I have snails :(

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pjsmetana

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2010
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Cocoa Beach, FL
Long classes this week, and I just discovered I have tiny snails in my 150g tank. My question is, are my plants sensitive to copper? My plants are Banana, Marimo Ball, Java Fern, and Java Moss. I need to kill these snails now as they are already multiplying rapidly and sucking the green out of my Banana's leaves.

Thanks!
 
These snails don't attack plants (assuming they are pond snails). Give us description of them. I only know of one snail that eats plants and that is columbian ramshorns. Yellowing or browning of plants is a sign of nutrient deficiency. Trying to kill them with copper causes more problems than good. You run a risk of harming plants and fish and other inverts. We need more info on your fish stock.


Best thing to do is manually remove as many as you can, feed less, clean tank more, set traps to catch them etc. Some fish will eat them too. So some of your fish you have now might use them as natural food.
 
clown loaches. they will wipe out all your snails.

dave
 
Clown loaches? lol no way man, my Oscars would have a field day. My stock is 2 big oscars and 1 massive pleco. Sizes are in my sig...

These snails are very small, mostly clear, and kinda off-white near the center. I see them on my Banana leaves, and on everything for that matter, so I just assume they are sucking the green stuff out... as where they are on the leaves there is a brown spot. The majority of them seem to reside on the front of the glass. Several are near the water line or out of the water as well. I've tried taking pictures of them but these things are so small that the pictures arent showing them. I'll keep trying different camera settings but so far, no dice.

The only thing added to the tank in a month+, other than food and water changes, has been 2 small Banana plants I got from my LFS. Yes I tap rinsed them, but I'm guessing that wasn't enough.

I know copper kills all invertibrates and livebearers, so yeah if there was another way to rid these rapidly reproducing rodents I'd love to hear it, as I don't want to kill all my poo-poo eating wormies.
 
Pyramid_Party;4981443; said:
... set traps to catch them etc...
Click to expand...

How?
 
Your pleco would probably eat them, and if big enough the Oscars will eat them too. Any chance for a pic of these snails? I think they are pond snails. Look it up on google and look at some pics, let us know if they look like that.


To set a trap, use a bottle and place some blanched lettuce, zucchini, cucumber etc. The snails will go inside the bottle over night. Then simply take the bottle out with the snails inside and discard them. Make sure to use a bottle that is too small for your fish to get inside, but enough room for the snails.
 
jewel cichlids love to eat them and would work with your o's if they won't fit in their mouths :) btw i have hemichromis lafalili the blood red jewel
 
Best description I can give, based on searching pictures on Google... is they look like Nassarius snail egg capsules, but they cant be, as I have freshwater and I don't have any other snails... plus they move, if you look really close.
 
Looked up Juvenile Pond Snails, and sure enough...
http://visualsunlimited.photoshelter.com/image/I0000APfXZ.OB5kM

What now? My Oscars don't even notice them... big Oscars, tiny snails. My Pleco has been out and about a lot with the light on these last few days, I thought it had to be the moon or something, Vernal Equinox makes fish crazy.
 
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