Get rid of snails

[jjohnwm]

All the methods discussed so far are geared towards instant or at least very fast removal of the "infestation". If you are willing to take a more relaxed, slower approach, consider getting some Assassin Snails. I got a few of these a couple years ago and installed them in several tanks. I quite like having some snails around...the Ramshorns and Pond snails bred fast enough that I was using them as food for my turtle and other fish, and I considered them a free resource to be exploited. Assassin Snails are very attractive, and don't breed very quickly, so I thought I would enjoy having them as well.

Well, I go many months between sightings of an Assassin, which is kind of a shame; but the population of Ramshorns and Ponds in those tanks is drastically reduced. It happened gradually, with the only overt sign being the empty shells I was periodically removing. It's not an "elimination", rather more a very natural "control" of the snail population.

 

[Friller2009]

All the methods discussed so far are geared towards instant or at least very fast removal of the "infestation". If you are willing to take a more relaxed, slower approach, consider getting some Assassin Snails. I got a few of these a couple years ago and installed them in several tanks. I quite like having some snails around...the Ramshorns and Pond snails bred fast enough that I was using them as food for my turtle and other fish, and I considered them a free resource to be exploited. Assassin Snails are very attractive, and don't breed very quickly, so I thought I would enjoy having them as well.

Well, I go many months between sightings of an Assassin, which is kind of a shame; but the population of Ramshorns and Ponds in those tanks is drastically reduced. It happened gradually, with the only overt sign being the empty shells I was periodically removing. It's not an "elimination", rather more a very natural "control" of the snail population.

I wish I had assassin snails. They're illegal where I live,
Bloody pond snails are eating all the eggs in my ponds.
They're great with fry, but annoying when i want fry.

 

[Alexxxxsv14]

I grabbed my new setup
Tested for leaks and going to start setting it up tomorrow
I’ll try to manually trap all the snails i can and rinse everything thoroughly when I transfer everything. Question, what’s the best method of removing the painted back I want to remove and paint white on the background instead for my discus? Will acetone or paint thinner do the trick ?

 

[deeda]

The tank looks like it is glass, just use a few single edge razor blades to remove the paint or use one of those scrapers that hold a single edge razor blade and it's easier.

 

[Trouser Cough]

Not to introduce a level of unexplainable voodoo to this thread but has anyone else noticed that when you have a snail infestation the snails are generally dispersed throughout the water column. Each time I've had a tank that's been overrun w/ snails and introduced a predator though I've noticed an oddly high number of snails move to just above the water line.

That would seem to indicate that despite their being a nasty slime gob they also seem to have some understanding of their surroundings.

 

[Something Fishy Here]

Maybe they're the most enlightened of all, just no way to communicate...

 

[Alexxxxsv14]

The tank looks like it is glass, just use a few single edge razor blades to remove the paint or use one of those scrapers that hold a single edge razor blade and it's easier.

I tried doing so but I think the paint that was used was a different kind
I soaked it in acetone and the paint doesn’t budge lol
I think I have my hands full
Usually I’ve removed the paint easily with a razor and scraping but this one doesn’t slide off

 

[FJB]

"That would seem to indicate that despite their being a nasty slime gob they also seem to have some understanding of their surroundings." and "Maybe they're the most enlightened of all, just no way to communicate..."

I am sure different types of snails have different capabilities and mechanisms. It is not clear what kind of snails are referred to in this thread.
There has been quite a bit of research (mostly biological, not aquaristic) that shows that some species do have mechanisms to detect potential predators via water-borne signals, and that they do have means of communicating such information. Studies with Planorbidae snails (mainly Helisoma, Planorbis and other ramshorns), and with Physidae (frog snails), and with Lymnaeidae (pondsnails) have shown various degrees of such capabilities. Probably other families of freshwater snails also exhibit such adaptations.

 

[jjohnwm]

"That would seem to indicate that despite their being a nasty slime gob they also seem to have some understanding of their surroundings." and "Maybe they're the most enlightened of all, just no way to communicate..."

I am sure different types of snails have different capabilities and mechanisms. It is not clear what kind of snails are referred to in this thread.
There has been quite a bit of research (mostly biological, not aquaristic) that shows that some species do have mechanisms to detect potential predators via water-borne signals, and that they do have means of communicating such information. Studies with Planorbidae snails (mainly Helisoma, Planorbis and other ramshorns), and with Physidae (frog snails), and with Lymnaeidae (pondsnails) have shown various degrees of such capabilities. Probably other families of freshwater snails also exhibit such adaptations.

Interesting. That first sentence quoted above, lifted from two other posts, could have been referring to a significant portion of the human population; I suppose it holds true for snails as well...

Researchers are always telling us about the emotions of plants, the ESP-like perceptions of dogs and other astonishing supernatural cababilities of living creatures; so why not snails?

Octopus display some of the most amazing and undeniable feats of intelligence in the animal kingdom...and they are, after all, molluscs; much more closely related to snails than to "higher" animals.

When I'm puttering around my tanks and decide to harvest a cup of snails to give my turtle a treat, the crafty little slime globs all seem to know my intentions before I become aware of them and vacate the top levels of all the aquariums. Other times, when I am just doing a quick feed and don't have time or inclination to get my hands wet, the dang things are practically encrusted at the water surface along the front glass, thumbing their opercula at me.

Coincidence...or...?

 

[Something Fishy Here]

Well i swear my fish talk,when i stand infront of the tank the green terrors and danios go straight to the top hoping for food,abs if i just wait even the pleco and pictus cats who hide all day come out looking for food even if i haven't put any in. They sense the other fish thinking it's feeding time.