SNAILS AGAIN

[justathome]

Can't get rid of them.. clowns not touching them( i think too small) any idea's???

[Very Fishy]

I had a snail problem before I switched over to discus. When I changed over to discus, I converted my tank to bare bottom and the snails disappeared. Most went out with the gravel and any left over snails were siphoned out. If you have gravel or substrate, it is very difficult to get rid of snails.

[DarkDiscus]

I have never had snails in a bare bottom tank either. Getting rid of them in a gravel tank is nearly impossible - I would have success for a while and then they would return in massive numbers. You REALLY don't want to use any of the many snail killing products as a massive die off can seriously foul the tank quickly.

John

[brewmaster15]

A product called "anchors away" its a chiton inhibitor. Its for removing anchor worms and other copepods.. On that label it says not to use in tanks with snails.

I experimented... Seems to be discus safe in water that has pH7.0-7.8 , not sure of other ranges..

Invertibrates rely on Chiton...If they can't make it... they die out. In my test tank snails disappeared slowly over a period of 1-2 weeks.

hth,
al

[stir-fry]

Have you tried starving your clown loaches yet?
I've heard they will only eat snails if they are really hungry.

[Bar-L]

My clowns will eat snails before they will eat anything else. I even tried growing some to add to their diet, but I could keep up with their appetite. Perhaps when the snails grow up a bit they will be more tempting!

[justathome]

did the starvin thing and no difference.. The snails do not get very big and they are destroying the plants in the display tank..
Most are attached to the plants.. can I dip the plants in something..?
I dont know if they do Anchors Away over here, but i'll look..

[M0oN]

Maybe try crushing a few of the snails and putting them by the clown loach? It's my understanding that it takes them a while to figure out snails are eddible but once they do they can't be stopped...

[Don_Lee]

It is really tough to get rid of snails once you have them, especially in a planted/gravel tank. You may want to really begin to focus on your feeding habits, too many snails is a sign of too much food around IMO. I would combine this with trying to have as many clown loaches as your tank will allow, and removing the snails regularly.

Good Luck,

Don

[justathome]

all the snail sare on the plants.. so yes I guess there is plenty of food for them, but not down to fish food..

[fshngal]

Try putting a couple pieces of dechlorinated water rinsed lettuce into the tank and wait overnight. Next morning take the lettuce out. This may rid some of them.

Do this for several nights, each night with fresh lettuce

Fshngal

[Martinphillip03]

I also heard this. Crunch or chrush them and see what happens

Marty



Maybe try crushing a few of the snails and putting them by the clown loach? It's my understanding that it takes them a while to figure out snails are eddible but once they do they can't be stopped...

[Don_Lee]

The lettuce trick is a good one, the snails will probably congregate on the lettuce quickly. I would not make a habit of crushing the snails, as the fleshy part of the snail can rot and foul your tank.

Don

[Surfghost63]

Hi guys.

I never had snails in my bare bottomed 45, but now in the 77 planted tank I have a lot, three weeks ago I was pulling out an average of 30 every single day :(

IME the lettuce trick worked just to take them out, but it does not work to get rid of the eggs, so the problem is in there yet.

Since I put three clown loaches ( 2 3" and 1 2") the snail population is decreasing drastically.

I've read that it's all about luck if loaches do the job or not, at this point mine are doing it :)

Good Luck,

Bill :guitarist: