Snails Snails Snails!

[|squee|]

They will just keep multiplying and multiplying. Because what you can see and pick out is only a handful... if you stay around to notice, minutes after you pick off all the visible snails, another handful appears.

Best way is to get a good sized puffer and let it chomp up everything in the tank for a while.

[vinz]

Vinz, you really made it sound funny. I'd love to see a snail dragging its shell. As a matter of fact, I don't think there are living things that we keep in our tanks, that are capable of scatching glass walls. Glass can be very very tough.

Off topic, but I've heard of large arowanas breaking their tanks with a smack of their tail. You should hear David tell you the story.

[vinz]

i keep having snails arghh will keep removing the snails by hand eventually stop the snails from multiplying?
or it will just keep multipling and multiplying

Nope. You can remove the snails but it's impossible to find and remove all the eggs and larva. A snail-chomping fish is probably the best way to keep them in check. Or anti-snail meds... which could potentially kill other invertebrae (sp?) like shrimps.

[ahkarboy]

Nope. You can remove the snails but it's impossible to find and remove all the eggs and larva. A snail-chomping fish is probably the best way to keep them in check. Or anti-snail meds... which could potentially kill other invertebrae (sp?) like shrimps.

Say i get a clown loach, will it get rid of the snails? will it also get rid of my shrimps?

[XnSdVd]

Removing them by hand is generally the most effective meathod(cheap too) If you're feeling evil and want to kill their eggs as well just let algae build up along the glass. They suffocate and die. Though hopefull you aren't that mean...

[vinz]

Say i get a clown loach, will it get rid of the snails? will it also get rid of my shrimps?

Clown loaches have a nasty habit of leaving their horseshoe shaped bites on plant leaves... especially the big leafy ones.

[kayser78]

i have a clown loach and 2 kuhli loaches in my 2 feet tank. no wonder no snails. my other smaller tank 15" on the other hand is infested with lotsa it. think i'm going to fish out the loaches and transfer over to get rid of the snails. puffer i think they are too aggressive

[ahkarboy]

Clown loaches have a nasty habit of leaving their horseshoe shaped bites on plant leaves... especially the big leafy ones.

Omg they eat the leaves too? (MAIN QUESTION) what bout the shrimps??????? (MAIN QUESTION)

[juggler]

I used the common ghost shrimps for ramshorn snail control.
See http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=11574

[ahkarboy]

I used the common ghost shrimps for ramshorn snail control.
See http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=11574

Mine arent ramshorn snails! they have long grey shells taht scratch the glass when they climb them!!!!!! Hate taht!!!!

[Rupert]

I have small snails, not sure what two kinds I have, but I have watched them multiply with amazing speed, initially I wanted to eradicate them, chemical or puffer fish, did not care but held back.

After watching them for the last three weeks, they seem to filling some kind of niche in my new tank set up, they go up and down every blade of Hair Grass, they seem to fight each other, and they obviously reproduce with transparent eggs dotted around the tank. I have watched closely at them when they go over the glass, they must be eating the green dust algae and when they do go over a small piece of green spot algae, it is still there afterwards.

Sometimes the Guppies eat the eggs, but on the whole the snails do not seem to be a nuisance [yet]. So I am inclined to leave them there and see what happens.

[ms]

Hi,
I am considering an Apple snail in my 4ft fully planted tank. I have no experience with snails, except that they are not good for planted tank.
I have the following questions:

1) Will the Apple snail eat my plants? Leaves from my plant?
2) Will it escape from my tank? I do not cover my tank.
3) Will it eat my shrimps?
4) Will the waste from the snail do any damage to the chemistry of the tank?
5) Will it burrow or dig into the gravel?

Thanks.

MS

[vinz]

3) Unlikely, because they'll probably never catch one... unless the shrimp is dead. I've seen snails feasting on small dead fishes (I know the fish died first).

4) No, unless you have a few thousands of them in the tank. It's the same as fish waste.

[rijac]

i have a variety of snails in my tank.... i noticed only some of the lower leaves of my plants have holes in them meaning the snails are not eating the leaves?

anyway... i noticed some of the willl float upside down at the surface to eat lefover food!!!!

so when i want to get rid of some i chuck a piece of lettuce in the tank and overnite the snails (not ramshorns though) will congregate on the leafe and i just take the whole lot out and get rid of them.. i used to use the lettuce in a bottle method where the snails congregate in the bottle at the bottom of the tank with a piece of lettuce inside.. but i lost a handful of cardinals who found their way in the bottle and since there is no filtration taking place ot the water inside the bottle.. after a few days all kaput! i think unfiltered water is the reason.. i forgot to take the bottle out...

[ms]

So, does that mean that they will dig into my gravel and eat my plants?

From the other desciption of getting rid of snails, it seemed like the snail in questions is very small. The Apple snail that I thought I saw the the LFS is yellow, and the size is about 1inch in size. Is that a real Apple snail?


MS

[vinz]

Mine arent ramshorn snails! they have long grey shells taht scratch the glass when they climb them!!!!!! Hate taht!!!!

Do your snails only appear at night? Do they bury themselves in the substrate? If so, you have MTS or Malayan Trumpet Snails.

Some people actually like MTS because their burrowing in the substrate helps to keep the substrate healthy, and they only appear at night, and do not mar the appearance of the tank during viewing hours.

I still don't understand how a snail can scratch your glass... glass isn't that easy to scratch and the snail shells aren't that heavy. The reason we think it's something else is because almost everyone have snails, but no one else have ever reported snails scratching glass.

But, I will give you the benefit of doubt since you insist on it. I suppose you have actually seen them scratch the glass? Are you able to take pictures of the scratches, so we can see for ourselves the scratches they are leaving? And also pictures of the snails.

The other thing I can think of is that your tank is made of acrylic and not glass... even then I find it hard to believe the snail can scratch that. Or your snails are HUGE.

[vinz]

I have small snails, not sure what two kinds I have, but I have watched them multiply with amazing speed, initially I wanted to eradicate them, chemical or puffer fish, did not care but held back.

After watching them for the last three weeks, they seem to filling some kind of niche in my new tank set up, they go up and down every blade of Hair Grass, they seem to fight each other, and they obviously reproduce with transparent eggs dotted around the tank. I have watched closely at them when they go over the glass, they must be eating the green dust algae and when they do go over a small piece of green spot algae, it is still there afterwards.

Sometimes the Guppies eat the eggs, but on the whole the snails do not seem to be a nuisance [yet]. So I am inclined to leave them there and see what happens.

I'm one person who isn't particularly bother by the presence of the common snails in my tank. They help to eat some of the algae and dead plant material. Their population fluctuates through time, usually due to availability of algae and changes in water chemistry.

I have 2 types of snails... one is the small ramshorn snail with the flat spiral shell, the other is the bigger red coloured one. I noticed their population is inverse of the other. If I have plenty of the big ones around, there are less small ones and vice versa.

[vinz]

i have a variety of snails in my tank.... i noticed only some of the lower leaves of my plants have holes in them meaning the snails are not eating the leaves?

anyway... i noticed some of the willl float upside down at the surface to eat lefover food!!!!

so when i want to get rid of some i chuck a piece of lettuce in the tank and overnite the snails (not ramshorns though) will congregate on the leafe and i just take the whole lot out and get rid of them.. i used to use the lettuce in a bottle method where the snails congregate in the bottle at the bottom of the tank with a piece of lettuce inside.. but i lost a handful of cardinals who found their way in the bottle and since there is no filtration taking place ot the water inside the bottle.. after a few days all kaput! i think unfiltered water is the reason.. i forgot to take the bottle out...

The rotting vege and snail poop probably produced enough ammonia in the bottle to kill the fish. Were you using a drink bottle? I.e. a bottle with a small neck? Alternatively, use a bowl or a big opening bottle (like jam bottles). These will allow the water to circulate and won't trap dumb fish. I'ld still remove it within 24hrs though so that the vege doesn't rot in the tank.

[vinz]

Omg they eat the leaves too? (MAIN QUESTION) what bout the shrimps??????? (MAIN QUESTION)

Clown loach MIGHT eat leaves of delicate plants. For large leaf plants like echinodorus and water lilies, they will leave bite marks on the leaves. I have no personal experience with them, what I know, I read.

Some forumers have complained of algae eating shrimps eating their more delicate plants when there is a lack of algae.

[vinz]

The common snails that appear in our tanks, probably came in as guests hitch-hiking on new plants or as eggs stuck on the plants. Most are small... with shells no more then 1cm in diameter.

Apples snails seldom appear in the tank in this fashion. They are normally bought from LFS. I've read that they will eat plants and fish eggs. Have you tried searching the forum for more information?