Snails over-reproducing

[dawning]

Hey, I've got these snails and every time I look in my aquarium, it seems like I see nearly double the number I had the last time I looked. How do I get these guys to reproduce less? I really won't want to resort to something like putting them in a local pond or something cruel like that.

Thanks,
J

 

[tstenback]

take away the food source and they will die off.

 

[gadazobe]

get a snail eating fish. What size tank do you have and is it new or established?

 

[dawning]

It's a 10g aquarium with 4 plecos, 2 fruit loop tetras and 1 rainbow shark. I could remove the rainbow shark (in to another aquarium).

 

[7chanaa]

place a lettece leaf in the tank before lights out and leave for overnight. remove it before lights on. if there is still more repeat this until they are gone.

 

[gadazobe]

It's a 10g aquarium with 4 plecos, 2 fruit loop tetras and 1 rainbow shark

I'm extremely curious - you have all those fish in a 10 gallon tank? You most probably don't want to hear this, but you are seriously overstocked. If your plecs are common ones, they grow to about 15-18" quite quickly. You will have to rehouse them in a few months or return them for something smaller more suitable to your tank.

And don't pay any attention to my previous advice about getting snail eating fish. You can't add any more fish whatsoever to until you sort out the plecs.

 

[dawning]

Naw, it's fine, those plecos are smaller species, the Rhino is definitely the biggest, but the other three won't get much bigger than they are, which is about 2-3 inches long. I do think it's at the max though..

I'm curious how lettice will take care of the snails.. How? Does it kill them or something?

Thanks,
J

 

[gadazobe]

No - the lettuce doesn't kill them - they just congregate on them in a frenzy of eating. Then all you have to do is pick up the lettuce with the snails still on it.

 

[Auratus]

The lettuce is a good way of doing it but there are often egg sacks hiding ond decorations and places you can't see. In a few months it'll be right back to the same thing. Once you get rid of the adults, you should take out the decor and try to scrub off any egg sacks you can see.

 

[cutechic]

Once you do get rid of the snails, do as tstenback said and feed the fish less. Less excess fish food= less food source for snails= less reproduction

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Or you could just start selling the snails to people who need some. Just go cheaper than what they're selling at the store, besides, their home grown and apparently well fed.... I'm sure there are people who need feeder snails or what not.

 

[dawning]

Do you think a cliclid would eat the smaller snails? Also, would a cliclid beat up fruit loop tetras or a rainbow shark?

I'm somewhat encouraged by the notion of getting a snail eatting fish.

Anyone know of what else would eat them and not my plecos, tetras and rainbow shark?

 

[Mesome]

I had a similar problem and here is what I did. First, definately cut back on the food. If they are reproducing at the rate you say, you are overfeeding your fish. I got three cory cats, and mine actually eat quite a few of the egg sacks. Lastly, Every time I see a few on the sides of the glass, I put a sandwich baggie over my hand and reach in the tank and smash them against the glass. Your fish will love the little snack.

As for the snail eating fish, you should really think about that carefully. You can get a puffer, but from what I understand, they tend to be nippy and need brackish water in their adult years. Loaches are also a good snail eater, but please make sure that you research them as most, prefer groups, and some get very big...

I want to point out also that I'm pretty sure your fruit loop tetras are dyed fish. Not sure if you know much about that, but Silver has a pinned topic in the tropical chitchat area that will tell you the problems with dyed fish.

 

[FishDan]

My understanding is that most cichlids are not appropriate for a community tank, though I may be wrong about that.

The main thing I would add is that you are already at or over the stocking limit for a ten gallon tank, and another fish of any kind is a bad idea, unless you remove some other fish(es) first. Counting just your 4 plecos at 3-4" thats already at minimum 12" of fish in a 10 gallon tank. I know the "1 inch per gallon" is not a hard and fast rule, but it is a great place to start, and you are exceeding that. I strongly urge you to consider that before even thinking about adding another fish.

\Dan

 

[dawning]

Well, okay, I have another aquarium, but it's full already too. It's got 1 pleco (~3"), 2 guppies each 1.5" one platty that's 1.5", a 4" elephant nose and a tiny baby guppy... So that's definitely not open.. I clean them often and have lots of plants, so I expect that's helping the water quality. I haven't tested it for awhile, but it smells alright. Would you say I should get rid of some fish?