough for me to add without majorly overstocking the tank.
 
I might just have to remove any I see and hope that keeps their numbers in check.

 
kuhli and panda loaches are some of the smallest loaches there are.
 
cichlids will help too but there will be a problem though

 

[Ch4rlie]

You could possibly try snail traps, can be a bit fiddly to set them apparently (have not tried them myself) but have heard other members use them.
 
So that an alternative you could use if Assassin Snails or Loaches are not possible.
 
Pity you are not UK based, I would let you have a few of my Assassin snails for free. Oh well. 
 
Good luck with whichever method you try.

 

[hobby5]

I prefer to have pretty snails overrunning my tank though, not bladder snails 

But as mentioned above if they overrun your tank you got a problem of some sort you should fix. Feed less!