# The Ultimate Snail Solution!



## John N.

Well maybe the ultimate solution...

I was thinking after crushing some snails in my tank...Instead of perioxide, and bleach, and such..what about a salt bath?

I remember slugs hate salt and seem to melt when in contact with it. What if we dipped our plants in salt, that probably wouldn't do too much harm to the plant right? and it would kill them snails! 

OR 

More to the extreme: take the fish out, dump the salt into the tank, let it sit for a few minutes, and then drain and fill the tank, do refill two or three times to remove the salt content. 

Ultimate solution? or are the snails getting to my head?

-John N.


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## jeff63851

It would probably have to be a high concentration. I used to use salt in my MTS tank for my sick fishes, and their population decreased, but it didn't wipeout all of them. 

-Jeff


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## redFishblueFish

I can try this...I have a tank thats half full with only snails and a java fern in it. I'll let you know how it goes.


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## azn_fishy55

Wouldn't be so smart since not all plants take well to salts there are number of brackish adaptable plants but they adapt slowly over time and a sudden salinity change like that might kill them,inclusing your bacterial population and I had MTS in a brackish tank with an sg reading of 1.015 and the snails were fine.For it to wipe out all snails the concentration of salt might have to be around sea water or higher and that will definitely kill your bacterial colny.


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## Zapins

Totally agree with azn_fishy55. For the salt concentration of the water to kill FW snails it would have to be very high. 

FW plants do NOT take kindly to salt, especially in large quantities that would be needed to kill snails. Even for a short bath i would hesitate to dip them in a salt bath.


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## sayembara

Better simulate the case first by trying on some snails in another tank. See how much salt is needed before the snail began to melt.


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## almond

how about adding botia sithmunki..... just my 2 cents


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## JerseyScape

When my tank was overrun with Pond snails I would do two second dips in Hydrogen Peroxide. Just fill a large cup and dump the plant in to see the snails come right off and die. It was amazing as to how fast these things would die when exposed to the peroxide. The plants, on the other hand, were not affected by the treatment at all. It was only for two seconds so no harm inflicted on my green friends.


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## turbomkt

Loaches are all well and good...but a lot of us have shrimp


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## AaronT

Put a piece of zuchinni in the tank just after the lights go out. Before the lights come on the next day you'll have a TON of snails around it. Now just scoop them out. Repeat this as much as necessary to keep the population down.


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## RTR

Excess snails are symptoms - the population can only multiply to meet the level of food available for them. Control the food, control the snails. Food is excess fish food, excess algae, excess decaying plant material.


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## acbaldwin

turbomkt said:


> Loaches are all well and good...but a lot of us have shrimp


Mike, don't you have a few yoyos in with your bee shrimp?


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## bristles

sidthmunki loachs are quite small, they seem to keep my snails at a tolerable number but not snail free. they don't seem to bother the amano schrimp but I admitt that my cherry schrimp go missing in the tank that has the sidth.


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## Gonzofish

Dwarf puffers will dine leisurely on baby snails and snail eggs. Unfortunately, they'll also take a baby shrimp if they can sneak up on one. It's fascinating to watch them bob in and out of plants, "hunting" for the next tasty morsel.


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## turbomkt

acbaldwin said:


> Mike, don't you have a few yoyos in with your bee shrimp?


Nope.


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## almond

anybody got experience with cories eating up baby snails? just wondering 

Hey Jersey,

Does H.preoxide comes in solid form or liquid form?


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## turbomkt

AFAIK, H2O2 is only in liquid form. It's what your mother used to clean scrapes and cuts.


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## TexasRock

Aren't dwarf puffers a brackish water fish?

Also, the zuchini method works... it may take a couple of times but it will definately decrease your snail infestation to a more tolerable level.


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## Blazerfrs

Dwarf puffers are full freshwater fish. Other puffers commonly sold as freshwater (figure 8, Green Spot, etc) require brackish conditions for adulthood.
http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/


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## John N.

I guess a salt solution wasn't the ultimate answer.  

I've used dwarf puffers in the past and they are great at taken down the snails. The problem with using them as snail control is you run into the problem of what to do with the puffers after they finish the job (which is in about 2-3 weeks). 

When I first introduced them, they were tame and didn't attack my guppies, but I think after they ran out of things to hunt, they started hunting the guppy fry. 

I now have 1 of 2 alone in a 3 gallon tank. My other one died...

-John N.


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## RoseHawke

Is there anything that thinks snail eggs are a tasty snack? That would help at least somewhat! I don't have a huge problem with them but it would be nice if they "went away!"


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## John N.

*Chlorine? - the Solution*

Cindy, I haven't seen anything eat the snail eggs/sacs. Though new goldfish and SAE's always pick at them. However, they get that it's not tasty after the first bite. 
-----------------------------------------
I was doing a waterchange to a plant only nano, and was thinking...:flame:

What if I don't add any dechlorinator in the tank? Fish don't like chlorine, so why should snails? I'm not sure how effective this would be, but right now I haven't added any PRIME to the nano. Bye bye snails? 

What do you think..straight tap water without any conditioners the ultimate snail solution?

-John N.


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## Nimavafi

Thats and interesting point...I would like to know also. Fish don't like chlorine, but do plants? I think the chlorine could burn the plants too.


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## Nimavafi

Hehe, just realized I've been a lurker until that post... I've been reading these forums for about a month and half now, and its by far one of my primary sources of information.


Nima


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## banderbe

I just limit my feedings and the snail population is limited as a consequence.

If a person has lots of snails it is a good possibility that they are overfeeding.

Unless they are plant eating snails and then I guess you're screwed.


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## banderbe

RTR said:


> Excess snails are symptoms - the population can only multiply to meet the level of food available for them. Control the food, control the snails. Food is excess fish food, excess algae, excess decaying plant material.


Yeah what he said.


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## John N.

*Chlorinated water wasn't the answer*

After this experiment, the snails are still alive, climbing around, and popping.

I have to agree for the moment (until the next bright idea) that RTR and Banderbe are correct. Limiting the amount of food for now is the ultimate solution.

-John N.


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## KeIgO86

dwarf puffers anyone?


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## kram

> KeIgO86 dwarf puffers anyone?


Right on. There is no snail problem any more since these characters became commonly available.

Cucumber slices, film canisters, copper, loaches, picking, and all the rest.

Old hat and hassle. Either dont work, just reduce numbers, are dangerous for the tank or overrated. Take your fish out if you have to, put one dawarf puffer in there for a month with no feeding and there are no more snails. Ever. Again. Until the next time they are introduced on a plant or something.

kram


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## Jimbo205

> Put a piece of zuchinni in the tank just after the lights go out. Before the lights come on the next day you'll have a TON of snails around it. Now just scoop them out. Repeat this as much as necessary to keep the population down


that sounds easy. John N. have you tried this yet? I might.


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## John N.

Jimbo I have tried a variation of that. Picking them out when you see them or baiting them with an algae wafer helps to reduce the population. But it takes a while to get rid of the snails completely. I've been sucessful in one tank using this type of method, but in my other tanks, there's just too many left over snail eggs to combat.

I tried limiting food also in the past, and this has proven to be a great method of reducing snail populations, but never truly gets rid of them. Dwarf puffers and loaches are probably the Ultimately solution to eradicating snails from the aquarium. I've used a dwarf puffer in the past, and it worked out successfully. However, sometimes a dwarf puffer isn't an option, especially if you have shrimp in the tank.

-John N.


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## John N.

*Saltwater Dip -> Killing snails before they get a chance*

My previous ideas (tank saltwater bath, chlorine bath) for the ultimate snail solution failed. It seems that if you already have snails in your tank then you can't get rid of them very easily, and you have to control the populations via limiting feeding.

*So let's kill the snails before they get inside the tank.* Instead of placing plants in a potentially harmful solution of bleach and Potassium Permanganate for the purpose of eradicate the snails from the plants, what if we used a *Saltwater Dip? *

Meaning a highly concentrated solution of salt water with a 1-5 minute plant dip to kill the snails and their eggs. Would it work? More importantly, would the salt be harmful to plants?

-John N.


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## Troy McClure

:bump2:

I need a good solution for dipping plants! H2O2 and salt dips sound very reasonable *-IF AND ONLY IF-* it kills the eggs and doesn't harm my precious plants. Last weekend I was over at my parent's house...my Dad and I spent about ten minutes salting snails. It was interesting to see what happens, though I felt a bit guilty and sadistic... It seems like a quick, highly concentrated sea salt bath would do the trick.


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## johnzhou2476

Just get a puffer fish!!!!!! I brought one for my 110 gallon tank and it clean up in matter of a few days.


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## johnzhou2476

I had a figure 8 dwarf puffer about the size of a large grape and it didn't bother my cherry shrimp at all.


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## Troy McClure

I'm not looking for a fish to aleviate the symptoms. I'm looking for a solution to eliminate the problem at the source that will not harm the plants.

On the other hand, I suppose for my 85gal where I can't dip the plants it would be OK to drop a couple in until I move the tank and have a chance to treat the plants and substrate (or probably replace the sub.) The only fish in there are Rosy barbs, neons, an SAE, and an angel. Any puffer threats there?


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## epicfish

John N. said:


> My previous ideas (tank saltwater bath, chlorine bath) for the ultimate snail solution failed. It seems that if you already have snails in your tank then you can't get rid of them very easily, and you have to control the populations via limiting feeding.
> 
> *So let's kill the snails before they get inside the tank.* Instead of placing plants in a potentially harmful solution of bleach and Potassium Permanganate for the purpose of eradicate the snails from the plants, what if we used a *Saltwater Dip? *
> 
> Meaning a highly concentrated solution of salt water with a 1-5 minute plant dip to kill the snails and their eggs. Would it work? More importantly, would the salt be harmful to plants?
> 
> -John N.


H2O2 and potassium permanganate are strong oxidizers, and we all know what bleach does. Each of these three actually destroys vital components of the plant's structure.

However, I think a concentrated warm saltwater dip would be a great idea. And a quick dip. Nothing more than 10-15 seconds which would probably be enough to kill off snails. Saltwater, other than it's osmotic effect on plants, doesn't actually oxidize or attack any plant components. You'll shrivel up and kill plants if you leave them in the dip too long though.

I remember in Canada, the roads would be salted in the winter to prevent ice buildup. In the summer, when the snow melted, all the grass on the side of the road would be dead because of all the salt water.

I wonder if "spot treating" snails in a tank with a syringe of concentrated salt water would work. Maybe right before a WC, I'll try to spot treat snails and then immediately do a WC and see how it goes. Or you could have a Python sucking water, and right after the treatment, just move the suction to where the salt water is to get rid of most of it...


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## Musket

After using the zuchinni method: then you can feed the snails and zuc to the birdies outside. They would much apprechiate such a treat this time of year.


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## Squawkbert

Nerites are going to take over the role of principal hitch-hiker if we all start salting heck out of pond snails.

Life finds a way.


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## Jane in Upton

I tried H2O2 as a dip before stocking a tank recently, and am quite pleased with the results. I differed the timing (10-45 seconds, depending on how thick the leaf of the plant was, with less time for the more delicate feeling plants). 

I saw some very young angelfish eating snail eggs, but it was in a leisurely nibble fashion - not thorough, certainly not an effective search & destroy technique. 

The warm salt water DIP is a very intriguing idea. 
-Jane


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## John N.

*Saltwater Dip Results*

I tried the a 20 second saltwater dip on a _Egeria densa_ stem infested with hitcher snail eggs and adult snails.










*Saltwater Dip Result:*
1) Snails died instantly
2) Snail sac remained intact but partically dissolved, needs longer dip time to finish.
3) Plant lost rigidity , much like over cooked vegetables.

So it seems that the saltwater dip can be too much for the plants. The search continues for the ultimate solution.

-John N.


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## epicfish

How concentrated was the salt water?


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## John N.

About 1 tablespoon salt in about 1/2 cup of water. Despite the concentration, the snail eggs remained and would need more time to "soak." The extra time wouldn't fair well with the plant unfortunately.

-John N.


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## draal5

Hey! I finally have something that I can contribute. 

I have used jungle labs clear water to dip 15-30 min. all my plants and not one snail ( knock on wood ) I got this tip from listening to pet fish talk. They claim that once you have them there is no way to get rid of them you can just control them either buy using a clown loch or scooping them out. 
The problem with the loch is it get up to 6"+ and can get out of the smallest hoes in the lid of an aquarium and they will come back once you remove the loch. I have 2 dwarf puffers the will eat snails but also will nip fins on anything that swims slower than them.


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## epicfish

I wonder what's in Jungle Lab's clear water?


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## Charlutz

I'm a fish guy lurking here to try and gain some advice to keep some basic plants in my tanganyikan cichlid tanks. I am doing everything I can to keep the snails out of my main tank. A few hitched a ride in with my plants, but so far I have been able to scoop them up and get rid of them. I've seen 3 in two months.

Now, my two small 40g tanks are another story. They got infested with malaysian trumpet snails. I tried baiting them, replacing the substrate and clown loaches. Can't get rid of them. They are livebearers and the babies are tiny. Some of the snails live well within the filter pads so the only way to get them is to sterilize the pad and wipe out the nitrogen cycle bacteria. The loaches leave empty shells everywhere, but they can't keep up.

Eventually I just nuked the tank. Moved all the fish to the other 40g and dumped in a cup of clorox. Wiped the snails out almost instantly. I just need to reseed the filter and then set the tank back up. If MTS get into my 210g and sump, I won't even bother trying to get them out. I'm not willing to nuke that tank.


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## mv1175

Anybody used a botia with any sucess?


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## draal5

epicfish said:


> I wonder what's in Jungle Lab's clear water?


Label says potassium permaganate is the active ingredient


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## azfishguy

I have a 120G tank which was always full of snails. They were visible everywhere and if I neglected the tank and let dust algae grow on the glass, I had swarms of snails crawling on the tank walls. Nothing really worked to eradicate them. About 2 years ago I decided to keep discus so I stopped mixing my RO with tap and started using pure RO reconstituted to Gh=50 ppm and KH=0. I don't believe in ph crashes and the story that fish and plants need carbonate hardness. Anyways, It's been 2 years now and I am yet to see a single slug in my tank. They just vanished. Now, I know that not every species of fish and/or shrimp can be happy in such soft and acidic water but if you do keep soft water fish such as cardinals and are ph crash (whatever that may be) non-believer then give it a try. Like I said - not a single slug. Just my two cents.


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## star rider

my wife like the cute dwarf puffers..I figure the snails in my tanks would be a good source of food..almost limitless supply.

oddly my tanks with bolivian rams have no snails..they have algae , I added snails..three weeks later..algae..no snails..
I also have a tank of angels that have developed a taste for escargot...I can't keep snails in this tank either..


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## Overfloater

azfishguy said:


> I have a 120G tank which was always full of snails. They were visible everywhere and if I neglected the tank and let dust algae grow on the glass, I had swarms of snails crawling on the tank walls. Nothing really worked to eradicate them. About 2 years ago I decided to keep discus so I stopped mixing my RO with tap and started using pure RO reconstituted to Gh=50 ppm and KH=0. I don't believe in ph crashes and the story that fish and plants need carbonate hardness. Anyways, It's been 2 years now and I am yet to see a single slug in my tank. They just vanished. Now, I know that not every species of fish and/or shrimp can be happy in such soft and acidic water but if you do keep soft water fish such as cardinals and are ph crash (whatever that may be) non-believer then give it a try. Like I said - not a single slug. Just my two cents.


I am keeping cardinals in a tank with 0 kH and gH, TDS of ~24. No snails, no problems growing plants and the cardinals look the best I've seen.


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## Troy McClure

draal5 said:


> Label says potassium permaganate is the active ingredient


That's why. MatPat has a bunch of this left over so maybe he and I can do some tests like John.

Another SWOAPE member, Allen, and I have tossed around the idea of using a diluted gluteraldehyde dip to hopefully kills the snails and eggs without melting the plants. We can do some tests on this as well, though from some of the "Excel dips" I've heard of people giving their plants, I'm not going to hold my breath.


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