# what should eat my snails



## Reamer (Mar 3, 2010)

hi all, my 30 Gal tanks, now has a small snail infestation, i been using spinach to remove large groups about once a week and smatching bigger ones as i seem them then my guppy's enjoy the remains.

my quetion is what fish would be good in my 30gal atm i have

6 guppys + frys stilling hiding in the plants before i move them and give them away
2 kuhli loaches
1 fales SAE

ad a **** ton of snails that need to stop eating my plants -.- so something need to eat them..

any fish that would be good at eating snails and living happy in my tank?

thanks in advance, Reamer of Seattle

Edit note: if the fish also eat some of the frys to also help control my guppy population that is a plus.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

I used to have hundreds of snails of 4 species (pond snails, 2 species of ramshorns, and mts) in my 125. But since I added Apistogramma macmasteri to the tank I have a hard time keeping any snails. I have enough mts to keep the substrate aerated and aid in decomp, but I cannot keep any other snail alive because the Apisto eat them.

I have heard of other Apistogramma species not messing with snails too much, or at least not being large enough to eat them all. But the A. macmasteri are pretty good at cleaning them up if you don't like snails and are in the market for dwarf cichlids.

I have 6 males and 3 females in a 125 and they are fine with each other. I would guess you could have a breeding pair, or even a male and a couple females in a 30 easily.

That said, there are several other fish species that eat snails, but the snail-eaters I mentioned above are the only ones I have experience keeping in planted tanks.


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## cheaman (Mar 4, 2009)

assassin snails - (Clea helena)
Won't harm larger snails such as Nerite species.


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## Reamer (Mar 3, 2010)

Apistogramma macmasteri 

seems like a cool fish but don't dwarf cichlids like acidic water? and guppies like neutral to basic water?

any one with dwarf cichlids exp know if they with do ok in ph 7.0-7.3 (i test all water parameters 2 times a week)? or any one know if the guppies would be ok in a lower PH level?

Edit: sry about the OP, my English/grammar is really bad when i am writing, i come off like a slow 5 year old.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Mine are in moderately soft and slightly acid-neutral water, but I don't have any readings.

Davemonkey kept some Apistos in a tank in Houston, where water is typically alkiline and hard; you might send him a private message to ask if he has measurements or readings on his water parameters, but they did really well. His species were A. cacautoides, and they even bred for him in that water, but the tank was converted into a different scape type so they have been adopted by someone else in that area with similar water.


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## defiesexistence (Jun 23, 2010)

My two cents:
Yo-yo loaches (_Botia almorhae_ or _lohachata_) are supposed to do the job very well. They get ~6 inches tops, and will give their one of their pectorals for a shot at a snail. (Snail busters :axe: )They'll literally suck the snail out of the shell, so you may want to prepare for shell duty. Click this for more, but it doesn't have the most impressive pics. http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/loaches/p/yoyoloach.htm No clown or dojo loaches, they get at least a foot long. I haven't owned them, so if my information's wrong, someone slap this amatuer upside her head with the correct information. It'll do her good in the long run.

And your english... If you hadn't mentioned it, we wouldn't have known. I certainly didn't.


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## Reamer (Mar 3, 2010)

thanks mudboots and defiesexistence

i think i am going to take your advise on finding a apisto mudboots. looking on-line at Apistogramma fish (mostly www.seriouslyfish.com), i can across a few apisto that eat snails, with ph rangeing as low as 4.0, and as high as 8.0. ATM I am think im going to try and find a

Apistogramma borellii - Umbrella Apisto

ph range of 5.5 to 8 and a hardness from 1-15°dH, and a little bit bigger then my guppies so might take care of some of the frys for me ^.^

thank you both for your help the Yo-yo loache seem cool but with the way my tank is set up there not my ground for a second 6in fish other wise i might think about it a bit more, thank you for your help


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

Yo-Yo's, banjo cats, some cichlids,a wide variety of loaches will eat the snails also puffers.

Guppies dont mind, they adapt to lower Ph and the fish are healthier in acidic water, ALOT less retarded fry. I used to breed them in a blackwater 40H that was 5.8Ph.


MudBoots, how are those with say discus,angels,tetras and rams? I found some pond snails in my 210 that do not have any permission to be there.


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## UserJB007 (Sep 18, 2008)

I have a 55G planted that has a bad snail infestation(Pond, Rams, MTS). I opted to avoid fish, and go with assassin snails (Anentome Helena).

The results have been great so far. They are actively killing snails as I see several empty shells blowing around daily, and sometimes I'm lucky enough to catch one make a kill (the tank is heavily planted)

I chose these over any fish because: the reduced bioload on the tank, these snails prefer to hide in dark places so they arent covering the sides of your tank, and once you have a breeding group, finding a buyer shouldn't be too hard.

I got my Assassins from someone on APC and couldn't be happier! Hope that helps.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Reamer,

Most French people eat snails, any French neighbors? LOL!


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

WhiteDevil said:


> Yo-Yo's, banjo cats, some cichlids,a wide variety of loaches will eat the snails also puffers.
> 
> Guppies dont mind, they adapt to lower Ph and the fish are healthier in acidic water, ALOT less retarded fry. I used to breed them in a blackwater 40H that was 5.8Ph.
> 
> MudBoots, how are those with say discus,angels,tetras and rams? I found some pond snails in my 210 that do not have any permission to be there.


I'm not real sure about discus or rams, but Apistos have similar temperment as angels, sort of. Mine are very tolerant of, and even completely ignore, other fish species I have (all smaller than they are), but they pay a LOT of attention to each other. They don't fight (9 of them in a 125), but the males love to flash. Anytime they see a snail they go for it immediately. Sometimes I move snails from my picotope to the 125 just as a treat, and they last about 5 seconds. They treat excess RCS this way as well...yummy...


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## waterismyfriend (Oct 8, 2008)

Cherry Barbs seem to keep my snails at bay, started with a few snails which turned into more now they're gone. I still see a occasional snail but nothing like it could be. They can only get the little ones though, not the pea sized ones.


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## Gordonrichards (Apr 28, 2009)

You could always buy some dwarf puffers.
Usually cost $1.75-$3.00

I would say you only need 2 of them for your tank.

2-3 months later you should be snail free.

I got puffs for my girlfriend's tank. A few months later, no more snails and thin puffs. Back to the fish store they went.


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

I made a trap for the 210, using a powered sponge filter stand only w/ 4" of uplift tube and a conical insert. I tried this 3 days ago, day before yesterday w/ glass vase conical and last night a piece of 3/4" tubing w/ sealed end and conical entrance, nothing. The sponge filter skeleton trapped over 100 snails, I now have a RES(red ear slider) and she just LOVES pond snails I did a PWC on her tank and tossed her down below in the snail/feeder fish tank and she came out 4 hours later and I have NO snails but the MTS left.

MudBoots, domesticated or wild angel temperment?


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

WhiteDevil said:


> MudBoots, domesticated or wild angel temperment?


Hmmmmm; good question. The angels I have are domestic and pretty well behaved and tolerant, but just territorial enough so that everyone in the tank knows that when they are spawing it's time to keep their distance. But I've never seen them actually make contact with the other fish when getting their point across. My Apistos are wild caught and are pretty similar, but they keep their spawnings hidden in the back, while the angels come right up front. None of the spawns ever make it though, because the army of cories and/or the bristlenose pleco eventually pick the nest apart.


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## gonathan85 (Sep 12, 2009)

I have assassin snails in my tanks, and I always find plenty of empty snail shells littering the substarte.

My cute little Kribensis used to love snails, but she developed an illness, and was donated to the garden soil. Sigh.


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## geeks_15 (Dec 9, 2006)

Lots of good suggestions so far. Apistos, pelvicachromis, and keyhole cichlids have eaten snails in my tanks. Dwarf puffers eat smaller snails and will do a thorough job. There are many broken snail shells on the floor of my pelvicachromis taeniatus tank.

One thing I found interesting is that snails will hide when a predator is around. When I took my dwarf puffers out of a tank many snails showed up the next day.


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## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Like a few people have said, assassin snails are the bomb. I bought 10 from a guy on aquabid and they have kept my pond snails and little ramshorns to manageable proportions. I was fishing out dozens every week and I haven't had to do that for a couple of months now. They have even had some babies. I now have an extra 3 or 4 in there. They seems to be hardy creatures and are a pretty addition to the tank with their striped shells, although they are small. I would highly recommend them. Just be careful when you're siphoning your gravel!


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## Pookie Bear (Jul 12, 2010)

When i had an infestation of snails i bought a dwarf puffer. It worked out really well because it killed all my snails. Unfortunately, after it killed all my snails i had to get rid of it because i was afraid it would go after my fish. But i loved that dwarf puffer and it definitely took care of all the snails!


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