infestation!

[cichlidbuddy]

ok, i got infested with snails. my 10 gallon is jacked up now. i put some "had-a-snail" stuff in. but i havent noticed any results. i also got a couple small clown loachs. i have seen them eat a couple, but there are a lot more on the glass and plants.

any other recommendations?

im thinking about giving all the fish away and cleaning the tank with bleach and starting over, but i dont want to resort to this just yet.

 

[Mystix212]

You do not buy clown loaches for the sole purpose to get rid of snails. First you must find and locate the source of the infestation. Start by cutting down on feedings a LOT! What fish, apart from 2 clown loaches, have you got in there?

 

[cichlidbuddy]

theyre all in the signature.

 

[Mystix212]

Cut down on your feeding schedule, and amount of food you give them. The snails should start to decrase in numbers. If things get out of control, heres what you my have to do:

Buy a cheap rubbermaid container to hold fish and filter in.
Disasemble tank, meaning scrub ornaments, check plants etc.
Take ALL ornaments out and leave them in boiling water (If real plants, just manualy remove snails)
Place all fish with filter and water, nothing else in the container.
Take all the substrate out and boil it for about 15 minutes in a container, to kill anything living in there.

Use boiling water, fill tank 2/5th's the way up, and let it sit for about, 15 minutes.
Chuck any snails into the searing hot water while you find them.
After the 15 minutes, empty the tank and clean well with dechlroinated water.
After you've cleaned the substrate, place back in.
Now add 50% clean water, the water you'd use for a water change.
Add the ornaments in.
Take filter from rubbermaid, and place onto 10G and turn on. (Should of already had it on in the container)
Take 50% of the rubbermaid water, place into 10G along with the fish.

Enjoy a snail-less tank!

 

[Bizzaro]

or you can get a Green spotted puffer i like fish control in a planted tank. cuz u cant put salt in

 

[Mystix212]

Ever thought that the puffer would have a go at the clowns and betta?

 

[Ianab]

i also got a couple small clown loachs. i have seen them eat a couple

Patience

When you cut down on the feeding to reduce the snails breeding the loaches will get a bit hungrier If there is extra food on the bottom the loaches will also be eating that, and not bother having to crunch hard snails.

I also assume the loaches are small, if they are in a 10g tank, and if you have 1,000 or so snails it's going to take them a while to clean them up, but they will get them under control eventually.

You can help them out by making a snail trap baited with lettuce or cucumber and remove some manually as well.

The clowns will get too big for your tank in time, but they are poplular and it's easy to find new homes for larger ones if need be. There are other smaller loaches that will also control snails, better suited for that size tank.

I like the idea of using biological or mechanical control for snails rather than chemicals, but you wont get every last one. But between the loaches and physically removing them you can keep them under control.

And of course loaches are cool fish, everyone should have a few even if they dont have snails

Cheers

Ian

 

[darkentity]

or you can get a Green spotted puffer i like fish control in a planted tank. cuz u cant put salt in

Thats a rather silly suggestion, currently his fish are freshwater and GSP's are Brackish to high salt at adulthood. In whith that the Puffer in question is a notorius fin nipper and can get rather aggressive. He would more likely have no fish left and no snails.

 

[mike dunagan]

what about a pea puffer, if you wanna come that way...

 

[Primus]

Add a piece of lettuce to the tank and leave it over night, remove it and all the snails that will have attached themselves to it. Rinse and repeat as needed to remove as many of the snails as you want. I use this trick to move snails from tank to tank to feed fish, it works very well.

Mystix212 idea of basically breaking down the tank would be pretty easy also since this is only a 10 gallon tank.