Snails, and how to id them

Bufamotis · Sep 15, 2009

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)

and some further reading

http://www.aquariumfish.net/information/get_rid_of_small_snails.htm said:

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.
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http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/snailsandworms/a/killingsnals.htm said:

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 â€“ 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 â€“ 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 â€“ 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.
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http://freshaquarium.about.com/u/ua/snailsandworms/killsnails.htm?from=lb said:

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
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http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquarium/snails.php said:

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.

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Bufamotis · Sep 15, 2009

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/123885_getting-rid-of-unwanted-freshwater-aquarium-snails said:

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.
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carl p · Sep 16, 2009

my clown loach is not doing his job

neilh · Sep 16, 2009

YoYo, Zebra or Mountain/Polka Dot Loaches do work

brentnorm · Sep 16, 2009

Or a red tail botia if you dont mind them.

Laure · Sep 16, 2009

carl p said: ↑

my clown loach is not doing his job
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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 · Sep 16, 2009

need to get me a few of them then

brentnorm · Sep 16, 2009

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

carl p · Sep 16, 2009

Laure said: ↑

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:
Click to expand...

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

Gilbertr14 · Sep 16, 2009

carl p said: ↑

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

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 · Sep 16, 2009

brentnorm said: ↑

Honestly, 1 will desimate your snail population in no time.
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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 · Sep 16, 2009

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

Laure · Sep 16, 2009

brentnorm said: ↑

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

I am specifically referring to clown loaches (Chromobotia macracanthus)

Sean J · Sep 16, 2009

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

brentnorm · Sep 16, 2009

Laure said: ↑

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

Natural Redtail Botia
Yasuhikotakia modesta
Botia modesta

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Snails, and how to id them

Bufamotis

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carl p

neilh

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Snails, and how to id them

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Laure Cyano Terminator

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