# troublesome snails in tropical fish tank



## snodhutch

Can someone please help me. I have a serious snail problem in my tropical fish tank, sometimes the glass is so obscured I can't see my fish clearly. I have tried anti snail which works temporarily and I have a clown loach who is supposed to eat the blasted things, I also replace a third of the water every week and syphon off as many as I can but nothing seems to be working. I would be grateful for any help as this problem is spoiling my fish keeping experience


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## Guest

So you have a snail problem do you? 

Remember that everything must have source of food if it is to survive, however you appear to be cleaning the tank properly so there shouldn't be any gunk or uneaten food left. Do you have any live plants in your tank or have you added any recently? Live plants are usually the starting point for snail problems as they offer a 'happy breeding ground' for the snails. You may have seen small, clear sacks on the aquarium glass, these are the eggs sacs.

What I would do is use a bit of elbow grease and remove as many snails as possible by hand, also crush any egg sacks you can find. This isn't going to sort the problem out completely however it will give you a better footing.

If this doesn't work then it may be a case of stripping down the tank and zapping the little termites! :ihih:


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## penelopedarcy

Hi snodhutch, this article Snails: Friend or Foe in the Aquarium article might give you another perspective on snails.

also check out the section on how to keep snails in check. i'm sure you'll find it useful.


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## Superpettoysrus.com

Yeah im having the same problem with my tank....i remember a thread on here a few month back and i only had a couple of the little bliters at the time and i thought they was rather cute....till they multiplied several hundred times and now my tank is covered with the things...gggggrrrrrr


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## Guest

A good preventative measure is to dip any live plants in a weak solution of Potassium permanganate. However be very careful as it will burn through anything, including clothes and skin, so don't blame me if you make a huge hole in your favourite T-shirt.


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## penelopedarcy

anyone ever tried assassin snails? 

@pleccy - doesn't salt water do the same job?


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## Guest

penelopedarcy said:


> @pleccy - doesn't salt water do the same job?


It can, however it will also kill the plants if you leave them in for too long.


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## PoisonGirl

Glad i'm not the only one with a snail problem! I bought live plants then they started appearing.

My wee boy is good at telling me ''mummy theres a snail on the tank/plant/bridge'' and we get them out.

I have also tried the anti snail but I am thinking about just stripping down my tank and getting new gravel they just keep appearing! 

x


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## Guest

Don't bother with commercial anti-snail products, they rarely work and some are so ineffective the only thing they will do is stain the water. I've just posted an article on snails which I hope might be of some help... Snails


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## jennismortal

Yep,The usual suspects for them arriving in the first place is on plants newly introduced to your tank- i hope this seem likely to you.You may have seen small, clear sacks on the aquarium glass, these are the eggs sacs.

__________________
Good source for fish tank aquariums


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## Superpettoysrus.com

i now have literally 20 or 30 of the dam things in my tank and have not got the heart to throw them out.....think im gonna have to toughen up rnt i


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## penelopedarcy

hehe you do! get them out now... before it's too late...


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## purplepawstore

Last year we had a small fish tank and a few months after getting some new plants we had hundreds of snails! We tried the anti-snail remedies but they still kept reproducing, it was a nightmare! In the end we got a new fish tank as we were planning to get a larger tank anyway. 

We are now so paranoid about snails and have our old smaller tank as a quarantine tank for new plants!


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## deb53

Hi Everyone,

A couple of months ago I had a real snail problem in my 2 4ft tanks. I was advised to get a Botia Striata for each tank. So off I went in search of a couple. I found some in my LFS and also got a Pakistani one too.

Amazingly after a couple of days there was a big reduction in the little blighters and after a week the tanks were clear. 

They have kept them completely under control now and live happily with the other fish.

My only problem now is in my fry tank which is over run with them and I don't want to risk putting one in there or putting chemicals in.


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## purplepawstore

I'll definately keep Botia Striata in mind in case we ever have more snail trouble!


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## Guest

Botiine loaches will work in many cases, however when using them for snail control it is important that you don't feed the fish. Not only will uneaten food become a food source for the snails, but if the loaches realize that there is other food on the menu then they will ignore the snails.

If you have a fry tank you could try placing a large chunk of cucumber into the aquarium, snails go absolutely wild for it. All you have to do then is wait for the snails to occupy the cucumber and remove it.


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## xXhayleyroxX

this all sounds really harsh, i'm sure snails don't obscure vision of the tank 
in fact snails EAT algae which makes your tank cloudy

i have two tanks, one with newts and one with tropical fish, and both have snails in, ramshorn snails in the newts and apple snails in the tropical; and neither have caused problems. Explain a bit more??
x
xx


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## deb53

Thanks Luke I will definatly try the cucumber trick. 

Regarding the vision Hayley, there absolutly hundreds in this little fry tank and beleive me it does make it look very unsightly. After a few hours of the light off the glass is completely covered and whilst I agree with you about a few being helpful in the tank the amount that is in there is now out of control.

Have even considered removing all the gravel from the fry tank and having it bear.

About a month or so ago I removed all the fry into one of the large tanks and put the botia in the frytank and he did a remarkable job of clearing up but obviously there were a lot of eggs still left. I think it will be too much of a risk putting him back in with the mollie fry??? What do you think?


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## Guest

xXhayleyroxX said:


> this all sounds really harsh, i'm sure snails don't obscure vision of the tank
> in fact snails EAT algae which makes your tank cloudy
> 
> i have two tanks, one with newts and one with tropical fish, and both have snails in, ramshorn snails in the newts and apple snails in the tropical; and neither have caused problems. Explain a bit more??
> x
> xx


Snail populations can explode to biblical proportions, and while small numbers are appreciated, a large colony of them can start to cause damage to aquatic plants. Another species of snail which is actually one of the most common is the Wandering snail (_Lymeaea ovata peregrai_), these can secrete a toxin which can cause the fish to regurgitate food and result in death.


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## xXhayleyroxX

why not pick them out , put them in a bucket and put them in a local pond haha
at least it's not killing them...


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## Guest

xXhayleyroxX said:


> why not pick them out , put them in a bucket and put them in a local pond haha
> at least it's not killing them...


Not a good idea for two reasons...

1) Tropical apple snails wouldn't survive in this country, especially in winter.

2) Introducing a foreign species is illegal and if anyone caught you in the act then you could end up with a large fine or worse, a prison sentence.


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## Emweeze&Treacle

haha we have snails in our piranha tank from our plants... but they dont last very long lol... and if they grow big enough they get fed to my puffer and trigger... so if you live close enough and want rid of some lol my puffer and trigger will take em offf your hands... they love snails


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