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Thread: How to Rid Snails n Algae from Plants?

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    How to Rid Snails n Algae from Plants?

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    Hi All,

    I'm doing a rescape for a 3ft planted tank. There are loads of tiny snails (funnel-shaped and circular ones) infesting some of my plants n bogwood. How do i remove them safely? How to remove green hairy algae on leaves? Any method(s) to kill 2 birds with 1 stone? soak plants into PP solution? Hydrogen peroxide solution?

    Moderators, my apologies if i have posted in a wrong section.

    Thanks in advance,
    Puffer
    Rob
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    as for the snails, maybe you could introduce dwarf puffer fish into your tank. As for hair algae, i guess the best method is still the manual removal. by the way, what's your tank specification like? Are you injecting co2 into your tank? Hair algae is definitely a sign that your tank's parameter something is wrong or lacking
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    I'm doing a major rescape to my tank. Shall have to remove all fauna and flora, then dig out top layer of substrate and replace, then replant with a new scape. Are there any threads that provides on techniques in rescaping planted tanks?

    On my foreseen problem, I think the wiser way is to remove those plants that are heavily infested with algae, but how do i gonna separate the tiny snails from the gravel? I'm using Mr Aqua soil and the setup is 2 years old. Nitrate seems to be high (>10) after only 2 days of WC. Used to keep 3 adult discus but they are gone now. About 20 cardinals, 1 sae, 1 chinese algae eater and many shrimps and shrimplets reside in tank. Water parameters as follow:

    ph: 6.5, kh: 5, Temp: 25-27dc. Pressurised CO2 injection via reactor 1-2 bps, Lighting: 132W PL in total. WC: once per week 30-40%

    The attached pics were taken few months back. Maybe should update with a more recent pic.

    Cheers.
    Last edited by Puffer; 30th Nov 2006 at 10:25.
    Rob
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    The funnel shaped snails should be Malaysian Trumpet Snail. I am not sure if there is any fauna that eats MTS, but dwarf puffers certainly don't take them. The shells are just too hard.

    MTS do not eat plants and some aquarists actually prefer to have them in the planted tank as they dig into the substrate and aerate the gravel.

    For the other snails, instead of dwarf puffer, try Choy's favourite, the horseface loach. Not sure if it will take MTS though.

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    Hi,
    They are either NOT MTS or they really do eat plants! I've many tiny ones infesting on the leaves. I hope to eradicate most of them with a good rescaping. Problem is: how to separate them (tiny ones) from my gravel? I've seen loads of them on my bogwood, leaves and on top of substrates the moment lights on. Any yes, flushed away millions during filter cleaning as well.
    Rob
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    Can't think of any other funnel shaped snails other than MTS. MTS will eat plants that are either dying or rotten. Any picture of the funnel shaped snail? Edit: I think it is possibly the other circular shaped snail that is eating your plants.

    Considering the hassle, you may want to consider restarting from scratch.
    Last edited by Quixotic; 1st Nov 2006 at 10:07.

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    Are they pouch snails? These snails move really fast for a snail.
    No ideas how to help you, I've heard of aquarists who use boiled spinach as bait for the snails.
    Clown loaches eat snails too, but they may dislodge plants with their digging.

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    Thanks guys, I will post a pic of these little 'monsters' tonight and you'll then be able to determine who they are!

    I used to have clown loaches but they grew too big too fast so i sold them off! This could be a major factor why snails multiple so fast for me!
    Rob
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    puffer, if they're pouch snails you'll need to introduce a puffer. But it seems they only eat DYING plants. Try improving your plant conditions. You might be lacking iron or potassium.

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    Hi Friends,
    Pls look at the pics. There are basically 2 types of snails proliferating in my rescaped tank. The funnel shaped ones could be MTS and are probably harmless to plants (though i do find alot of them on leaves and bogwood??). The other types are tiny flat ring-shaped ones - big headache cos i suspect they are the ones attacking my plants esp my Aponogeton and crinum leaves etc. How to get rid of them? Manually i've tried but too tiny and slippery for my fingers. What would you guys do. Currently this tank has no inhabitant, only plants and some nerite snails. Thanks.
    Last edited by Puffer; 30th Nov 2006 at 10:25.
    Rob
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    Looks like a menage of MTS ,
    ramshorn snails and pouch snails

    If you redo the tank, you would be able to rid of MTS and perhaps the pouch snails. You have to boil the substrate or better still start fresh. No kidding!

    The ramshorn ones are near impossible to rid off but easy to control IME with a puffer/loach as others have mentioned. They are also easy to be reintroduced so I think we all have learn to live with this fella.
    HTH.
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    Get rid of the alga and you get rid of the snail.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SmallFish View Post
    Get rid of the alga and you get rid of the snail.
    How are is that true? Snails are most attracted to excess food right? and they can even feed on plants right?

    Just my comments!
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    The loach will probably do the job, but I concur with Stan that it would be better to start fresh. You not only have snails but also algae issues to look into.

    Time may be the key to this as getting rid of the snails/algae will take a longer time compared to restarting afresh.

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    Dear All,
    Appreciate your advice. Boiling the substrate is quite impossible now as i've already set up the rescape work. The algae has been removed or dead on the bogwood. There are still some flat ring snails crawling around though i've tried to manually remove them (see pic). I think they are the culprits feeding on the plant leaves. There are no fish/shrimps yet so i'm contemplating a couple of small puffer fish and perhaps clown loaches into the tank first to rid off these snails. What's your thought on this method? Can i leave the loaches behind in this setup with only small tetras and shrimps? How effective are clown loaches feeding on these types of snails? What other fish could be of help also? Many many thanks!
    Last edited by Puffer; 10th May 2007 at 01:48.
    Rob
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    What about the Malaysian Trumpet Snail?
    Used to have them in my tank too, dwarf puffer fish dont seem to have a liking to it. They are really a pest to me!
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    I've seen puffer fish attack and eat these tiny ring ones but never MTS. IMO Malayan Trumpets' shells are too hard and they can be quite elusive - burrowed under the substrate and come out only when light off. I'm worried with puffer fish after work done as i'll have problem scooping them out without hurting the scape.
    Rob
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    Just to want one question? If you put a clown loach to eat snails, will it attack cardinals, neons, rasboras and malayan shrimps? Always wanted to know that answer. How effective is the clown loach at eating snails? Will it take other food as well?

    Christophe

    JUST did a search and found that loaches can grow to big size and can even attack shrimps and tetras
    Last edited by AquaObsession; 5th Nov 2006 at 23:51.
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    I think the answers are already in the top few posts regarding what eats what!
    Puffer, you can have just one pygmy/dwarf puffer[no matter how big the tank] and the fella will take care of the ramshorn snails long term. You will notice a gradual decrease in the population. Which is good.
    Too many of them and they may resort to fin nipping or even seriously damaging the smaller fish.

    Clown loaches IMO are too much hassle if you have just done rescaping and the plants may be uprooted by the fella. Clown loaches will eat baby shrimps. [most fish do for that matter]
    Everything may be swept around in it's search for food. You will never think the fella is the problem because they hide a lot. They're cute when below 3 inch but at that size, they don't bother snails IME.
    Once they reach about 4", you will notice there is less snails.


    One very interesting thing to consider is that if you keep your water soft and acidic, snail populations will decline as they need calcium + other minerals to build shells.
    You can if you dare to fail - Stan Chung

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    Quote Originally Posted by richietay View Post
    What about the Malaysian Trumpet Snail?
    Used to have them in my tank too, dwarf puffer fish dont seem to have a liking to it. They are really a pest to me!
    MTS shells are just too hard for faunas, including the dwarf puffers. I really have not come across any reports of faunas effectively removing MTS.

    Quote Originally Posted by AquaObsession View Post
    Just to want one question? If you put a clown loach to eat snails, will it attack cardinals, neons, rasboras and malayan shrimps? Always wanted to know that answer. How effective is the clown loach at eating snails? Will it take other food as well?

    Christophe

    JUST did a search and found that loaches can grow to big size and can even attack shrimps and tetras
    Clown loaches do not just simply attack tetras. However, if they are stressed, they would behave out of character and may do something drastic and fatal to other faunas. So these are exceptions rather than the norm.

    Shrimps are altogether a different matter. Crustaceans are food for most fishes anyway.

    Dwarf puffers may nip at fishes and will not take dry food. This will be a risk you have to take if you intend to keep the puffer.

    Clown loaches will grow big, albeit slowly, and this will be a challenge to planted tanks, uprooting plants.

    Choy swears by the horseface loach which will eat just about anything as well and friendly to a planted tank. It's probably the better bet.

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