Snails uggg!

[swalke2]

So, I have a planted freshwater tank 30g. Was doing real good, bought a new plant, few days later I was like cool a snail.....:bash2:

Well I had no idea snails were so bad and breed faster than rabbits. I have not really been able to identify their type but thinking they are apple snails (look the closest).

I have been battling these for a few weeks and seem the harder I fight the more I get. I have scraped the snail sacs that I could find and have done water changes and throwing away up to 50-75 snails a week.

I was going to completely move all fish to a new tank, soak the plants in alum to kill whats on them and then throw away all the gravel and anything else that might contain a stinking snail.

Today I read something that clown loaches love snails and that 3 of them will take care of my problems, so I bought 3.

Sorry this was so drawn out but I am frustrated and wondering if anyone might have had this same issue and what you did to resolve it. I would like the non killing of fish or plants option if that is an option.

Thanks
Steve

 

[brianjfinn]

Haven't had experience on this, but did some research for a friend and found the same information. Hope it works out for ya!

 

[mug]

Clown Loach will also work. we have one or two left at Petland Dunwoody. they are 12.99 each

 

[hn1]

No offense, but clown loaches are a terrible choice for a 30G. They are slow growers, but they need the room to avoid stunting and eventually get very large. Most small botia should work (yoyos, "tigers", etc.).

More importantly IMO is your snail problem. Snail population is one of the best indicators possible that you are either over-feeding or under-cleaning. Identify the cause of the underlying problem and you'll quit chasing new animals to do specific jobs.

 

[misu]

my mystery snails are breeding a lot too, don't feed that much and it wont be a problem. At some point I had over 50 snails but now I'm back to 4-5

and scrape eggs as you find them, or keep the water level really high and they won't lay eggs anymore

 

[mug]

Agreed a clown loach would eventually out grow a 30 gal. It would rid the tank the fastest and I was thinking you might get rid of it once it ate all the snails. A little botia would be a better choice for keeping long term.

 

[swalke2]

HN1- What is the best way to tell if I am under cleaning or over feeding? I know that sounds like a dumb question, but maybe I am doing something wrong....Thanks

Here is what they look like if someone can help identify.

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[hn1]

They look like regular lunged "pond" snails to me. I have no clue about exact species.

What is your water change schedule and maintenance routine like? How much, how often, etc.? Gravel vaccing with each change? What do you feed and how often?

You can sink a piece of lettuce or other veggie at night and remove it (with tons of snails) the next day to remove some.

Try not to get too frustrated, it happens. Been there...

 

[swalke2]

I guess I do about 5-7 gallons every 3 weeks or so and don't vacuum every time. Water quality (minus snails) seems to stay pretty much stable.
I was feeding to much, but have gone to feeding twice a day and only what the fish will eat in a few minutes. I made the change to this schedule about a month ago.

I tried sinking a few pieces of cucumber last night in different spots of the thank as I heard something in the cuc will dispatch the snails. When I got up this am there was 1 snail eating.

I have actually thought of moving fish to a sterilite container and redoing the tank, gravel, cleaning plants etc....

 

[hn1]

You can do that, but you will likely lose your bio filter when you do.

I think it's a lack of PWCs / vaccing. We keep somewhere around 60 FW tanks and they all receive 25-50% changes with a gravel vac every 7-10 days. We also feed adult fish once a day. The only tanks (fry tanks) with snail "problems" are purposefully overfed so that we have snails available for puffers, assassins, loaches, etc.

You could also add assassin snails (snail eaters), but that will only mask the real issue and eventually you would need to supplement their diet.

 

[swalke2]

WOW! thanks.
Ive got the loaches in there going to work, but in general it sounds as if I am still over feeding and under cleaning.

 

[hn1]

Generally how we all start out. lol

Good luck and happy fishkeeping!

 

[hn1]

Not the only way to do it by a longshot, but I like stocking heavily and NO3 builds up rather quickly. The better we stay on our PWC schedule, the more spawns and the less culls we get. Lots of fish can live in "OTS", but most (especially wild caught) won't thrive or breed. At least that's been my experience. We stick to that for the small tanks (5-40), larger get changed every other week or so. 50% changes on 120s take forever! I don't see how folks keep up with larger than that.

 

[hhughes]

Keep in mind these snails aren't really all that dangerous; just ugly.

I would recommend until the population drops, feed only once daily. The loaches will take out most of them, but continue manual removal too, and vacuum that gravel when you do a water change; during the day, that's where they stay.

They are more a symptom of a problem than a problem themselves; they are feeding on extra nutrients (mostly leftover food). Having a few isn't going to hurt anything, so if you can reduce their food source, the numbers will drop to an acceptable level.

Whatever you do, please don't use the "snail killer" chemical. It's nasty stuff.

 

[swalke2]

yeah thanks, im not a fan of chemicals to fix an isssue that I might have cause and can be fixed with some sense.

I did as good deep cleaning yesterday. I was surprised at how unclean my tank really was. Anyway I did that , manual removal and letting the loaches do their work. It has really been the first time in a long time that I have not seen more than 5-10 snails in the moring after a cleaning.

Thanks for all the advice. Ill report back and let you know progress.

 

[hn1]

Where are the full tank shots to ponder while we wait for an update?

Good luck!

 

[swalke2]

Yeah I was afraid someone was going to ask that...

Now that its sorta set up and im more involved than I thought I would be I so want to tear it down and redo it.

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