how to remove snails in freshwater tank

[Hecter]

hello lau jiaos, my friend got problem with his freshwater tank.. need some advice...

His tank is infested with snails... he bought one, then now is like got hundred... any natural predators? or any sure proof way can reduce the snails population?

[Achilles Tang]

Yes, increase the salinity to 1.023.

Sorry, joking... but it'll work for sure.

[lyz77]

hello lau jiaos, my friend got problem with his freshwater tank.. need some advice...

His tank is infested with snails... he bought one, then now is like got hundred... any natural predators? or any sure proof way can reduce the snails population?

Maybe can try those small puffer fish selling at $1 - $1.50. But be careful cos puffer quite fierce, so may end up attacking yr fish oso! I got a lot of tetra whose tail kanna bitten off by the puffer!

Nd 2 monitor for awhile when u introduce puffer and remove it fr the tank once the snail is gone cos when there no food lef ard, yr fishes gonna be it's target!

[ai[k²]wan]

clown loach

[Octopuffy]

i second for the dwarf puffer

[terryansimon]

there supposedly is a snail removal medication or something like that. supposedly reef safe. SUPPOSEDLY lah.

[ervine]

puffer is the way to go... and it will remain small not like loaches which will eventually grow quite big...

[Achilles Tang]

I love loaches!

The are so cute... I miss having them.

[DeepBlue]

wan,Dec 17 2003, 01:45 PM] clown loach

gd advice. excellent snail remover team...get a couple...they work!!!

[junyong84]

IMO, clown loaches or puffers.....

[weileong]

blue rams are also known to eat snails.

I once had a very bad outbreak of snails. Tried all ways and means, biological control will not totally eliminate them because they hide in the substrate in the day and comes out only at night. They also cling on to the roots of your plants (if yours is a planted tank).

I end up using those medications for removing snail/slug. But watch your fishes properly and dose according to the dosage, almost had some fish died because of the lack of oxygen. You also need a few treatments as those medications don't kill the eggs.

If you have a cainsiter filter, you might like to check if some of them are hiding inside there too.

[Hecter]

oh ok.. clown loaches not so hardy right? compare to puffer... but then it's not as fierce as freshwater puffer.. i dun think my friend has any canister...

[ai[k²]wan]

i think clown loach is more hardy than puffer leh.. and they are cooler and nicer than them

[weileong]

another way is to keep the water very soft so those snails can't get any calcium to built their shell and will die. Never try this method before.

[AquaRa]

clown loaches are good.

[hoppinghippos]

try aquaticquotient.com for your FW problems. but offhand, don't use medication, try to use natural means to get rid of them. some methods

1)use predator fish

eg, puffer but need to remove puffer ONCE snails are gone, else your other fishes WILL be nipped, can also use loach or rams or cichlids but unlike puffer these fishes may not eat bigger snails cuz puffer has powerful jaws to crunch snail shells unlike them.

2)manual

put a dish inside with some vegetable weighted down on the dish overnite. (note snails usu come out at nite). next morning or middle of the nite, remove the snails which crowd around the vege.

btw, snails aren't bad, just in large numbers they become a pest, but in small numbers they are fine, so your objective is to keep them managable and not totally erradicate them.

[ah^siao]

the best is to add puffer.. not just wchich type.. yellow puffer is recommenced..

[seamonkee]

try aquaticquotient.com for your FW problems. but offhand, don't use medication, try to use natural means to get rid of them. some methods

1)use predator fish

eg, puffer but need to remove puffer ONCE snails are gone, else your other fishes WILL be nipped, can also use loach or rams or cichlids but unlike puffer these fishes may not eat bigger snails cuz puffer has powerful jaws to crunch snail shells unlike them.

2)manual

put a dish inside with some vegetable weighted down on the dish overnite. (note snails usu come out at nite). next morning or middle of the nite, remove the snails which crowd around the vege.

btw, snails aren't bad, just in large numbers they become a pest, but in small numbers they are fine, so your objective is to keep them managable and not totally erradicate them.

For the dish thingy, I read in a freshwater magazine that liver is the best in attracting them.. better than vege...

[seamonkee]

there supposedly is a snail removal medication or something like that. supposedly reef safe. SUPPOSEDLY lah.

REEF safe???

Haha! A sign that u are completed "bought over" from freshwater to marine tank... lingo became so marine...