Snails...fuuuuuuuuuuu!

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73amc

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2011
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I was walking by my tank this morning and saw a spot on the glass. Turns out it was a baby snail. I dont have any fish in my tank yet, but I did plant anacharis in my tank about 10 days ago from a lfs. I found what looked to be like 2 more and manually got rid of them. Should I do anything at this point? I know I should have treated the plants, but live and learn I suppose...

Are there any native fish that hone in on snails specifically?

What should I do?

Also, it seems like I have alot of white "fur" on my plants and drift wood. Is this the BB or is it algea. What should I do to help this? I really need to get some fish in this tank...

Thanks guys...
 
Keep removing snails as you see them. But also don't freak out if you can't get them all. Snails can actually be beneficial. They eat extra food and clean up some algae and rotting plant matter. Plus they are natural food for some fish. What kind of fish stock will you have in the tank? My small sunfish eat snails. The only thing I have against snails is when their populations explode and they are everywhere and it can make the tank look crowded and ugly. But what you do is do not overfeed and keep a good maintenance on your tank. If you need to remove big portions of snails just set traps with a bottle and bait over night and remove in the morning.


That white fur I think is some type of bacteria. It used to grow on my driftwood. It goes away on its own. Plus some of my fish used to eat it too. Whatever you do though do not try to clean it off cause all that does it cause it to grow back.
 
I got a couple out yesterday, and looked for egg sacks but couldn't find any obvious ones. I guess I'll just hope for the best until I get fish in there. I was thinking about turning the heat back up and tossing my loaches in the tank.


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Nah it is more trouble that it is worth. Unless you got a heavy infestation it is not really a problem. Usually in invert only tanks you see all kinds of critters show up. I used to freak out but after learning many of them are harmless and actually beneficial I learned to live with the fact they are there. And sometimes despite our best efforts there is no getting rid of them. I have had and currently have things like copepods, several species of snails, leeches, planaria, detritus worms, hydra, limpets, daphnia, scuds, tubifex worms, mosquito larvae etc. I actually like the diversity.


With snails if you get a hand on it quick you can stop them from getting established. But once they get going it is a ongoing battle you will not win. But I actually encourage snail populations in all my tanks. BTW what kind of snails are they? What do they look like?
 
never got rid of snails. but i keep loaches so never in my tank but my sump is full of em, oh well outa sight out a mind.
 
One of the red eared sunfish's other common names is the "shell cracker" because they love snails. No need to freak out about the snails though
 
yea, many sunny speceies will suck out snails. I never had many snails when the sunnys were around.
 
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