# Is it inevitable to get the ugly little brown snails in your tank?



## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

I am trying to take the best precautions as to not get any of those ugly pond snails in the new tank that I will be setting up. My 29 gallon is infested with them so that is driving me nuts. I was going to get some clown loaches but there is no room for them in the tank.

Any precautions to take when setting up a new planted tank?


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

You can do a 19:1 bleach to water dip for 5-10 min on new plants, that should kill snails. But that's harsh on plants, especially sensitive ones. I just assume deal with the snails. 

One option that is frequently over looked is a dwarf puffer for controling snails. If you have a true dwarf puffer, they only reach around 1/2-3/4 of an inch max. They contribute very little bioload They eat snails well but aren't big enough to go after older cherry shrimp, much less Amano shrimp (I'm guessing you might have them).


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Loaches are supposed to eat snails. And there are _some_ varieties of snails that would prove to be beneficial to the control of algae.


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## Astral (Sep 24, 2004)

Clown loaches get very big.

I inherited a weather loach that I put into a 15 gallon tank. Eventually, I bought plants that had snail eggs on them that in time infested my tank. I thought - why isn't "Loachey" eating the snails like a good loach should. My tank was just infested with them.

To make a long story short, I waged war with the snails on two fronts.

1. I picked them out of the tank as soon as I saw one.

2. I put Loachey on a diet. 

So far I have been snail free for over two months.

I know this does not answer your question, but I was compelled to share this story. 

Frank


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## [email protected] (Jul 18, 2005)

JerseyScape said:


> I am trying to take the best precautions as to not get any of those ugly pond snails in the new tank that I will be setting up. My 29 gallon is infested with them so that is driving me nuts. I was going to get some clown loaches but there is no room for them in the tank.
> 
> Any precautions to take when setting up a new planted tank?


I had that same prob with my first attempt at live plants, now I place them in a container of tank water under a light and then add a couple of drops of had a snail. (use caution with this product if using in your tank)
Angel


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## aquasox (Sep 11, 2005)

There are a lot of smaller species of loaches that will eat the snails for you. Yoyo/Pakistani loaches stay quite small but may uproot some foreground plants like glosso. I had golden zebra loaches (Botia spp) and never saw a snail 2 weeks after adding them.

There is also a new species of Botia that stays very small. I do not think it is big enough to pick away at plants, but it should be able to munch away at the snails. I think the aforementioned puffer fish is also a good option.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Gumby said:


> You can do a 19:1 bleach to water dip for 5-10 min on new plants, that should kill snails. But that's harsh on plants, especially sensitive ones. I just assume deal with the snails.


I'm afraid a dip of this length would be vey hard on most plants and more than likely disolve them. I have dipped Anubias leaves for up to about 2 minutes and damaged them. The algae and snails were gone from the leaf, but the leaf eventually died.

I think the best prophalactic for snails is to manually remove them and their eggs. I think the Had a Snail recommendation is a good one, but I wouldn't use it in my tank. That could amount to alot of dead/decaying snails at one time and may nt be a good thing  I would use the separate conatiner as suggested for the Had a Snail remedy.

For treatment after infestation, you can use any of the metioned fish. I do notice that in my tank with Apistos, I have a much lower snail poplulation. I'm not sure if the Apistos actually eat the snails since I have never seen them do it. I have also read that Gouramis will eat snails but have never witnessed this either.

Lastly, you could learn to live with them. They are natural after all. I have seen many people claim pond snails will eat plants but have yet to observe this in healthy leaves. I have watched them take care of a good amount of green dust and diatom algae algae on some Anubias barteri leaves in the past, but no damage was done to the leaf.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Gumby said:


> One option that is frequently over looked is a dwarf puffer for controling snails. If you have a true dwarf puffer, they only reach around 1/2-3/4 of an inch max. They contribute very little bioload They eat snails well but aren't big enough to go after older cherry shrimp, much less Amano shrimp (I'm guessing you might have them).


I would not go with this option. DP's do not make a good community tank fish, because they are notorious fin nippers. Also, although small in size they will kill a full grown shrimp like Amanos and others.

I think the best way to control snails in a tank is to remove them by using a lettuce leaf. Put a leaf in for a few hours, the snails will get onto it, then just remove the leaf with the snails on it.

Snails can be beneficial in a planted tank by eating algae and left over food. Just keep them under control and they will be a benefit to you.


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## raven_wilde (Nov 16, 2005)

Yeah, I would avoid dwarf puffs, especially if you have cory cats or any other fish that likes to just hang around on the bottom. Dwarf puffs were actually the downfall to my entire group of cories, they nipped their fins to shreds almost overnight, which led to nasty infections I couldn't cure. 

These days I just use the lettuce method and remove the snails and feed them to my pet turtles, who can never get enough of them, but are very messy critters and I wouldn't recommend keeping them just to feed snails to!


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## [email protected] (Jul 18, 2005)

*use caution*



aquasox said:


> There are a lot of smaller species of loaches that will eat the snails for you. Yoyo/Pakistani loaches stay quite small but may uproot some foreground plants like glosso. I had golden zebra loaches (Botia spp) and never saw a snail 2 weeks after adding them.
> 
> There is also a new species of Botia that stays very small. I do not think it is big enough to pick away at plants, but it should be able to munch away at the snails. I think the aforementioned puffer fish is also a good option.


I love loaches myself and they are a great solution to snail control but if you have corys, loaches are not a good idea (loaches mainly clown loaches, cories are not very compatible :axe: ).


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

My dwarf puffer regularly swims right by my cherries and amanos, doesn't touch them. I've never seen him go after fish. He spends all day browsing the plants for snails. Perhaps mine is just a mellow fish


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

Gumby said:


> My dwarf puffer regularly swims right by my cherries and amanos, doesn't touch them. I've never seen him go after fish. He spends all day browsing the plants for snails. Perhaps mine is just a mellow fish


How much do these little puffers cost? Are they difficult fish to maintain?

Jersey


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

JerseyScape said:


> How much do these little puffers cost? Are they difficult fish to maintain?
> 
> Jersey


Dwarf puffers cost around $2.50 each at Petsmart here in NC. They are not that difficult to take care. They do not eat flake food, they prefer frozen bloodworms, live brine/blackworms and snails. DP's also require a temp of 80 degress.

Here is a good site... http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/intro1.htm


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Gumby said:


> My dwarf puffer regularly swims right by my cherries and amanos, doesn't touch them. I've never seen him go after fish. He spends all day browsing the plants for snails. Perhaps mine is just a mellow fish


Your's most be mellow, because mine tear up shrimp. I do have mine with some Rummy-nose tetras (intil they can be moved), so far so good.


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

I do not suggest buying fish to rid yourself of snails. Just reduce your feeding. Snails will not overpopulate if food is low and there are no decaying leaves to eat. I learned this much too late and now have 5 clown loaches and 9 Botia Sidthimunkis in a tank I wish I could populate with snails. The clown loaches are a problem as well as I'll need a larger tank for them soon.

Take a peek at our invertebrates forum on APC and check out threads in support of snails as opposed to trying to destroy them. You might change your mind


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## plantastic (May 23, 2005)

I agree with pisces girl. For some reason people associate snail with bad. They will not eat healthy leaves, help process dead/decaying matter, and move the uper surfaces of your substrate. A yo-yo loach, striata loach, sidthimunki loach or kubotai loach will help keep them from achieving a "perceivable" infestation.

From what I understand about dwarf puffers, they are more of a hardwater/brackish water fish. They would not be appropriate for a co2 injected, low ph plant tank. However, I am not very knowledged on puffers.

HTH


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

Here's a site all about dwarf puffers: http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/

The site seems to go with what others have said about these puffers: they're vicious fin nippers. I guess my little guy is just really mellow. I have Amano shrimp, Cherry shrimp, Various tetras and algae eaters as well as some mollies... Their fins are all in perfect shape. Hrmph.


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## zeek (Jan 5, 2005)

I found (after a case of Ich) that the medication for Ich also kills snails. You could dose meds- half the dose twice the timespan if you have tetras- and increase the temp for a week or so.


Isaac


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## vic46 (Oct 20, 2006)

*Loaches and Corys*



[email protected] said:


> I love loaches myself and they are a great solution to snail control but if you have corys, loaches are not a good idea (loaches mainly clown loaches, cories are not very compatible :axe: ).


HHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM, my clowns (5) and skunk (7) loaches and my Corys (12) didn't get that memo. They are constantly playing together. They don't hassle each other at all, including feeding time.
Cheers;


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## aquaman3000 (Dec 1, 2005)

I have two points to add. As has been demonstrated in this forum, each individual fish in a setting has a particular personality. While species care guides about fish can give general behavior patterns, many individuals can demonstrate individual personality. Sometimes it makes a difference on how a fish is added to a community as well. For example, adding a somewhat aggressive species after there is already a thriving community of other fish has the tendancy to curb the aggressive nature of the newcomer. Obviously this doesn't always work, but the point is that each individual fish can break the mold.

Next, regarding Had-a-snail baths, it has been my experience that this product does not effectively eradicate the eggs as it does the adults, so my guess is that it would not be 100% effective. Perhaps I am mistaken. I personally prefer snails in my aquariums, but only Malaysian Trumpet snails and Red Ramshorns.


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## bioch (Apr 8, 2006)

i would gladly accept the snails


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