Snail Infestation

[Robsan]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the help on the filter topic after I had a few power cuts - the story has got worse though

Story - Trigon 350 - running with no problems for over 5 years

Powr cut caused huge leak - temp in tank went down to 19 degrees celcius - so very cold before the power came back on

Fish all OK

problem is that all of a sudden there were literally thousands - and i mean thousands of small snails all over the bottom of the tank - these guys are tiny.

When the heat went back to normal - most of the snails have disappeared and I have realised that they are living in the internal juwell filter - I am up to my 6 monthly tank chack (ironically at teh end of this month) - so have not inspected teh filters for - well 6 months.

I have taken all the sponges out and they are infested with these small snails.

i have read how to deal with snails on this forum and others - cucumber is working - I have taken out about 100 snails this way over the last 2 days - i already have 5 clown loach ( 2 are 7 yrs old so quite big - getting bigger with all teh snails on the menu)

But I have thousands - so the plan

take all the bottom sand out - wash the plants, ornaments in tank water

Dont put the old juwell sponges back in - let the external fluval 405 do the job

Buy new sponges and new substrate

make sure no pesky snails still in tank

Clean out fluval 405 - trying to keep as much bio media in - but getting rid of any snails

Put in new substrate and new sponges with out turning filter on

Keep the fluval going on its own for a week - check new sponges to see if any snails - if all OK start up both filters

Q) does this sound a good idea - I dont like using chemicals.

Anyone ever experienced such an infestation - I cant believe i have not seen them before - but the clown loach obviously get the ones that come out of hiding

 

[Colin_T]

Malaysian Livebearing snails live in the gravel and filters and are hard to remove. Often you have to scrap the tank and start again. Even then tho you can introduce the baby snails with contaminated water, plants or ornaments.
You can boil the gravel & some ornaments and that will kill them.
Plants can be soaked in copper sulphate for a couple of minutes and the snails will close their operculum and fall to the bottom of the container. then you can shake the plants and rinse them thoroughly under fresh water. Some filter media can be treated the same as the plants but chances are you will wipe out some of the good bacteria and you might end up having to cycle the tank again. You could start another filter on a clean tank and when it is ready, move the fish across.

Filter sponges and filters in general should be cleaned every month, not 6 monthly.

 

[pammy172]

OMG - how I feel for you - what a nightmare!!!! I must admit, I'm not sure how effective non-chemical intervention will be as it doesn't appear to take much to get them well and truly embedded.

I'm here fretting over a mere handful! So will be very interested to see if anyone has any ideas for you.

Good luck!

 

[Loony Fish]

i have the same problem in my 12 gallon. i'm gonna try the cucumber thing tonight.

 

[Colin_T]

if you do have Malaysian Liverbearing snails in the tank, then there will be about 100 snails hiding in the gravel for every 1 snail you see out and about. They come out at night time and if you use a torch after lights out, you can often scoop them out with a fine mesh net.

If you add cucumber then check it 30-60minutes after dark. If you leave it in the tank for too long the snails will feed on it and then disappear back into the gravel.
If you don't feed the fish for a few days and then put the cucumber in, the snails will be more willing to come out and feed sooner and you should get more of them.

 

[Robsan]

Definately the Malaysian livebearing snails

Took about 300 out last night in two visits with the cucumber and collecting them off the glass.

Will be taking out the gravel in the next few days and hopefully get them down to a manageable number

Seems like they do a lot of good for the tank - but i must have been over feeding in the first place as well.

 

[mellyville1985]

i recently aquired a fully established tank which ive now discovered is infested with these snails. i bought 2 traps from my lfs its like a little bubble they can get in but not out and it has bait in the middle... the first two nights they were both full and there were hundreds stuck on the outside too!! i also used cucumber for a few hours before going to bed and removed hundreds this way. i also borrowed 2 clown loaches... my tank will not be big enough for them in the long run so i didnt think it was fair to buy them. i will set the traps again tonight and let you know when i have a less full trap!! i will post the name of it later good luck! xx

p.s my juwel filter was infested too yuck!

 

[Robsan]

if you can post the name of the trap that would be excellent

Might save me from replacing the substrate

 

[Truck]

if you can post the name of the trap that would be excellent

Might save me from replacing the substrate

dont buy anything!

cut back on feeding so feed once every two days, but in very little amounts, then you will have your population under control and your fish will be happy

 

[Colin_T]

Might save me from replacing the substrate

There is no point in replacing the gravel unless you scrap the tank. You can bake or boil the gravel and that will kill the snails in the gravel but it won't get rid of the ones in the tank. The snails will be in the filter, ornaments and the larvae will be in the water. You either have to live with small numbers in the tank, or scrap it and start again. Most people simply control their numbers by minimising leftover food.

 

[mellyville1985]

The trap i have is a JBL limcollect im sure if you google it or look on ebay you will find one.... it was £7 and comes with bait and you should also be able to buy a tub of bait tablets so it is a one off payout really coz as you have clown loaches you shouldnt need to use it all the time. only when you see lots of adult snails. loaches will take care of most of the small ones as long as you dont overfeed.

 

[mellyville1985]

the trap was only half full this morning, there werent any on the outside fighting their way in either. i took out the ornaments and cleaned them as well as picking the ones off the gravel which turned out to be dead anyway and now i cant see any. i know there are prob loads more but we shall see how many are in the trap tomo morn!