Red Cherry Shrimp and Snails

[rickztahone]

i asked this question on another thread but nobody replied, just wanted to post in this section since it's more appropriate. here goes: "i currently have red cherry shrimp and ghost shrimp (not sure of other names) and i have noticed that there are snails growing either from the shrimp or because of the shrimp which i can't explain. they weren't there when i put them in. i tried researching it but i guess i wasn't that good at doing so. any help appreciated. thanks

[plymbloke]

have you introduced any new plants or items from another tank that may have had snails in it at all? is it possible that they were in the bag with the shrimps when you collected them?

[rickztahone]

have you introduced any new plants or items from another tank that may have had snails in it at all? is it possible that they were in the bag with the shrimps when you collected them?

negative. i have them quarantined in a small box in my tank that i just introduced the shrimp to. it was 15 shrimp with no snails what-so-ever

[bs6749]

Except for the snail eggs that were hidden in the Java moss that came with your RCS.

[rickztahone]

Except for the snail eggs that were hidden in the Java moss that came with your RCS.

that must be it. they really don't bother me but there are like 20 of them now in my tank all over. i guess they are good because they clean algae right?

[bs6749]

It depends on what kind of snails they are and what kind of plants you have. Some pond snails and others like Columbian ramshorns can demolish your prized plants in no time. Others like common ramshorns, Malaysian trumpet snails, etc are "plant safe" and focus mainly on algae and detritus. Most likely they are common pond snails or regular ramshorns and you shouldn't have a problem with them eating plants. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE COPPER to kill the snails because it will kill any inverts you put in that tank ever again. The copper will get into the seals of the aquarium and will leach out over time back into the tank killing any shrimp, crays, snails you many have in there. So even thouroughly cleaning it after using copper meds won't help. Your best bet is to nuke a piece of lettuce for 5-10 seconds, rinse it and place it into your tank. About an hour or two later you can remove it and toss out the snails. Keep repeating this until your snails are gone. Most likely there are more eggs still waiting to hatch so you will need to do this often for the next 2-3 weeks. Another option would be yo-yo loaches. You will need to rehome the RCS into a 1 gallon milk jug or something like that for a week while your loaches hunt down the snails and snail eggs. I'd pick up 2-3 of them, but only if you have a tank for them since they won't be able to stay in with the RCS.

[rickztahone]

It depends on what kind of snails they are and what kind of plants you have. Some pond snails and others like Columbian ramshorns can demolish your prized plants in no time. Others like common ramshorns, Malaysian trumpet snails, etc are "plant safe" and focus mainly on algae and detritus. Most likely they are common pond snails or regular ramshorns and you shouldn't have a problem with them eating plants. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE COPPER to kill the snails because it will kill any inverts you put in that tank ever again. The copper will get into the seals of the aquarium and will leach out over time back into the tank killing any shrimp, crays, snails you many have in there. So even thouroughly cleaning it after using copper meds won't help. Your best bet is to nuke a piece of lettuce for 5-10 seconds, rinse it and place it into your tank. About an hour or two later you can remove it and toss out the snails. Keep repeating this until your snails are gone. Most likely there are more eggs still waiting to hatch so you will need to do this often for the next 2-3 weeks. Another option would be yo-yo loaches. You will need to rehome the RCS into a 1 gallon milk jug or something like that for a week while your loaches hunt down the snails and snail eggs. I'd pick up 2-3 of them, but only if you have a tank for them since they won't be able to stay in with the RCS.

cool, that's great advice. i will try the lettuce thing first. so just put it in the microwave, rinse it after it was in the microwave? and then in the tank for a couple of hours?

[plecocicho]

You can also buy assasin snail Anatome helena

[bs6749]

The problem with assassin snails is that they are overrated and overpriced, not to mention nearly impossible to find. It will take MONTHS to rid a tank for snails if you purchase assassin snails as the sole solution to the problem. You'd need at least 20 of those snails in a 55g tank to make a dent on a decently growing snail population and at $3-5 each plus shipping that's going to be a pretty penny for sure!