Snails.............

[nikkidee2003]

My fry tank has been over run by snails, i tried gutting the tank replaced all the decor,plants and gravel within a week they came back worse than ever.............. they are little red things


I am now getting rid of this tank too and want to add the fry into my six foot tank but dont want to get snails in there.........


what do i do too get rid of the snails? is anything safe with fry?


TIA for any help

nikki

 

[Redbled]

I know there are fish that will eat snails, several cichlids will in fact, but not sure what you can do if you have fry in the tank. Can someone please help this lady out?

 

[ostrow]

Not Cichlids!!!!!

Loaches. Preferably Clown Loaches.

But something brought those snails in. Did you add plants? Or fish? When you drained the tank did you just re-fill? That won't do much. Really bleach is all you can hope for, or potassium permangenate (in a product by Jungle Products called Clear Water -- search in the garden forum here on the word snails ... I posted a long description there about a year ago on how I ridded my tank of snails).

But for fish, clown loaches are your best bet.

 

[gadazobe]

Definitely clown loaches. I was overrun with snails and got 4 clowns. They're only juvies, but do a great job. I've still got a few snails, but under control.

 

[Jesse]

Blue Gouramis get rid of snails pretty well too, but they would probably eat the fry.

 

[ostrow]

Jesse: I've never heard of that, and never seen it either in a blue gourami (referring to snail eating, that is.)

 

[Jesse]

Well, I have dangit!

 

[Nik]

The safest way to get rid of snails is as follows:

Put a up-turned saucer in your tank - propped up with just enough room for a snail to slip underneath. Inside the saucer place some algae pellets.

Give it 24 hours and lots of snails will get drawn to the up-turned saucer - keep refilling the algae pellets and removing the troublesome snails.

This process may take 3 to 5 days to reduce the numbers but is the safest way I know without introducing new fish or chemicals into the tank.

Good luck!

 

[nikkidee2003]

thanks for the info guys,

i have set up a qt tank and all the fish are now doing time i only transfered the fish is there any chance they could be carrying snail eggs.

how long should i leave them there?

oh and is it safe to use bleach on the filter (from the old tank) to clean it? or should i chuck it?

everything else will be chucked out!! i.e. the substrate and decor!!

 

[StiX]

I'm not sure about using bleach on the filter, I personally wouldnt as of corse bleach is a very toxic substance and i wouldnt think it was worth the risk. What filter is it? are u just gunna throw it away or did u mean just throw the sponge away?

 

[Jamnog]

im shure after a time the filter and tank and other peices of equiptment will dry off and after a certain amount of time the snail eggs will dry out and not be able to rehatch. i recomend leaving them in the attic surrounded in silica gel for say umm 17 years just to be shure... of course im kidding but i think it might be a bit of a waist to chuk the stuff away. if your buying new then fine but dont forget the eggs will dry out if you leave them long enough i left mine for about 6 months once but then that was because i didnt need the tank for 6 months. im shure it wouldnt take that long.

edit : if you cant wait then perhaps boiling the equiptment would stop the eggs.

 

[ostrow]

Believe it or not, boiling is not necessarily going to get all the eggs.

Best would have been and may still be to get a clown loach.

Since you are tanking, here is what I did. I bleached the tank and pebbles.
I ran the tank with bleachy water to get the insides of the filter mechanisms
(it is an Eclipse tank). I did throw out hte biowheel. Had no pads, etc in
obviously. Just bleaching the plastic surfaces. All the rest ... media etc ... I
replaced.

Then I rinsed, rinsed, and rinsed after runnig the bleachy water in the tank
for like 2 hrs. When I was sure I'd rinsed enough I rinsed 3 times more.

Then I ran clean water through the system overnight.

Then I rinsed 3 more times.

Then I re-built the tank.

Oh, while running the bleachy water I occasionally stirred around the pebbles.

Ditto when rinsing.

Had no ill after-effects. But I also treated all new plants for snails as per my
old post.

Fish likely have eggs on them

 

[Pufferpack]

....you know it's coming...Get a pack of Dwarf Puffers...poof no more snails

 

[nikkidee2003]

....you know it's coming...Get a pack of Dwarf Puffers...poof no more snails

poof no more babies

 

[nikkidee2003]

filter is internal fluval 2plus.

so if i chuck the sponges i could sit the filter in a tank of bleachy water fora couple of days then rinse for a couple of days but i am in no ush for the tank what will i do with the fish if they are covered in eggs?? will snail crusher kill the babies? is it worth the risk?