Snail Infestation?

[cloudz]

I was looking at my tank today and noticed I have a couple of snails... My tank is planted so that's probably where they came from. I thought I examined the plants carefully but there were probably eggs on there. I read that having assassin snails or loaches would get the job done. From what I can tell theres probably 5 snails at least. I have discus pair in my 55 gallon tank. Would it be okay to get one or two clown loaches to eradicate the snails? Would they scare the discus or compete for food later? If the snails do go away after, I'll probably bring the loaches back to the lfs or in my dads pond in the back yard. Any opinion/ help would be much appreciated!

[DISCUS STU]

With a few snails, I've plucked out the ones I've seen and not seen more which is unusual because there's usually always more. But so far so good. Other times no.

It's better to go the biological way re Assassin Snails, Loaches, etc. If all else fails, I've used small amounts of chelated, and only chelated, Copper Sulfate which is like silver to a werewolf. Successive water changes will remove it but I don't think carbon does. It kills the snails, my Discus seem unaffected, as do my Catfish.

[cloudz]

I'll try to pluck them out as I see them. Would one loach be enough to wipe them out? Where do you buy chelated copper sulfate?

[DISCUS STU]

I haven't used loaches but others have. Mostly I've just plucked them out. This is a previous thread with good info.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?113976-Best-snail-remedy&highlight=snails

[cloudz]

So far I've plucked about 7 of them. Hopefully I won't find more tomorrow. I just gave that thread a read and was wondering if seachem cupramine would be a good idea? I don't have a qt tank available at the moment and don't feel safe puting a new loach into my discus tank. I might try using a zuchini or vege to bait them.

[ericNH]

Would it be okay to get one or two clown loaches to eradicate the snails? Would they scare the discus or compete for food later? If the snails do go away after, I'll probably bring the loaches back to the lfs or in my dads pond in the back yard. Any opinion/ help would be much appreciated!

Hi cloudz. I've gone down that road, and my experience with clown loaches is that they're an excellent choice for snail population control, but they made my juvenile discus unhappy. During feeding the clowns would join the feeding frenzy as a pack and make my discus nervous, severely cutting down the amount that they ate. So I ended up giving all but one back to the lfs. Clowns like to be in a pack, so the single clown I have left has become shy enough that he doesn't interfere with the discus when they feed.

But my discus were little guys at the time. Once they all reach 4.5"+ I will re-introduce clown loaches. As long as you have a decent-sized tank and decent-sized discus, I think they'd be great.

[ericNH]

Just out of curiosity - are your snails Malaysian Trumpet Snails? If so, good luck...IME, the only way you'll get rid of them entirely is with a nuclear bomb.

83644

[sdrexler078]

I can't really help too much since I don't have planted tank but I did have my sons Molly tank get infested and I mean there was like 50 of them in 20 gallon. You couldn't even see without looking at snails so I put piece of lettuce in and next morning really early I pulled a large portion out with the lettuce. Don't know if it'll work for you but it's worth a try

[cloudz]

I don't think they're mts. Mine look very small and more circular/round looking than spiral/cone like in the picture. I'll try the lettuce trick. I took a couple more out but it seems like they wont stop appearing. My discus are about 5 inches. Would 1 small clown loach get rid of rhe snails? I don't have a qt tank right now so kind of worried. Are the risks high of introducing a disease to my discus with a loach?

[a.person61]

They could be garden snails some pics would be handy if they are what i think they are there fine all they do is eat left overs.
I heard snails will only come to a tank with left over food or plants that are about to die.

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[cloudz]

They just look ugly haha. I think you're right. Some of my plants were dying? I think theyre ramshorn snails. They look like this http://www.sydneycichlid.com/gallery/d/115-3/ramshorn-red-a and are about the size of a small pellet. Just curious, but do discus ever eat snails?

[a.person61]

Clown loaches would be perfect they don't eat the shells but that should be filterd out when your cleaning. I would say put 4 loaches in 2-4 inch for at least 2 weeks or intill the snails are gone. If u end up likeing the loaches and they way they dance keeping them shouldn't do any harm. How ever they poop alot. If u do choose to get rid of them after some weeks pkease dont put them in the pond bring them back to the pet store. If your like me and don't trust the chimicals to kill the snails then loaches are the best next thing.
When i had a snail infestation in my tank i got out my little boat and put it in ive cold water for some time. Next i changed the substrate then I pulled out the plants and picked all the snails off 1 by 1. Check your filter as well they tend to get into it. When that was all done i just kept it clean of left over food and the snails never came back maybe 1 or 2 but there ok.
These days i kinda woold like them back when im away to clean any left over food. Again if u do use the chemical be wear that stuff can BURN your fish and plants if u put to much in. A helpful hint with keeping plants healthy is chop.off the dead leave the plants cant fix them up. So why not chop it so a new leaf grows and the plant dosen't have to waste its energy in trying to fix the leaf. I hope this helps I could go on for ages, and no i dont think discus eat snails. Maybe if the snails is turned over with its belly exposed but i wouldn't say they eat snails.

-Auzzie

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[pcsb23]

Despite popular belief clown loaches are not a good solution. They may eat some of the snails, but they will more than likely enjoy the food you feed your discus. Also factor in they are primarily nocturnal, they will cause stress to the discus, maybe not immediately, but it will happen. Clowns also need to be in groups, so that would mean getting 4 as a minimum - just more demands on water quality, let alone the risk of not being able to qt. Clowns also get big, very big - albeit they grow slowly.

If you must choose a loach, go for the yo-yo loach (sometimes called a Pakistani loach) - these only get to about 8" max, again grow slowly, but again all the downsides still exist, though these are far more active during the day.

If mechanical removal doesn't work then any copper based med will, but be warned it will also kill any shrimp you may have. Also it will be a while before you would be able to add any shrimp as even the smallest trace of copper doesn't do them any good. If you didn't have the fish in the tank then a massive dose of flubendazole would work too, surprisingly I've had shrimp survive this, but total elimination of the snails. Ideally I'd remove the fish if at all possible whilst treating, even if it was to a plastic tub for a few days.

The best course of action is prevention of course, so thoroughly wash any new plants before adding to the tank, some treat the plants with bleach and stuff, it is better not to, but a dip in allum or a copper solution isn't overly damaging to the plants.

[musicmarn1]

Just out of curiosity - are your snails Malaysian Trumpet Snails? If so, good luck...IME, the only way you'll get rid of them entirely is with a nuclear bomb.

83644


since i am the proud owner of 947394294732842497324982378934692 MTS lol i can wholeheartedly agree ! but really i see the biggest difference in tanks with a lot of light, if you have a lot is usually an indication of either a calcium spike or algae and light increase. because i have 7 tanks with different amounts of these snails, i got them to move the substrate and detonate pockets of potentially dangerous gas....anyway, i have a gazillion in tanks with more nutrients, algae and calcium (from well water vs the tanks with hauled water or when i did briefly have RO)

assasin snails worked well for me !

[rickztahone]

another member mentioned a method that I have used in the past, and that was lettuce. Leave a piece of lettuce over night in the tank, and get up real early in the morning before lights on and the lettuce should be covered in snails. Keep doing this till you get them in check. Assassins have worked for me in the past, but I prefer not to add to the bioload, so meds or lettuce is my choice.

[ericNH]

Despite popular belief clown loaches are not a good solution.

This is directly counter to what I said about clowns. You probably don't need me to tell you this, but take Paul's advice over mine - he has far more experience. Sorry for the bad advice I gave on that.


since i am the proud owner of 947394294732842497324982378934692 MTS lol i can wholeheartedly agree ! but really i see the biggest difference in tanks with a lot of light, if you have a lot is usually an indication of either a calcium spike or algae and light increase.

This info fits into my experience with MTS; I do in fact have more light than is necessary. My algae isn't bad, but it noticeably decreases on days when I reduce my light cycle. Hence my ridiculous MTS pop.

[nwehrman]

I can second the clown loaches are a bad idea. I have a group so this is from personal experience. Number one they do not do good without being a group and with a group you get chaos. Lovable chaos but a feeding frenzy that will scare off most discus.

Copper will kill them however it can absorb into the silicone on your tank and you may never be able to keep any invertebrates in the tank.

There are other methods (meds that kill snails) also but if you just keep at it and bait them you will get them...

[musicmarn1]

i have baited mine but they are in a FULL full planted tank.....they prefer my onion plants, ludwigia repens, anacharis.......to my lettuce attempts lol !!

i only put ONE or two assassin snails in and these help a bunch, obviously its easier in bare tanks

[Jason F]

I had a massive infestation of MTS in my 36g bowfront community tank. At first it was no problem and my daughter loved counting them. Then one day I sat in front of the tank and realized there were probably around 100 snails visible and it was the middle of the day. I spent the next two weeks pulling out everyone I could see. Finally I had 5 days I didn't see any and I thought I had won... I was wrong! They started coming back strong and that's when I picked up 4 assassin snails. The kids still get to look at snails in the tank and I haven't had to worry about a population explosion of MTS. Plus the assassin snails are kind of cool looking!

[nc0gnet0]

If you didn't have the fish in the tank then a massive dose of flubendazole would work too, surprisingly I've had shrimp survive this, but total elimination of the snails. Ideally I'd remove the fish if at all possible whilst treating, even if it was to a plastic tub for a few days.

Paul, I am curious as to why you recommend removing the fish before treating with flubendazole? I have done this in the past with no-ill effects (non-discus tank though). The one thing you DO need to stay on top off is removing all the dead snails or you would get a massive ammonia spike. I was 100 % successful will killing off all the "pond" snails with a normal dose over three days.

-Rick

[pcsb23]

Paul, I am curious as to why you recommend removing the fish before treating with flubendazole? I have done this in the past with no-ill effects (non-discus tank though). The one thing you DO need to stay on top off is removing all the dead snails or you would get a massive ammonia spike. I was 100 % successful will killing off all the "pond" snails with a normal dose over three days.

-RickSimply due to the fact I don't like medicating when not necessary, plus with snails it needs to be in the water for several days and I also overdose massively, last time I did this I put tablespoonsful in. I've seen some tolerance by snails at normal doses, so without fish I just ladle the stuff in. I'd rather avoid the problem though so cleaning the plants prior too putting them in the tank is the best bet.

[mwood3]

I would add about 6-8 assassin snails to the tank ASAP. Continue removing other snails daily, I use long tweezers to get them. IN about a week you'll begin to notice a difference the assassins are making.

[dleblanc]

I have a bunch of snails in one tank, was looking to do something about it, owner of Aquarium Co-op in Edmonds, WA made a good point - "All those snails are eating _something_." That's worth considering. At the time, the tank was pretty heavily loaded, sadly much less now (see my post about Cobalt heaters).

Another technique - snails (and plecos, shrimp, etc) love the veggie Ripache (sp?) - make some up, stick the Ripache in the bottom of a small jar, come back a few hours later, harvest snails.

[pcsb23]

I have a bunch of snails in one tank, was looking to do something about it, owner of Aquarium Co-op in Edmonds, WA made a good point - "All those snails are eating _something_." That's worth considering. At the time, the tank was pretty heavily loaded, sadly much less now (see my post about Cobalt heaters).

Another technique - snails (and plecos, shrimp, etc) love the veggie Ripache (sp?) - make some up, stick the Ripache in the bottom of a small jar, come back a few hours later, harvest snails.I think you mean Repashy perhaps? http://www.repashy.co.uk/lilly-exotics/superveggie

[flapjack24]

I've had great success with assassin snails, loaches just cause too much havoc

[Bangecat]

I have looked through all the threads on snail removal and still don't know what to do. I have 180 tank with driftwood, Java ferns, and anubia, 1/2" of white sand. I also have a 40 gallon sump with water Sprite in the center section. Between the discus and clown loaches, snails are in check, but my wife want the snails gone. If I remove the fish is there anything I can use to kill the snails? If so, will it also kill the bio filter?
Kent

[oliverk]

You can try trapping baiting them. Lettuce works well as the bait. you can just put the lettuce in the tank and you can pull out the lettuce the next day. You can also put the lettuce in a glass jar and ......


Repeat as necessary. Works on most snails but the round circular ones better than the conical spiral ones in my experience.

Once in snails are in the tank not sure other than a complete reset (and then only a hope) that you can get them completely out, but you can significantly cut into the population.

I have noticed at certain times the conical spiral ones tend to congregate in certain areas of the tank..... pluck away pluck away

-----
Note I have noticed that with the reduction in my snail population I am working a little harder to keep algae under control.

sigh

[strawberryblonde]

For me the only sure fire way to get rid of all snails was to place my fish in buckets with heater and air stones for the day, then remove any plants and give them a bleach dip. Took out the driftwood and used a high pressure hose to clean it well. Once that was done I removed ALL the substrate with my siphon, refilled the tank and added bleach.

Oh and I removed the filters and media, bleached the filters themselves and rinsed the media thoroughly in tank water, checking carefully for snails who might be hiding. The other option is to replace the media and do 90% water changes daily till the new media cycles.

After letting the tank sit with bleach for 30 minutes, I drained, refilled, added a double dose of Prime and let it sit for a few minutes, then drained it again, refilled and again, used a double dose of Prime.

After that it was a matter of putting in a new thin layer of sand, adding plants and driftwood back to the tank and then the discus.

If you're still not sure that the plants and driftwood are snail free you can house them in a spare tank for a week and check them daily.

[Jack L]

i have a growing population of snails, thanks for the lettuce idea, but do they cause some harm or is it just the aesthetics?

i consider them part of my cleanup crew, granted i have a planted tank with MANY MANY places for food bits and plants shreds to hide, not a clean glass box...

[oliverk]

I too like a few snails in my tank as part of the cleanup crew..... This said I do periodic thinning of them when they become too numerous..... when at the low point I do more manual algae control and at the high point there are just too many snails in the tank and it becomes distracting..... and then I go on a rampage, thinning them and ........ This said unlike many discus keepers I do not do large daily water changes, and therefore am not in the tank all the time..... I a couple of times a day most days lift the corner of my lid and put in food...... If I were in the tank all the time might just keep a trap going all the time..... except for company or display days

[ericNH]

I have some MTS leftover from my planted substrate days - they live in the 1/8" layer of sand and the potted plants I've left. Weird thing is, I re-did my tank to clean it up and add vacuuming to my daily regimen, but I never see any particles or leftover food or fish poo - I think the snails are cleaning that up. But I vacuum daily anyway, fwiw.

[Dave-H]

Assassins work well, although they can get lazy after a while :)