Snails!

[zophie]

Okay, so i'm cycling my 20 gallon tank, and one day I wake up and there is snails in the tank.
Uh Oh.
So, i bet they got on on the live plants, but my q. is how should I remove them?? My friend has said that he will take them for his 100 gallon tank... but how do I catch them with out hurting them, and getting all of theMM

Zophie

 

[jameshughes1989]

IMO snails are good. They turn over sand if you have it and eat left over food. If they get out of hand get some assasins snails. They are ace and very interesting to watch. Its an interesting war to watch

 

[B13]

I'm gonna second Assassin Snails.

I got some a few months back and now I have NO pest snails!! My Assassins have started breeding, but unlike pest snails, they don't overrun the tank as they are slow breeders. (And they are very pretty!!)

 

[jameshughes1989]

lucky you, mine wont breed! They are great though!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Alternatively, you could use what is likely to be a pond snail population as an insurance policy against any slight overfeeding.

I'd rather I had a colony of Pond Snails than decomposing food producing extra ammonia; nitrite; nitrate in the water... Especially in a small tank where toxins can esculate so quickly.

 

[zophie]

IMO snails are good. They turn over sand if you have it and eat left over food. If they get out of hand get some assasins snails. They are ace and very interesting to watch. Its an interesting war to watch

Thanks for the advice, I don't actually know how many I have- but one thing; I am cycling the tank: will they affect the process??

ZOphie

I'm gonna second Assassin Snails.

I got some a few months back and now I have NO pest snails!! My Assassins have started breeding, but unlike pest snails, they don't overrun the tank as they are slow breeders. (And they are very pretty!!)

Ohhhh... They're really pretty . two Q.

1. Are they very commen??

2. Are they pricy?


Thankyou!

Zophie

 

[B13]

I'd rather I had a colony of Pond Snails than decomposing food

*grins*

I quite liked the pond snails, so I kinda wish my Assassin fellas hadn't chomped the whole darned lot!!

I think Assassins will also eat any leftover food to though... (but don't quote me on that!!)

Ohhhh... They're really pretty . two Q.

1. Are they very commen??

2. Are they pricy?

Hee!!

Are the common? In my tank they are, yes!!!




I got my lot from eBay - as I recall, they are £1.20 each, so £12 for ten.

I was very happy with ten because I had some 'pest' snails and some predator snails - a nice balance in my lil' fishy ecosystem. Then they started getting all frisky and I've now got lots of ickle diddy ones!!!

You can see 'em centre left. Awwwwww!!!

 

[Kipsie]

How do snails randomly get into your tank?
Are they from pond rocks you used?

 

[zophie]

How do snails randomly get into your tank?
Are they from pond rocks you used?

I think they're from the live plants- I remmeber picking of eggs, but I must have left a few

 

[mbsqw1d]

no one mentioned the 'leave a piece of crappy lettuce attatched to some string left overnight' trick yet? If not, try the 'leave a piece of crappy lettuce attatched to some string left overnight' trick. You will have to weigh down the lettuce with something, leave overnight and first thing in the morn you should find a clump of pest snails on it that you can just pull out!

 

[OldMan47]

That trick is an oldie but a goodie mbsqw1d. Anything the snails view as food, including old nasty lettuce, will attract enough snails to make it easy to remove lots of them all at once.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

if you don't like them, when ur tank is done cycling, get a clown loach. how big are the snails?

 

[zophie]

The biggest is about4 mm., and the smallest is about 2 mm. Does that help? I think they're mystery (a.k.a. bladder) Snails.

 

[OldMan47]

Mystery snails are what we call apple snails or diffusa in the US. They are not pests and they lay their eggs above the water line where you can easily remove them. On the other hand pond snails, the true hermaphrodites, lay their eggs on surfaces under the water in gelatinous masses. Those snails are nothing more or less than a menace to someone who does not want snails in their tank in any large number. A small snail surplus is a boon to loach keepers. Many loaches love to eat any snails they can find.