Sure Fire Way To Rid A Tank Of Snails.

[Shrimper]

Although they don't eat snails i thought i would offer an alternative for people who want an animal with the crayfish look that will be harmless to your fish so wouldn't need to be clipped.

The African Filter Shrimp - Atya gabonesis
Another link to some more info

The main thing these guys need is an aquarium that has been running for at least 6 months. They filter micro-organisms out of the water for food and there wont be many of these in a new tank.



As for other animals to eat the snails there are many snail eating fish you could also keep in your tank, loaches are the most obvious. Although if you want a filter shrimp i would avoid the larger species of loach.

 

[fredgarvin]

Shrimper: Do shrimp also scavenge?

 

[raptorrex]

Shrimper: Do shrimp also scavenge?

lol, no they are filter feeders!

 

[fredgarvin]

To clarify my position re: crayfish. Back in 1985 I purchased a crayfish from a reputable dealer/breeder who specialized in breeding the more difficult killies. The crays were already declawed and when I asked how they did in a comunity tank the owner told me that standard practice was to clip the small part of the claw. This was not some teenaged clock puncher but a guy who sold super quality fish and kept an immaculate store. I was not going to devote a 29 gallon tank to keeping one crayfish, but this meant she would have the benefits that accrue to life in a good sized tank as opposted to being confined to a 10 or smaller. I kept my cray for nearly a year, during which time I never saw her appear to have the slightest trace of any physical problem. She adjusted well to life in the tank, She dug herself a cave under a large flat rock, though she seldom used it. So it may have taken her a bit longer to dig it. She canceled her bridge club that day. I mean what is TIME to a well-fed cray? She was always active, molted regularly (This means she was growing and thriving) and often produced eggs which clung to her swimmerettes. It's always been my understanding that only creatures in prime condition are regularly up for breeding. Despite the self-righteous, sactimonious howling I've seen here, in what way was I harming this creature? All the evidence suggested that she was happy, health, well-adjusted, and enjoyed much larger quarters than if she was kept confined in a smaller tank with a limited scope. Just to have a tiny part that she managed quite well without. You can certainly have a different opinion and disagree, but it is pointless to fire off abusive, insulting, and mean spirited attacks as if I were Jack the Ripper. 23 years ago NO ONE was keeping these guys and my experience with the cray was nothing but positive. To hurl invectives at someone is akin to rebutting a difficult fact in a debate by screaming "YOU'RE UGLY!" at your opponent. It's just an immature way to behave.

Ps Shrimper thank you for the manners to have a CIVIL difference of opinion.

 

[Shrimper]

Shrimper: Do shrimp also scavenge?

There are smaller shrimp like the one in my sig that will scavange and eat algae, although they can be too small (1 to 2 inches for most algae shrimp) to keep with bigger fish. If they fit in the fishes mouth they will end up as dinner eventually!

The African Filter shrimp will filter its food from the water. If it isn't getting enough food from filtering it may try and pick things from the bottom but it will damage their fans if they do it too much.

There are other shrimp with longer arms that would probably eat snails (although i don't know for certain), but these guys would go for your fish as well which would lead back to the original argument

 

[fredgarvin]

Shrimper, can you name these smaller shrimp that scavenge? I am interested in setting up a tank almost exclusively of schooling tetras. These should pose no threat. Fish that scavenge are LAZY in comparison to a crayfish.

 

[Shrimper]

Shrimper, can you name these smaller shrimp that scavenge? I am interested in setting up a tank almost exclusively of schooling tetras. These should pose no threat. Fish that scavenge are LAZY in comparison to a crayfish.

No worries, Your best bet would probably be Anamo shrimp. They are fairly common in stores and get a little bigger than most species meaning they are less shy.

Have a look at this link for some info on them Shrimpnow.com

There loads of other species available - Shrimp now have info on 20 different dwarf/alage shrimp on this link

Although some will breed in fresh water Anamo shrimp wont breed in fresh water, but if you are keeping them with fish the babies generally wouldn't survive anyway.

 

[fredgarvin]

The anamos appear to be just about perfect for what I had in mind. Thanx muchly! BTW thank "Space Ghost " too!

 

[Shrimper]

The anamos appear to be just about perfect for what I had in mind. Thanx muchly! BTW thank "Space Ghost " too!

They are called a few different things in LFS. I've seen them labeled as Anamo, Japanese Algae Shrimp and Yamato shrimp in different places. So long as the look like the picture in the links above they will be the ones you want.

The ones you want to avoid have long arms like the ones in this link as they may go for the fish. I have seen these mis-labeled in some stores as Algae shrimp.

Edit: Any hurray for Space Ghost! Your the first person to comment

 

[raptorrex]

ok fredgarvin:
first off i was never abusive! as for mean spirited, this could only be so if you think it is correct for someone to condone or ignore an action they abhor! insulting, well yes. i find your actions so vile, i don't see how you could fail to be insulted by my reaction. you were trying to tell the members of this forum, that these actions are not only fine, but common practice in cray keeping. this is however totally untrue.

water quality temp and daylight are the main forces that drive a cray to berry, very ill and badly damaged cray, with berry, are far from uncommon.

i think if you look, cray keeping is a little bit older than 23 years.