Snails, and how to id them

[Ferryman]

I recieved some apple and ramshorn snails from f-fish the weekend, and since i have found myself quite intrugued by these little creatures.

I'll even spend time just sitting there staring it these odd creatures as they kinda just glide around on the sand, glass, plants etc. its funny when one climbs up a plant till it gets near the top, suddenly the plant cant hold the weight and bends over, then you see this stupid little snail just hanging there goin, er... rite i'm up, now what? :D

here's one of many guides on the net i found to id a few sorts quickly, seeing as our forum doesn't really have much on them yet...

[quote=http://www.plantedtank.net]

Freshwater Limpet - Acroloxus lacustris

http://sademetsa.net/huppukotilo.jpg http://sademetsa.net/kotiloita/huppukotilo2.jpg

Size: 0,1 - 0,8 cm ; 0.04 - 0.3 inches

These are the snails which are usually thought to be baby snails, but their adult size is usually only max. 5 millimetres. They are small and can't do much damage to plants, but since they are small, it's impossible to find and remove eggs and the baby snails. There's also River Limpet, Ancylus fluviatilis, which grows a bit bigger and darker, the top of the shell points straight back when freshwater limpet shell's top points to the side. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

Small ramshorn snail species - Family Planorbidae

http://sademetsa.net/160504/images/kehat.jpg

Size: 0,3 - 1 cm ; 0.1 - 3/8 inches

There are several small ramshorn snail species. The one in the picture is most likely Gyraulus albus, white ramshorn snail. It's rather hard (nearly impossible for a regular hobbyist) to tell them apart, but they all behave the same so there's no need to find the exact species. They lay tiny egg clutches on the plant leaves and other surfaces and I would say that it is near to impossible to actually spot and remove the eggs. They are capable of damaging the plants if population is too large, but usually don't do much damage. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

Bladder Snails - Family Physidae

http://sademetsa.net/160504/images/touhut.jpg

Size: 1 - 2 cm ; 3/8 - 6/8 inches

Also called pond snails. The one in the picture is Physa fontinalis. These are probably one of the most common snails in the aquariums. They multiply fast and lay clear, jellylike egg clutches on plant leaves and other surfaces. The eggs are possible to find and remove. Sinistral shell, thin tentacles. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

Common Pond Snail - Lymnaea peregra

http://sademetsa.net/lymnaea.jpg

Size: 1 - 2,5 cm ; 3/8 - 1 inches

These are probably one of the most common snails in the aquariums. Has dextral (when you keep the snail towards you and the spire pointing up, the shell lip/opening points to the right) shell, dotted skin and flat, triangular tentacles. When Physidae's feet end pointed, Lymnaeidae's feet end rounder and they are shorter. They multiply fast and lay clear, jellylike egg clutches on plant leaves and other surfaces. The eggs are possible to find and remove. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

Malaysian Trumpet Snail - Melanoides tuberculata

http://sademetsa.net/kiertsu.jpg

Size: 1,5 - 3 cm ; 1/2 - 1 1/4 inches

These are considered the most useful snail species. They burrow in the substrate. Hard to get rid of once you get them, since they give birth to live offspring and don't need to get the eggs fertilized in order reproduce (parthenogenesis) (most, or quite likely all of the MTS in our tanks are most likely females). There are several different colour variations and also some other species which look alike. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

Ramshorn snail species - Planorbidae
blue ramshorns
my red ramshorns seem to manage a bubble of air in their shell
the allows them the buoyancy to get at algae on even fine moss.
because ramshorns can literally float, it's a good idea to let a few
of your plants grow to the surface to snag on any loose ramshorns.

http://www.aquabid.com/uploads/fwsnails1163888269.jpg (http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwsnails&1167740410)

http://sademetsa.net/planorbella_550.jpg

Size 1 cm - 2 cm ; 3/8 - 6/8 inches

There's also medium sized ramshorn snail species, for example Planorbis planorbis and Planorbella duryi. Again it's hard to actually know the exact species, but they also behave the same. They lay clear, disc shaped thin egg clutches, there's about 10-30 eggs per clutch and they are protected by a singular hard disc shaped layer (like there's a contact lens on top of the eggs). The picture is of blue, red and brown (http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.cgi?action=show&artNo=313) ramshorn snails, species isn't certain. Seems that in most cases these snails will leave the plants alone and it's possible to keep them in a planted tank (like I do), but in some peoples tanks they have eaten live plants too. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

Great Ramshorn Snail - Planorbarius corneus

http://sademetsa.net/planorbarius.jpg

Size: 2 - 3 cm ; 3/4 - 1 1/4 inches

Planorbarius corneus (http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/%7Ea0226491/images/Bestue/Mollusken/Planorbarius.jpg) is the biggest of the ramshorn snail species belonging to family Planorbidae. In the picture there's a young, adult and baby snail. They behave the same as other ramshorn snails, but since they are bigger, they might do more damage if they get interested in live plants. But it's also possible that they won't do any damage at all. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

Nerites - Neritidae

http://sademetsa.net/neritina_550.jpg

http://sademetsa.net/v_usnea_550.jpg

Size: 1 - 3 cm ; 3/8 - 1 2/8 inches

The first one is zebra nerite, Neritina natalensis, the second one is olive nerite Vittina usnea. There are several nerites available in stores once in a while. Many of them are actually marine or at least prefer brackish water, but the two mentioned, zebra and olive nerites will do fine in fresh water. Olive nerites are said to even reproduce in fresh water, but zebra nerites will assumable need brackish water for the eggs to hatch. The eggs are white, round or seed shaped and hard, they are laid separately on the glass or other surfaces and are tightly attached to the surface. Nerites are excellent algae eaters and won't usually do any damage to healthy plants. They have a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

I had olive nerites so let me expand on your comments a bit.
nerites will lay eggs in freshwater, but they will only hatch in brackish water.
these white unhatched 1mm eggs will calcify and are very difficult to remove.
nerites are non-buoyant "heavy" snails so they are not able to climb
finer leaf plants to get at their algae like most ramshorns can.

Here are some other nerite species. I got them only yesterday and will be adding more soon. Ignore the burgundy snail included in the pic. It went inside the breeder trap to grab the hair algae meant for the nerites.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r155/Blue_076/Picture003-6.jpg

Melanoides loebbeckei
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r155/Blue_076/Picture006-2.jpg

Possibly Septaria livida.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r155/Blue_076/Picture007-1.jpg

Zebra Apple Snail - Asolene spixi

http://sademetsa.net/asolenespixiteksti.jpg

Size: 2 - 2,5 cm ; 3/4 - 1 inches
Zebra apple snails are cute and small apple snails. They are more prone to eating live plants, especially the young snails. But they are usually compatible with a planted tank. They are more closely related to Marisa than Pomacea and can actually cross-breed with Marisas, so don't mix them. The egg clutches are laid under water, usually attached to plants, the colour is light peach and the clutch is clear and jellylike. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

Trapdoor snails - Family Viviparidae

http://sademetsa.net/vviviparusteksti.jpg

Size: 2,5 - 4 cm ; 1 - 1 1/2 inches

Vivs, trapdoor snails, are cold water snails so they don't do that well in tropical tanks. They give birth to live offspring like malaysian trumpet snails do. The one in the picture is a young Viviparus viviparus. They have a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.


Apple Snail - Pomacea bridgesii

http://sademetsa.net/54kotilot.jpg

Size: 4 - 6 cm, 1 1/2 - 2 3/8 inches

Apple snails, Pomacea bridgesii, are beautiful things with amazing variety of colors. They usually don't touch live plants and are considered plant friendly. They lay peach coloured egg clutches above the water surface, so it's best to keep them in a tightly sealed tank or else you might find the females wandering around the room and possibly getting in an accident. They are considered a non-plant eating species by USDA and will be allowed to be shipped from state to state in USA. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

Apple snail warning: many LPS sell Mystery snails mislabeled as Apple.
many of these Mystery snails will devour plants as they grow larger.

Giant Ramshorn Snail - Marisa cornuarietis

http://sademetsa.net/marisa.jpg

Size: 4 - 5 cm ; 1 1/2 - 2 inches

Giant ramshorn doesn't belong to the same family as the other ramshorn snails mentioned in this post. They are actually apple snails. They lay clear, large, jellylike egg clutches under water. They have a siphon like regular apple snails and will raise to surface to breathe once in a while. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

Apple Snails - Family Ampullariidae

http://sademetsa.net/pomacea_can_sutures.jpg http://sademetsa.net/pomacea_haustrum_walk1.jpg
Size: 4 - 11 cm ; 1 1/2 - 4 inches

First picture: Pomacea canaliculata, second picture: Pomacea haustrum, pictures from applesnail.net. There are many other apple snail species in genus Pomacea, and there are also others from the genera (the family is Ampullariidae) Afropomus, Asolene, Felipponea, Lanistes, Pila, Saulea, and Marisa. Most of the other ones available in stores than P. bridgesii aren't suitable for planted tanks (Pomacea canaliculata and Marisa cornuarietis), but they are still really interesting species.

If you think you have regular apple snail but it eats plants, you most likely have P. canaliculata. If you have an apple snail that is closer to 4 inches, you might have P. insularum or P. haustrum. They all have a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

Pomacea canaliculata and Marisa cornuarites are banned in some states and won't be allowed a shipping permit in any state in the USA. USDA might confiscate the snails if they find out that you've gotten some shipped from another state or if you own them in a state where they are banned.

Well, that's it for the most common ones

[f-fish]

Nice article ...
"I'll even spend time just sitting there staring it these odd creatures" yeap - wait till the eggs hatch,even more to watch.

[Ferryman]

lol, i dunno if they'll reproduce at 25 degrees, ?

think i read they want higher temps to reproduce?

[f-fish]

"i dunno if they'll reproduce at 25 degrees" Hmm not sure about that ... I've seen apple snail eggs that hatched at 22 degrees in my tanks, ramshorn down to 18 degrees. Hours of light did play a roll - more than 10 hours if I recall correctly.

[speedz]

small ramshorns are very common to me, somehow they manage to move around my tanks when i move plants about. Brilliant against unwanted algae

[Ferryman]

i actually want some malasian trumpet snails, dont really care about the happy soil stuff, they're interesting to me... as well as some blue ramshorn and some nerites, they're pretty snails, ill even endulge having my little octagon tank be a snail tank... and only put a few bacopa and vallis in the tank or something, just to collect the different types

[Gareth]

I have a few of the Malaysian Trumpet snails if you want I will give you a few they reproduce worse than rabbits...lol
and as for apple snails mine have laid hundreds of eggs in the mollies tank and that is running at 26 deg

interesting read thanks ferryman

[Ferryman]

lol, reproduce like rabbits, lol, just without the awwww, cute, look at the fluffy little wabbit reactions....

id like some if you have to spare please, ore the MTS all the same looking snails, or do they have variations like the ramshorns and apple snails, etc. it seems i only have one pic up on that guide...

[Gareth]

I read there are different types but mine all look the same I will bring you some with the Mollies at the end of the month

[Altum]

I recieved some apple and ramshorn snails from f-fish the weekend, and since i have found myself quite intrugued by these little creatures.

seeing as our forum doesn't really have much on them yet...


Pomacea canaliculata and Marisa cornuarites are banned in some states and won't be allowed a shipping permit in any state in the USA. USDA might confiscate the snails if they find out that you've gotten some shipped from another state or if you own them in a state where they are banned.

Well, that's it for the most common ones

What a bummer!:eek:

How many hobbyists do you know who DON'T have any snails, AT ALL???

There's a good reason no discussion per se', is sanctioned, on tasa.

Well they're banned in SA too!
ALL molluscs, that is.

From import, trade, barter.
Local snail "farmers" operate under a thin veil ,of false sense-of-security, UNTIL law enforcement of ANY SORT does ANYTHING about it.

Broadly speaking snails ARE seen as agricultural pests.
Further (human , plant and animal) health alarms are raised in response to freshwater Molluscs roles in parasitology.

In the light of that, even if someone has millions of them...we cannot conscientiously discuss ID, keeping, sources, etc.
That would imply trade promotion.
Giving them away constitutes trade, according to our legal definition .

Most of it's on this page (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/forumdisplay.php?f=2) anyway
Also in specific clauses according to
Department: Agriculture, Forests and Fisheriery (
Republic of South Africa)

[Gareth]

So I take it that you are telling us that snails are on the blacklist and are illegal to have.
O well like you said there are almost no hobbyist that don't have snails in there tank, if it was put in on purpose or came in on a plant it is there and we struggle to get rid of them...

[f-fish]

Bummer - more convict food while cleaning tanks then.

So how do we go about clearing the forum of the word snail / snails over a 150 posts?

[Gareth]

We don't, we just leave it there and say we did not know....lol

[Altum]

Personally?

Judging for your concern for your own tank-environment and livestock you guys have no problem.

Take it on yourself to not propagate the IDEA further than it is , nor the snails ANYMORE than they are, at the moment.:p

It just calls for self restraint, and sensible thought for future posting.

In essence you would be "Moderating" your own forum environment.:bigsmile:

And the snails??
They're here to stay..but WE can EASIER delete/edit posts than clearing a TANK plagued by them, hey!
:noworry:

[f-fish]

Good advice Altum .. thx ...

[Gareth]

Thanks will keep it in mind

[neilh]

You willingly put Ramshorns in a planted tank? Here I got loaches to get rid of them after chowing my plants.

As much as snails are illegal, most if not all LFS's still continue to sell Apple snails. Would love some Zebra Nerites

[Laure]

Zebra Nerites are native to South Africa...

[veegal]

A good article for those who want to identify the 'pests' we all have in our aquariums. It'll also make it easier to find out how to get rid of them - so whilst they are illegal, this thread is still helpful in my opinion :)

[Gareth]

:top: I agree

[Ferryman]

i'll see if i can kill the thread with some info on how to kill all our snails so that we can effectively :adore: the blacklists we all hail but don't know how to use or how they truly affect us...

here's an audio link of a talk on how to get rid of small snails (link (http://www.petfishtalk.com/shows_special/small_snails/get_rid_of_small_snails.mp3))

and some further reading


A natural way to get rid of snails? I'm glad you asked the question that way. The short answer is to get three Yoyo Loaches. Click here for more information about Yoyo Loaches, and click here to buy some Yoyo Loaches.


Yoyo Loaches are compatible with many types of pet fish but not all. For example, Yoyo Loaches usually bother small fish such as Neon Tetras and Guppies. So lets discuss some other possible methods of getting rid of snails from your aquarium.

(1) First you could buy a harsh chemical. I think there is a product called Snail-Rid that contains Copper Sulfate, a chemical that is notorious for being risky to use around fish. Aquari-Sol is sold in many stores that sell pet fish. It will kill snails, but it is harsh, risky for other fish, and may contain copper sulfate. I can't quite remember. But I would not use it, and I would not recommend it, and it is not natural.

(2) Another idea might be to use Aquarium Salt, NaCl, because salt will kill garden snails, and Aquarium Salt is very useful in aquariums and ponds. Click here to read more about Aquarium Salt. But small snails that infest aquariums can tolerate a high concentration of Aquarium Salt. So Aquarium Salt is not going to help you get rid of your snails.

(3) The next idea is to get a Puffer Fish. Puffers are natural, and they will quickly eat and eliminate all the small snails from an aquarium. A Puffer fish has a powerful mouth that looks like a beak, and a Puffer will use its mouth to crush snail shells and eat the snails.

But Puffers are rather exotic fish. They are wonderful and very interesting, but some Puffer species need brackish water that contains aquarium salt, and Puffers need to eat live food, like snails. Unless Puffers are very well fed, they tend to nip on other fish. So most people find that Puffers are not a convenient solution to a snail problem like yours. Click here to read about Puffers and see a couple of interesting pictures of Puffers.

(4) The best way to get rid of snails is to get some Loaches. I like Clown Loaches very much. They are one of my favorite fish. But they do better in a school with six or more Clown Loaches, and so they usually need a large aquarium with at least 40 or 50 gallons of water.

If you have a large aquarium, I think you'll love a school of six or more Clown Loaches, and a school of Clown Loaches will quickly find and eat all the small snails. Click here for more information about Clown Loaches.

A Yoyo Loach will also eat all the snails quickly. In fact I think a Yoyo Loach will probably eat all the snails more quickly than the Clown Loaches. But both types of Loaches will do a great job of eating all the snails right out of their shells. Then you'll need to net the shells and remove them from your aquarium.

A Yoyo Loach will not get as big as a Clown Loach, and Yoyo Loaches seem to be happy in a group with 3 or more Yoyo Loaches. A group of three will do fine in a smaller aquarium with only 20 to 30 gallons of water.

The only problem is that Yoyo Loaches are sometimes hard to find in local fish stores and pet stores. Their scientific name, as listed above on this page, is Botia lohachata, and you often see them sold as Lohachata Loaches. I hope this helps you get rid of your snail problem.

Incidentally it is usually the really small snails that become a problem, so we don't sell these small snails and we are very careful to be sure that our plants don't contain small snails or their eggs. Click here to see the list of Aquatic Plants that we sell.

Larger Aquatic Snails, like the ones we sell, never seem to be a problem in aquariums, fish bowls, and ponds. But many species are now illegal to ship across state borders in the U.S. why? Because some aquarists have released them in rivers, creaks and streams, where the snails have multiplied and perhaps caused environmental damage. Click here for more information about these larger Aquatic Snails.

(5) Finally we come to our favorite way of reducing the snail population. Get a small glass jar like a salt shaker. Remove the top. Be sure the jar is clean. Then put a small piece of lettuce or perhaps some fish food in the jar, and fill it with aquarium water. Carefully sink it on the bottom of the aquarium. The next day it will have lots of small snails inside! remove them and repeat the process.

After a couple of days you'll notice there are fewer snails, and in several days very few. So you trapped out most of them. You will probably never get all of them. So you'll have to keep trapping them and removing them from time to time.

This a good example of the idea of reducing an annoying problem to a tolerable situation.



Controlling Snails
Even though the snail has the advantage of reproducing quickly, and is able to easily hide, you can still win this battle. All you have to do is use your superior brainpower. Snails can be lured out by simply clipping a lettuce leaf to the glass before you go to bed. In the morning there will be a whole family of snails feasting on the lettuce, which you will scoop out of the tank and dispose of. You won't eliminate every snail that way, but you can keep their numbers under control.

Another option is to put snail-eating fish in your tank. Any respectable Clown or Yo-Yo loach would give their right fin for a snail dinner. They will sift through the gravel, sucking any snail they find right out of its shell. Loaches will even dive under the substrate in their snail hunting quest. Labyrinth fish, such as Bettas and Gouramis, will also eat snails. However, they are not as adept at tracking them down in their home under the gravel.

Lastly, remember the equation, less food = less snails. Reduce the amount of food your fish are given, and there will not be as much leftover for the snails.

Prevention
Obviously the best way avoid snail problems is to never let them in the tank in the first place. When you purchase a fish, make sure nothing that is in the bag (including the water) is dumped into the tank. If you purchase live plants, treat them before adding them to the tank. Plant soaking options include:

Alum – Prepare soak using one gallon of water and two tablespoon of alum. Soak plants for two to three days, then rinse well before planting in tank.
Bleach – Prepare soaking solution using one gallon of water and a cup and a half of bleach. Soak plants for five minutes, then soak for another five minutes in plain water with a de-chlorinating agent, and rinse well. Be aware that fragile plants may be damaged by bleach solutions. However, bleach is the most effective way to kill snails and eggs.
Potassium Permanganate – Prepare soaking solution using one gallon of water and a half tablespoon of potassium permanganate. Soak for fifteen minutes, then rinse well before planting in tank.

Remember that having a few snails in your aquarium isn't necessarily a bad thing, as they eat algae and eliminate food that isn't eaten by the fish. As long as you keep them at bay, they can work in your favor.



Weapons in the "Snail Wars"

The most effective weapon I have found to combat snails is the family of fish called botia. Many are commonly known as loaches and probably the best known is the clown loach. A beatiful fish (a little on the delicate side) but a warrior against snails nonetheless. They and their cousins the yoyo loaches and skunk botias are probably the best snail eaters that I know of. At present I have skunks in a 30 g tank. I net out snails from my infested tanks and toss them in with the skunks. Within just a few days, there is a pile of empty shells in one corner of the tank. I think it is just the water current doing the piling up, but it looks like they finish off a snail and then toss the empty shelll in the corner with the rest of them. A chemical weapon is called "Had a Snail" and it works too. But you have to be careful leaving the dead snails in the tank, they can foul the water. Anything with copper in it, like Aquari-Sol will also kill snails. Good luck, John



Controlling snails in the aquarium

Even though snails can be a good addition to most aquariums, their numbers must be kept in check. There are also certain species, including the abovementioned Pond snail, that need to be eradicated completely if you keep a planted aquarium. Snails are especially prone to multiply rapidly in hard alkaline water and the aquarist must therefore pay special attention to their numbers in such aquariums. Snails need the minerals to form their shells and too soft and acidic conditions can actually cause the shell to dissolve and leave the snail completely unprotected from predators.
Decreasing the food supply
If you experience a snake bloom in your aquarium you might be over-feeding your fish, because left over food is an excellent food source for snails. Watch your fish carefully at feeding time. Is there any food left after 3-4 minutes? Then you are most likely over-feeding your fish and need to decrease their servings. Uneaten food should also be removed from the aquarium after each feeding session if you want to keep the snail population at bay.
Introducing predators
One of the reasons why snails can multiply like crazy in an aquarium is of course that they lack natural predators. In the wild, the amount of snails is constantly kept in check by various snail-eating species in their normal habitat. In every biotope where you can find snails, you can also find animals that have turned into skilled snail-hunters. In Asia, you can for instance encounter the beautiful Clown Loach (Botia macracanthus). Introduce a group of Clown Loaches in your snail infested aquarium and watch them as they skillfully grab the unprotected soft part of the snail and suck the entire animal out of its protective shell. In the ocean, the Pufferfish has developed a completely different tactic and will use its strong jaws to crush the shell of the snail before devouring the soft parts.
The lettuce method
Run hot water over a lettuce leaf and place it on the bottom of the aquarium just before you turn the lights out. You may have to tie something to the leaf to prevent it from floating, or jam it under a stone. Before you turn on the lights in the morning, pick up the lettuce leaf and all the snails that cover it. You need to repeat this every night until the snail population is under control. If you want to speed up the process, use several lettuce leaves each night.
Chemicals
Fish stores normally sell various brands of snail killing chemicals, but these should only be used as a last retort. Compounds potent enough to kill snails normally wreck havoc with the populations of beneficial bacteria as well and can cause great disturbances that turn a fairly balanced aquarium into a highly unstable environment.
Keeping snails out of the aquarium

If you do not want to introduce any snails to your aquarium, you should soak plants and gravel in warm salty water before use. 10 minutes in salty warm water will kill the snails and can also prevent other organisms from entering your aquarium, e.g. the Ich parasites that causes White Spot Disease. Remember to thoroughly wash away the salt afterwards.

[Ferryman]

Getting rid of unwanted freshwater aquarium snails can be a time-consuming and frustrating task.Manual removal of existing freshwater aquarium snails is always an option. Adult snails and larger juveniles can be scooped out with a fish net or plucked off glass, substrate and aquarium ornaments by hand. With extreme diligence, manual snail removal can reduce the number of aquatic snails, but may not eliminate the whole problem. Many parts of a decorated aquarium are inaccessible or unable to be properly viewed. Snail eggs and babies will not be able to be removed in this way.
Speed up manual removal by putting shredded lettuce or a piece of cucumber in the bottom of a small glass and lowering it into the fish tank. The freshwater aquarium snails will flock into the glass for their treat and then can be removed easily en masse.
Chemical solutions, which can be purchases at any pet or aquaria store, kill snails and eggs effectively. Most solutions are harsh, copper-sulfate-based chemicals and can also harm fish or other invertebrates in the home aquarium. This method is best used in emergency snail situations only. After application, a large quantity of dead freshwater aquarium snails and eggs will still be in the tank. Vacuuming and frequent partial water changes will be needed to restore healthy water parameters.
Freshwater aquarium snails in excess amounts can be eradicated or controlled with the introduction of snail-eating fish species. Some cichlids enjoy snails, but can only be kept in appropriate aquatic habitats with other cichlids. Other fish that eat snails include gouramis, some catfish and loaches. Clown, kuhli and yoyo loaches are excellent snail removal experts. Be sure these varieties of fish can cohabitate peacefully with the other fish in the aquarium before purchase.
If all else fails, complete deconstruction of the freshwater aquarium may be the only hope for a snail-free tank. Examine and clean all tank decorations, plants and the substrate as well as filter, pump and heater hardware. Boiling will kill snails and snail eggs. This method is a last resort, as it will destroy the beneficial bacteria colonies in the tank. Before re-introducing fish, the tank will need to be cycled again. However, this sterilization method should eliminate freshwater aquarium snails completely.

[carl p]

my clown loach is not doing his job

[neilh]

YoYo, Zebra or Mountain/Polka Dot Loaches do work

[brentnorm]

Or a red tail botia if you dont mind them.

[Laure]

my clown loach is not doing his job
Clown loaches become very unhappy creatures when kept alone and may even refuse to eat or come out of hiding. I have seen some that don't know what to do with a snail, but then when in the company of others they figure it out and then its goodbye snails :bigsmile:

[Gareth]

need to get me a few of them then

[brentnorm]

Honestly, 1 will desimate your snail population in no time.

[carl p]

Clown loaches become very unhappy creatures when kept alone and may even refuse to eat or come out of hiding. I have seen some that don't know what to do with a snail, but then when in the company of others they figure it out and then its goodbye snails :bigsmile:

i think i need to get some more loaches, mine is constantly in hiding like a depressed patient.

[Gilbertr14]

i think i need to get some more loaches, mine is constantly in hiding like a depressed patient.


I got 4, and they are like kids following each other.
They are definately social.

Had only 1 for a week, and he stuck with the tinfoils as if his life depended on it.

Remember they get... Uhmm Biggish
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v699/AquaGeek/06_01_19WetPuppyRS.jpg



The real question is, do they grow big enough to eat this?

http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/assets/images/484.jpg

http://georgiafaces.caes.uga.edu/graphicsfiles/gntlndsnails.jpg




On a serious note though, my tinfoils eat snails like there is no tomorrow.
I clean out the planted tank, and dump all the snails into the big one.

[Laure]

Honestly, 1 will desimate your snail population in no time.

I have seen them take their time and just basically ignore the snails for a while, but when in a group they "go on the hunt" every now and then and that is when the snails will bite the dust. It will take young loaches a little while to figure it out. I had 4 young ones in quarantine a while ago and I added some pond snails to keep them interested and occupied. It took them about a week to figure out they could eat the snails and then 2 days before there was not a single snail left.

On the other hand, live shrimp lasts about 10 seconds...

[brentnorm]

I only ever had one botia and he eradicated all my tank snails within a week. Perhaps I just got a greedy bugger.

[Laure]

I only ever had one botia and he eradicated all my tank snails within a week. Perhaps I just got a greedy bugger.

I am specifically referring to clown loaches (Chromobotia macracanthus)

[Sean J]

I have 5 Pakistani/Yoyo loaches in a tank. I don't think I've EVER seen a snail in there...

[brentnorm]

I am specifically referring to clown loaches (Chromobotia macracanthus)I am specifically referring to these blokes.

Natural Redtail Botia
Yasuhikotakia modesta
Botia modesta