# remove snails



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

some pond snails have gotten into the tank over time with new plants and theyre everywhere. i remove them by net sometimes but i want a more effective way of getting rid of them. ive read you can put a small slice of cucumber in the tank and a couple hrs later remove it along with all the snails stuck to it. would this work or is there an even better way?


----------



## Anafranil (Mar 15, 2005)

what size are they?


----------



## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

Any type of manual remove is recommended over chemicals, such as copper sulfate. Baiting them with sinking/weighted veggies such as lettuce, canned green beans, carrots, even banana peels will attract them. I have a friend who likes to put the bait in a fish net with the net handle leaning against the tank side so that he can just pull the snails out with the net. There is the 35MM film canister with holes poked in the lid method. You can experiment and get creative with your own trap ideas. It should be pretty easy to figure out how to make a trap that the snails can get into, but other hungry mouths can't get to and have the ability to lift it out in one attempt. 

If you really want to knock down the population, stop overfeeding! We are all guilty of it, so don't feel bad. This is possibly the best way to keep the snail numbers down.


----------



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

ill try the veggies but i def dont overfeed. i feed about every other day (if that) and i dont feed that much when i do, maybe a small pinch (i only have 4 fish total). i never put enough food in to have wasted food float to the bottom so i dont think thats why i have so many snails. i dont clean my tank near enough though so algea build up is probably what the snails are feasting on.

thanks for the help


----------



## Anafranil (Mar 15, 2005)

no problemhttp://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif


----------



## bgzbgz (Jul 6, 2007)

Get some clown loaches they will eradicate your snails. Puffers too.


----------



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

im plannin on adding a lot of shrimp though, will those fish bother them?


----------



## bgzbgz (Jul 6, 2007)

Yes lol.


----------



## Yeaulman (Jun 23, 2005)

I have the same problem. What I do is I manually remove as many as I can visibly see and put in a trap from a small pill bottle with a rock in the bottom for weight, a 1/8" hole drilled in the lid and some fish food to catch any little ones that are left. 

My question is, if I have snails left in the tank and I turn it into a plant only tank, will the snails move their appetites to the plants if there is no excess food or waste for them to feed upon?


----------



## arto (Jun 11, 2008)

put some loaches in there and thry will do the job


----------



## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Most infestations of snails that I have run into are common pond snails, which don't bother any of the plants I keep. MTS will also become an infestation at times, but, again I don't see any of them bothering my plants. As has been suggested, a couple of loaches will quickly rid the tank of all snails.


----------



## Yeaulman (Jun 23, 2005)

I had loaches in my tank at one time, they were aggressive and killed off all my tetras... I was wondering where they were all going, so I sold the loaches and got more tetras to put with the discus, havent lost a single one. I will not go with loaches again.


----------



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

i dont get how the trap works. what keeps the snails from exiting through the hole the entered in? its not like a fish trap where the ends are angled and the snails are just gonna crawl around till the get out. do you just have to check ti often for it to be effective?


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I like to use a piece of blanched lettuce or spinach to remove snails. By placing a single small piece of blanched lettuce in the tank and removing it an hour or two later you can literally get hundreds of snails. I usually place a second piece in the tank after removing the first piece to get the majority of remaining snails. The shrimp will jump off once you pull the lettuce from the water but the snails are too slow to jump off. You can then toss them, sell them on Aquabid (yes they do sell on Aquabid) or feed them to snail eating fish. My Tanganyikans (mainly the tretocephalus) love to eat snails, shell and all! I can practically rid a 10g tank of snails in the matter of a day by simply using the lettuce technique


----------



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

ok i think ill try that. i think i have the pond snails, they are small and have spirally elongated shells. i also have a couple round shelled ones that hang out on my vals and the leaves theyre on seem to be eaten. 

is blanching where you nuke it in the microwave for like 3 min, let it cool for 20 and then put in the tank? what does this do, why not just drop it right in? jw. thanks for the help


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

From your description, it sounds like you have Malasian Trumpet Snails. These can actually be helpful at keeping the top layer of your substrate churned up. The small snails may be the pond snails. With the exception of Barclaya species, I've only had them eat plants that are decaying.

Blanching is boiling for a minute or two (stovetop or microwave) then cooling with water (to stop the cooking process). Blanching will allow the lettuce/spinach to sink. If you drop in a piece without blanching it will float so you will need to weigh it down in the tank.


----------



## dgphelps (Jan 1, 2008)

I wouldn't add loaches if you plan on keeping shrimp in the tank. I use pieces of spinach (it floats) and just reach in and shake it off then add it again until it loses its freshness. I've read cucumber slices work too but I grow my own spinach and lettuce so it makes for an easy thing to drop in from time to time.

I'm sure a few are beneficial but they grow in number so rapidly. Good luck!


----------

