Snails Are Ruining My Life

[falconfish]

I have a 6 gallon with a couple of amano shrimp, a dwarf gourami, a kuhli loach, and 2 assasin snails. This tank also has about a billion (maybe an exaggeration) pond snails. This tank used to have a dwarf puffer in it, which is where the snails probably came from in the first place. Once he was gone, I put the other fish in. About a week later, I started seeing snails. A few days after that everything in the tank was covered in eggs. Now I have these little snails EVERYWHERE! I bought some assassin snails with the hopes that they would actually do something, but it seems like they ignore snails completely.

I really have no idea what to do, as I don't have any more room to add any more fish, there are shrimp in there, so I can't add chemicals. Is my only option to get a new filter and sterilize everything in the tank? These snails are nasty!

By the way, this morning when I turned on the light, there are now strange white threads covering everything, and the baby snails seem to be making them?

Help please!

 

[Gilli]

The best way to get rid of snails is to just pick them out by hand! I had an over population so every day I would pick out as many as I could find crush them and drop them back for the fish - they fight over them! Not only are you solving your problem but you are also getting free fish food! I dont have a single snail in my tank now. Scrape off any eggs you see or crush them and you will soon get it under control.You are overfeeding if you have a snail population explosion, - cut back on the food.

The white threads could simply be snail poo.

 

[mtbdean]

Try a slice of Cucumber in the tank at night, in the morning, it will be covered!

 

[Monty-2010]

Try putting in a slice of lettuce overnight then when they attach to it just lift out the leaf and throw them away

 

[trianglekitty]

Try putting in a slice of lettuce overnight then when they attach to it just lift out the leaf and throw them away

Personally the lettuce trick never worked for me. I did have limited success with a snail trap from Fosters and Smith. What really helped was picking them out by hand, and the assassin snails. I thought they weren't worked at all either, but after three weeks with two of them in a 20 gallon tank I don't have any pond snails left. I never actually saw them eat a pond snail but I did start finding empty shells when I did my gravel vac.

 

[-SPB-]

When I had a snail problem, I missed one vital place when getting rid of them, that was the filter. I thought I'd overcome the problem of snails only to find they'd come back.

Then when doing maintenance on the tank, I thought, filter, opened it up, and there were loads of the buggers eggs in there. took an absolute age to get rid of them, but in the end I did, you need to look in every nook and cranny when trying to get rid of them, you think they are gone, then hey presto they are back again!!!!

It seems like an arduous and time consuming task, but if you persevere you will be shot of them!!!

Also, one thing, have you put any plants in the tank at all lately? I used to find a snail infestation coincided with putting plants into the tank. Might not have anything to do with your tank, but just a thought!!!

 

[nicklos]

Carefully siphon the water out into something with the fish. Take care not to get any snails. Fill your tank with a strong saltwater mixture. This will kill the snails. Let it set overnight. Rinse the tank with white vinegar at first then with hot water. This should take care of the snails. Happened to me with my first tank only with an overabundance of malaysian trumpet snails. This solution worked for me.

 

[falconfish]

I think it was due to a snail that was missed by the previous occupant (a pea puffer). Then it multiplied out of control! It doesn't seem like the assassin snails are doing anything. Are they nocturnal? I never see them during the day. The dwarf gourami will suck up one of the baby snails and spit it out and suck it up over and over. Don't know if it's actually killing them. I took parts off the filter today and cleaned them it salt water. I don't really know how to do a whole cleaning of it though (aquaclear.)
I'll start with the manual method of pulling them out, or squishing them. Thanks for all the replies!

 

[saltynay]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/41473-dealing-with-pest-snails/