Fish tank maintance

[EweSheep]

Our fish tank has been doing very well and we were pleased with our fishes thriving and breeding LOL!

Now my big problem is this...when we bought some live plants, some had snail eggs on them which we said, ok ,let them be.

Well those tiny snails became parents themselves, breeding alot of babies.........how do I keep the population under control????????

I got a mind to throw them out with the chickens, they are not any bigger than the pencil's eraserhead. We want to keep the biggest snails. We started off with four to six juvies, now they are bigger and breeding.

Is there a birth control for these snails? I have NO idea what species they are. I thought they would get big shells like the hermit crabs do but they have not.

 

[flowerchicks]

The round snails, the ones that look like garden snails, will eat plants if there isn't enough algae and other stuff in the tank for them to forage. There are fish that will eat the smaller ones but I don't know what they are called. I think they are a small fish, goldfish will eat them too. Go by the fish store and they should be able to help you. I have a type of snail in my tank that has a cone type shell, they lay live babies, not eggs, and are basically scavengers. If a fish dies, they will devour it overnight. I am sure the chickens would love the treat of fresh snails but collecting them all would be impossible.

 

[Livinzoo]

Loaches love snails. They are schooling fish so you want at least 3 of them.

Another way to get rid of them is to bait them. Take a zucchini and slice it up. Throw a slice in the tank. When the snails climb on it to eat it you can pull it out and remove them. It is best to use a net to do this so if they try to fall off you still have caught them.

I remember as a kid my mom would flush them. Well we had a leaky toilet and a few landed beside it and multiplied. Yuck!

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
Oh thanks for letting me know. I thought about doing that! Then the image of what MI/WI are dealing with the invasive mussels............you get the picture.

Would cukes work? I do not have zucchini and will get some if they are better than cukes. I am certain that the fishes would love to nibble on them.

I have guppies, ghost catfishes, light eye tetras.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You can also get one of those veggie clips with the suction cup and use any kind of lettuce or leafy green. I did that in one tank that was deep, so I could have it near the top. I could change it more often, without getting my armpit wet.

I eventually bought clown loaches to eat them. That worked great!

 

[bock]

I had the same issue last year. I did a ''deep cleaning'' and finally got rid of them.

1. take all the fish out and put them in a large bowl

2. take out the gravel and put it in a bucket, wash the gravel in a net with the hose very WELL

3. Throw out all live plants (I know it's hard, but we were desperate)

4. Take the filter apart and wash it very WELL

5. fill the tank with fresh water

6. Return fish and gravel to the tank

7. Every time you see any remaining snails or eggs REMOVE THEM immediatly

Now my tank has been snail free for 8 months!

 

[showme31]

Copper sulphate is toxic to snails (all inverts). If may be something to consider. Just follow the label directions as it may also effect plants and some of your other fish.

I wouldn't recommend the deep cleaning as you will most likely upset the "balance" in your tank. You need to keep the bacteria in place so that you don't chance killing off the entire tank.

 

[Imp]

I used to crush them and drop them back in the tank for the fish to eat.

Imp

 

[ultasol]

Some loaches get large, and some can be aggressive, and not all eat snails. Manual removal is the best bet without adding fish. If you do go with loaches, research carefully before bringing home a school.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I used to just throw a piece of lettuce or spinach or some other vegetable in the tank and a ton of snails would eat it. Then I'd pluck the ones I wanted to keep off and throw them back in the tank and throw the rest away (Usually outside for some animal to enjoy). My betta would eat the babies sometimes and I really never had a huge snail problem. My biggest problem was the empty shells that would fall to the bottom of the tank when they would die. I always had to pick them out by hand.