Any Advice? Snails...

[bbboys]

Hey I have a 30 gallon tank that was formerly a planted tank and of coarse it had snails. I am going to turn it into an african cichlid tank and want to start afresh without any MTS (malasian trumpet snails). Any advice on how to get rid of them from the tank and even filter for good? And advice for equipment that might have snail eggs or something that might cause more snails after they are gone from the tank (buckets stphons ect). Help please

 

[Lupin]

MTS are livebearers, therefore they will not lay eggs at all. If I were you, I would not worry about the MTS invading around. It's a matter of controlling their food supply since it's the only thing that allows their population to thrive. Besides, several African cichlids tend to eat snails so the overpopulation issue is moot.

 

[bbboys]

OK thanks but what about the ones in the filter? And theres tons of them so is there an easy way yo thin down the population? And also how long can they survive out of water? And is there a way to get rid of them?

 

[Lupin]

Boiling the filter media (even if you sacrifice your beneficial bacteria) is pointless since a few will likely survive it. There's no way you can eliminate all of them from the filter completely unless you wish to do a complete clean up or replace all the media in it. Either way, you still risk losing the BB. I'd just pluck off the snails that are easily visible to reduce their number a bit.

 

[Lupin]

As long as the snails are in damp condition, they'll survive. Completely dry, they'll die.

 

[Experiment397]

i would run the tank with bleach in the water for a few days, then drain it and set it up again, if you really want to get rid of the snails. i would not worry about them. the african cichlids will keep them in check...

 

[bbboys]

Thanks for the advice... Does anyone else have any advice or ideas or do you guys have any more?

 

[bbboys]

And could I put together a group of fish and invertabrates that could kill them?? Like assassin snails and such??? Or would africans kill them also??? And are mts shells to hard for cichlids?? Help Please

 

[Lupin]

I wouldn't mix any inverts with African cichlids.

 

[Blue2Fyre]

I have MTS with my africans. They are great for stirring the sand bed. The mbuna take care of a few of them but they mostly come out at night while the fish are asleep. They are helpful so I leave them be. They are in my filter but don't clog it. Like Lupin said, if you keep feeding in check it will keep the population under control.