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  1. #1

    Angry Home aquarium owners that know how to get rid of snails?

    Snails are slowly taking over may aquarium.
    A few weeks ago I have bought new plants, and there must have been snail eggs on it.
    Now the snails are taking over my aquarium.
    I have gone to the petshop, and bought various types of stuff to add to the water to kill the snails, but the buggers continue their population growth.
    I have even increased the dosage (overdose) to such an extend that a few of my fishes died, but every day their are new and more snails.

    Anyone that has advice on how to get rid of the snail plague?
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    663
    So the "various types of stuff" you've added, does it kill any snails at all? Can you post a picture of your aquarium? I'm very interested to have a look at it.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Posts
    72
    I'm assuming that this is Freshwater?
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  4. #4
    Yes, it is freshwater.

    This photos are the best my pocket camera can do. If I put the lights on, the photo is just one big white blurry shot.
    The second is a photo of the snails, the larger ones. Everyday I remove about 30 of them, and there are lots of small snails, less than 1mm. I syphon them out, but they keep getting more and more.
    The stuff I bought looks like it is all just some sort of copper based solution. The snails party when I add it to the water.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails dsc00000000.jpg   dsc00000001.jpg  
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Posts
    72
    Are the snails doing anything bad? I know in a saltwater aquarium that if you get that sort of growth of snails, you're doing something very right.
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  6. #6
    They eat the plants, and at the rate they multiply the gravel will soon be covered with snails. The smaller plants have been totally destroyed by them.
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  7. #7
    Yoggi, it's really very pity to hear about it. I had the same problem awhile ago. I did everything but nothing helped me, so I had to take all my fish and plants out of the aquarium, poured out the water, cleaned the aquarium and poured the water back, filtered it and then put my fish and plants back into the aquarium. thai is the only way out here IMO.
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    663
    Hey ya know what can kill snails? Salt. Maybe you want to try adding a little? But before adding, warn your fishes that you're gonna do that.

    PS: Nice aquarium by the way
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    308
    I used to keep fish years ago, there`s some particular loaches that actually eat snails. I bought two of them, and low and behold the snail population was almost non existant within a few weeks. Did you buys some plants recently from the aquatic store? Quite possible eggs were on those plants.
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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    663
    I wonder if you put a sucker fish in, will the sucker fish sucks them all?
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    France
    Posts
    201
    i used to keep tropical fish years ago. i love it, the colours, the movement, it's fab. I then stopped it cos we moved house and country and then the business got busy - after reading this post i'm going down the pet shop to look at setting one up again. Don't you just love neon tetras?

    Hope the snails clear
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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    West Michigan, USA
    Posts
    9,687
    Go to the store and complain that they sold you snail infested plants. I agree with the poster who said that you need to drain and clean the tank.

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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    /roof/ledge
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    If you go the clean the tank route, make sure to scrub the glass all the way into the corners. The snails lay eggs on the glass quite a bit. Replace the plants, and and boil the gravel. Replace the filter material and clean that gadget very well too.

    Leave off any of these and you may get reinfected.
    In the future, when buying new plants, it would be a very good idea to sequester them for a few days before introducing them to the tank. Just keep them in a plastic bag out of direct sunlight, or in a large bowl or something. The bag would allow easier inspection for hitchhikers, though...
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    7,954
    You can check with a local aquarium shop. An extreme treatment is copper but that may harm the plants. Most treatments that will kill the snails will damage the plants.

    You can try using vegetables to lure the snails and remove. But yo may end up needed to strip down and clean. Here are a few links.

    http://www.fishpondinfo.com/snail.htm#kill
    http://www.aquatic-store.com/articles/snails.html
    http://experts.about.com/q/Freshwate...il-control.htm
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  15. #15
    Thanks everyone.
    I have put a few lettuce and spinach leaves on the gravel, and it lures the buggers. Just need to remove it frequently otherwise I am feeding the pests.
    It looks like it is a real problem to get rid of the snails without draining and cleaning.
    A guy at another store told me to put potassium permanganate (wild guess for the English name, it is purple crystals) in a bucket full of water, and dip the plants in for 20 to 30 minutes it to kill any eggs that can be on it before putting it in the aquarium.
    I have also read that I must lookup the lowest pH value my fish can tolerate, and then very slowly lower the pH. Apparently there is a pH range that the fish can tolerate, but the water will be too acid for the snails to form shells.
    If that doesn't help, looks like I will have to drain and clean.
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  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    New York City
    Posts
    7,406
    Quote Originally Posted by trish75
    Yoggi, it's really very pity to hear about it. I had the same problem awhile ago. I did everything but nothing helped me, so I had to take all my fish and plants out of the aquarium, poured out the water, cleaned the aquarium and poured the water back, filtered it and then put my fish and plants back into the aquarium. thai is the only way out here IMO.
    That sound's like a good method to do it, without having to harm any of your fishes and can definitely save you trouble in the long run. I'm not an expert but having a decent sized fish tank at home, we clean it at least once every month or so. Moving the fishes out into a fish bowl and then cleaning the fish tank out and putting everything back in afterwards.

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  17. #17
    Yes, I had that problem too, and you really, really have to clean everything well to get rid of all eggs.
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