Snail identification & how to get rid...!

[Ziawhit]

Hi folks,

I'm hoping someone on here can help me with some advice..? - I have a 200ltr tank low tec planted tank with sand substrate, and inadvertantly had some snails on some plants I purchased a while back. - now these little beggars have gone on a breeding frenzy, - I have tried picking them out with tweezers, some days i have removed 50 -100 plus.. I have got 3 assassin snails on the advice of my LFS, but these invasive snails appear just too small, and I have seen assassin's go right over them and do nothing...- today, I did my water change and as i cleaned one side of my filter sponge I noticed my sponge is now riddled with snails.. I am starting to rip my hair out and I don't have much..

I have seen that you can put a lettuce leaf in which I have, but this won't get rid of the snails in the filter..

Also where is the best location for the lettuce leaf, bottom or half way up glass.?

In my tank at the minute I have 2 x dwarf gourami, 2 x chocolate gourami, 8 x neon tetra's, 5 x Amano Shrimp, 2 x Plec's and 3 x Assassin snails.

I fear the chemical route will harm the shrimp and assassins, and don't want to do that, but I have no other tank to move them in to either...

I have thought about loaches, but they would attack assassin's and the shrimp.. Is there anything I can try?

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

[Sgooosh]

ramshorn snail
im afraid you cannot get rid of them completely just do what you can, the assassins need to be hungry to eat at least...

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Looks like a ramshorn snail to me - highly invasive.

I have seen that you can put a lettuce leaf in which I have, but this won't get rid of the snails in the filter..

Also where is the best location for the lettuce leaf, bottom or half way up glass.?

Just put the piece on the bottom of the tank and wait for lost of snails to get on there. Then, remove it.

I fear the chemical route will harm the shrimp and assassins, and don't want to do that, but I have no other tank to move them in to either...

Definitely don’t dose any chemicals. Going chemical-free is always the better route.

Reducing feeding and manually removing the snails should help with the population issue.

 

[Byron]

I know many do not "like" snails, and some misunderstand their importance...the fact is, these snails are generally harmless and they provide a useful service by eating all organics which includes all the fish poop and this breaks it down faster for the various bacteria to handle. They will reproduce to the level sustained by the available food, no more, so their numbers is an indication of just how much "food" is in the tank. Initially of course there will be an "explosion" but it will level out. Keep removing manually any you don't want, use the overnight lettuce leaf, etc.

On no account ever use any form of snail eradicator in a tank with fish. As with most problems, resolving the cause is the only safe path.

The number of fish, their size, and how much they are fed is the prime source of snail food. Feed minimally (fish do not need anywhere near the amount of food the manufacturers will recommend); my fish are fed alternate days, and not much then. They were not fed for almost two weeks when I have been in hospital, with no problems.

Assassin snails many of us do not recommend; if accidentally just one gets into the local ecosystem, they have apparently been known to eradicate the native species. Some states/countries outlaw them.

 

[Colin_T]

Ramshorn snails can be easily picked out by hand. And look for egg clusters on the glass or plants. They look like flat jelly with dots in. Just scrape the egg clusters off with your thumb nail.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I like snails, for all the reasons Byron mentioned. I advise making peace with them. Ramshorns, especially, are really pretty, much nicer looking than pond snails. But I like pond snails, too. And @Slaphppy7 might never forgive me, but I'm still considering adding trumpet snails to my Sumatra tank...

 

[PheonixKingZ]

but I'm still considering adding trumpet snails to my Sumatra tank...

IMO, Trumpet snails are much more beneficial than ramshorn snails, because they get in the substrate and constantly stir it up. That prevents dangerous gas pockets from forming.

 

[Sgooosh]

IMO, Trumpet snails are much more beneficial than ramshorn snails, because they get in the substrate and constantly stir it up. That prevents dangerous gas pockets from forming.

but ramshorn snails eat algae....
my rams help out the nerites a lot

 

[Slaphppy7]

I like snails, for all the reasons Byron mentioned. I advise making peace with them. Ramshorns, especially, are really pretty, much nicer looking than pond snails. But I like pond snails, too. And @Slaphppy7 might never forgive me, but I'm still considering adding trumpet snails to my Sumatra tank...

^^ Glutton for punishment ^^

 

[Arthur11]

You can pluck them one by one from your fish tank. This can be done if your aquarium is already infested with so many snails that you will no longer find trouble looking for them. Most of them will stick to the walls of your fish tank, so it will be easy to remove those snails who are no longer in hiding.