SNAILS

[MarkF]

My Tank is being taken over by snails. I have tried manually removing them by hand, but they are definitely multiplying faster than i can take them out.

Are there any safe methods of controlling them? Thanks in advance of suggestions

 

[CFC]

There is a trap that is available that catches the snails so you can remove them each morning,unfortunately the snails do have to be quite big or they just crawl back out the way they got in so it leaves you still with hundreds of baby and sub adult snails.
Another method (the one i use) is to feed the fish late in the evening and turn the lights out as soon as theyve finished eating (after 3 minutes or so),wait with the room darkened and after half an hour switch the tank lights back on,there should be snails visable on everything.Take a length of hose and syphon the snails out of the tank,you can either discard the water with the snails and replace with fresh or catch the snails with a net over the bucket and return the water back to the tank.I do this once a week and appeer to have the snail population under control.
The final method is to buy some snail eating fish such as puffer fish banjo catfish or clown loaches (depending on if your fish are compatable),however if you feed the fish regularly with other foods they will probably ignor the snails.

 

[amez]

Are they miniture ones? If they are, then just plob a couple of mollies in there

 

[hulabootie14]

clown loaches are great at keeping snail populations down i know they are used for that alot in big aquariums

 

[impur]

Are they miniture ones? If they are, then just plob a couple of mollies in there

He has 9 of them it looks like.

 

[juliethegr8t]

hulabootie14 is totally right - stick a school of clown loaches in there and you won't have a snail problem at all!

 

[aernympha]

but clowns loaches grow to 30 cms (12 inches) how can anyone have a shoal of them unless u have a huge, i mean HUGEMUNGEROUS TANK!!!!!! isnt there a smaller option, i to want snail pest control.........i try taking them out but there keep coming more and more!!!!!!!! is there smaller couisn of the clown loach......

 

[MarkF]

Thanks for all the suggestions - As the tank is only 50L I think clown loaches will be a bit much, esp as I want to get a school of tetras and some bottom feeders.
My Mollies dont seem to be interested in eating them at all.
I did manage to pull out about 20 last night and will siphon a few more at the weekend - i guess it just a case of control rather than elimination

 

[Fishsmurf]

Mark,

A way to make it easier is to put a lettuce leaf in just before light out. In the morningthe lettuce leaf will be covered in the little buggers. Then you just have to lift the leaf out.... It's a lot easier than trying to find them all round the tank... HTH

 

[impur]

Go with the banjo cat as CFC suggested. A kewl catfish that doesn't grow to large.

BANJO CATFISH
Family : Aspredinidae
Genus : Bunocephalus coracoideus
Size : up to 6 inches in captivity
Attitude : Cool & nocturnal; eats anything smaller that can be fitted into its mouth.

 

[CFC]

A way to make it easier is to put a lettuce leaf in just before light out. In the morningthe lettuce leaf will be covered in the little buggers.

This works with some snails but if you have malaysian trumpet snails then it will be pointless,they are carnivors and will not eat plant matter whether it is alive or dead,a small piece of meat will serve the same purpose but if you have any nocturnal fish they will get to it long before the snails.

 

[Fishsmurf]

A way to make it easier is to put a lettuce leaf in just before light out. In the morningthe lettuce leaf will be covered in the little buggers.

This works with some snails but if you have malaysian trumpet snails then it will be pointless,they are carnivors and will not eat plant matter whether it is alive or dead,a small piece of meat will serve the same purpose but if you have any nocturnal fish they will get to it long before the snails.

Thanks for that.... Learnt something new today.

 

[Bovwaa]

A smaller type of loach to eat snails is the Botia Striata(Zebra Loach). I have two of these in a 20 Gallon tank. They don't grow very large at all. About 6cm. HTH!