# snail invasion in our fish tank



## kukukachoo (Jul 26, 2012)

Fish tank people, whe are you? :laugh:

This has been the weirdest tank experience I've ever had. We started with four fish, then one of them had ten babies (one survived). Now, we have litlle teeny, tiny (like the size of sesame seeds) snails all over. There about a dozen of them and, um, we didn't buy any snails. 

What ARE these things and are the good or bad? They give me the major ***** since they just seemingly appeared out of nowhere. (Although, my logical side tells me that one must have been in the bag with the fish when we bought them but we didn't notice it.)


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I am not a snail fan. One can turn into hundreds as they don't need a mate to multiply. They either came in with the fish or a plant as a snail or eggs. They hide in the substrate and are hard to get rid of. You can keep the population under control by putting a lettuce leaf on the surface of the water at night and by the next morning you will probably see several munching on the leaf. If you have a big tank it is a good idea to have a hospital tank. This is a small tank where you keep your new purchases until you are sure they are healthy and also to isolate a sick or battered fish. Good luck with keeping the population in check. Once you have them they can be hard to get rid of.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Snails are quite common as unexpected imports to a fresh-water tank. Usually they are on plants that u've brought home from a store. Left to themselves, they will breed to fill yr tank. This scenario is not harmful, but not desirable.

BUT! . . . at any stage, they're easy as pie to deal with. 

The only problem is that overly squeamish people are aghast at the solution... and, once more, I come across as The Heavy.... and a cruel monster.  lol

So... if yr ready for this . . . u simply stick yr hand in the tank and crush the Snails, one at a time, as they appear on the the glass. If yr not ready for it???... u don't . . . and the Snails will breed to fill yr tank....


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## kukukachoo (Jul 26, 2012)

OhhhhhKaaaaay then- sounds like a great little task for my other half. LOL. Can't wait to tell him!


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Assassin snails supposedly eat those teeny tiny ones. I think loaches are also known to enjoy snails. Much easier than killing them one at a time, although that will certainly work.


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## pgr8dnlvr (Aug 7, 2011)

Yup, loaches, frequent gravel washes, crushing some, and the lettuce leaf trick all work 

Rebecca


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

Thought you might enjoy this shot of of our planted tank.










As far as the snails, we don't have many right now, but have dealt with infestations before. We did the lettuce leaf trick, but the crushing trick is quite fun, too, as then the fish come dashing up to nibble the crushed snails. 

--Q


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Quossum said:


> Thought you might enjoy this shot of of our planted tank.


U thought right, Q...  that is a nice tank. I gave up on real plants years ago. Plastic for me... 

Nice to see yrs, tho!


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

We have to "weed it out" regularly; haven't purchased a plant in over ten years. Once a big planted tank like this (75 gal.) reaches a certain point, it's almost maintainance free except for occasional water changes and cleaning the filter. This picture is from some years ago; now we have a school of absolutely gorgeous wire tetras which are about seven years old and still going strong. 

(Tried to find a picture of them online, but couldn't! Perhaps misidentified when I bought them, or perhaps some more rare species? I'll have to take a picture of them; they're my special little school!)

--Q


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

OK... u showed us yours... now I'm gonna show u mine. Not the best shot of my tank but it fits well in a forum that discusses 'food hoarding'. And it always makes me smile...  

The African Dwarf Frogs are the first to emerge from the undergrowth and spot *smell out??* the food pellets. Aggressive little things... they immediately cover them with their bodies. Leaving the Fancy Guppies lined up waiting.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Lovely tank. It is very soothing to see the lush plants and a tetra school. I use to have 135 gallon tank of African cichlids. I never could keep plants in that tank as they would be promptly eaten.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

I've been told a lot that introducing livestock to get rid of a problem isn't a good idea. I'm not sure why. Maybe because some livestock are hard to sustain once the problem is gone? I dunno.

Anyways, I have better luck suspending a piece of non-seasoned, not oily meat in place of lettuce. I catch more snails that way. You just have to keep doing it every so often. 

I have snails in every one of my 8 tanks. I haven't been keeping up with the snail baiting!


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