Snail infestation - Page 5

[ArtFish]

why is your co2 killing fish? are you running a diy setup?

Um idk, I’m kinda new with it so I keep adjusting it trying to get it right and so sometimes I do it too much and then after a while it will kick in, i domt think its diy I’m using what most people use.

Their might be a leak? Theirs this high pitched noise but I’m not sure if that’s a leak or normal.

 

[Pfrozen]

Um idk, I’m kinda new with it so I keep adjusting it trying to get it right and so sometimes I do it too much and then after a while it will kick in, i domt think its diy I’m using what most people use.

you would know if it was diy or not haha. diy is yeast or citric acid, full "normal" co2 is a tank filled with co2 + regulator + pressure gauge + diffuser etc etc

 

[ArtFish]

yeah I have the co2 tank with all the equipment lol, it’s just weird because the co2 will stay the same for a while but once I’m not around for a weekend it goes up and it’s frustrating. It’s probably best to not have fish until I get it 100% figured out

heres a picture of the tank from a little while ago.

 

[Demonskid]

What are those tree like plants on the left side of the tank? The long stems with leaves on the top? Those are interesting.

 

[ArtFish]

What are those tree like plants on the left side of the tank? The long stems with leaves on the top? Those are interesting.

Im
Not sure what they are lol, I went to petco and just got some interesting plants and those were there. They were very mushy and fragile so its a good thing their alive and doing better. They do grow pretty fast and get tall but when trimmed one it didn’t like that and started to “rot” at the bottom and so I replanted it. I think they adapt pretty easy too. I’ll look and try to find what they are.

I found the plant,

also I don't they they are suppose to have super long stems, I think mine have just been through some stuff and lost the leaves.

 

[Pfrozen]

Yea you have to manually turn it off at night or it'll gas your fish. It's okay to leave diy running all night in some cases but not true co2. True co2 is much more powerful

 

[Demonskid]

Ooo Thanks! I'm gonna do some research and see if it's something I can have in my tank.

I'm so jealous of everyone's options at their petcos, petsmarts and LFS.. I just have a Pet Supplies Plus and a Pet Smart and their aquatics section are small. Pet Smart's section was disgusting the last time I was there. I don't think there's much of a aquatics demand in my area seeing how small their sections are.

 

[ArtFish]

Yea you have to manually turn it off at night or it'll gas your fish. It's okay to leave diy running all night in some cases but not true co2. True co2 is much more powerful

So if I keep the bubblecount lower or should I turn it off every night?
also would heat/temperature change be a reason why its changing randomly? or did i just set it up wrong?
It works, i think i just have to get used with the knobs to change the pressure.

Ooo Thanks! I'm gonna do some research and see if it's something I can have in my tank.

I'm so jealous of everyone's options at their petcos, petsmarts and LFS.. I just have a Pet Supplies Plus and a Pet Smart and their aquatics section are small. Pet Smart's section was disgusting the last time I was there. I don't think there's much of a aquatics demand in my area seeing how small their sections are.

you can always order online, but i just looked how much it would be to order that plant and have it shipped and shipping is $30??? thats alot gosh. Yeah and you could just go out for a little road trip and stop at petco one day lol make it seem more fun.

 

[Demonskid]

you can always order online, but i just looked how much it would be to order that plant and have it shipped and shipping is $30??? thats alot gosh. Yeah and you could just go out for a little road trip and stop at petco one day lol make it seem more fun.

Yea, shipping is very expensive. Especially when you're on a tight budget.

If only I could drive. I don't have the money for driving school, and I have no one to teach me. My mother tried to learn to drive in her 40's, let's just say mentally ill people should never be allowed a permit. Her road rage was terrible and it was her fault people were blaring their horns! Anyway we rely on others to get around so, no far away trips to a good LFS.

Also looks like the plant needs CO2 and substrate, I have a barebottom tank with no CO2. Sadness. Maybe if I ever get a larger tank.

 

[Pfrozen]

So if I keep the bubblecount lower or should I turn it off every night?
also would heat/temperature change be a reason why its changing randomly? or did i just set it up wrong?
It works, i think i just have to get used with the knobs to change the pressure.


you can always order online, but i just looked how much it would be to order that plant and have it shipped and shipping is $30??? thats alot gosh. Yeah and you could just go out for a little road trip and stop at petco one day lol make it seem more fun.

turn it off at night for sure

 

[JasperWard]

I am thinking of taking everything out and dippijg it in a lum mixture, and using new gravel. I go to camp in 10 days so it will have to wait like 9 weeks and i am really ecared the population will get out of control, how do i stop this before i can reset, is there anything i can add to water now with my betta and live plants?

I am thinking of taking everything out and dippijg it in a lum mixture, and using new gravel. I go to camp in 10 days so it will have to wait like 9 weeks and i am really ecared the population will get out of control, how do i stop this before i can reset, is there anything i can add to water now with my betta and live plants?

It is not bad soon but from what i can tell it will get badd fast

 

[awilkinson871]

If you use new gravel it will affect your BB in the tank. There really is nothing you can add to kill snails that wont negatively affect everything else and it likely wont kill all the snails anyway. Having some is not bad- they eat algae. Do not overfeed the fish- this is a key to keeping the population under control. They will find any remaining morsel and use it to fuel reproduction. Feeding the minimum and adding fasting days can help while you are away. Before you go, add slices of blanched cucumber or zucchini at night and take it out in the morning- it will likely be covered with snails. You can also remove any snail eggs if you see them- they are often on the glass or plant leaves and look like a clear glob with circles inside.

 

[kbn]

Heavily agree with the above answer. Snail outbreaks are controlled by their food sources and if their populations are constantly high and rising, there is an imbalance in the tank.

However, apart from good maintanence and a quick revision of your lighting schedule and quality , I suggest introducing one or two assassin snails, they'll clear up the invasion soon and they'll still survive if there are no more prey snails left, they'll just eat detritus, uneaten fish food, etc.

 

[86 ssinit]

Overpopulation of snails just means your feeding too much. 9 weeks is a long time. Will someone be changing the water? Whoever is taking care of your fish should just feed once a day and just what the fish can eat in 3 min. That will keep the snail population at bay.

 

[JasperWard]

If you use new gravel it will affect your BB in the tank. There really is nothing you can add to kill snails that wont negatively affect everything else and it likely wont kill all the snails anyway. Having some is not bad- they eat algae. Do not overfeed the fish- this is a key to keeping the population under control. They will find any remaining morsel and use it to fuel reproduction. Feeding the minimum and adding fasting days can help while you are away. Before you go, add slices of blanched cucumber or zucchini at night and take it out in the morning- it will likely be covered with snails. You can also remove any snail eggs if you see them- they are often on the glass or plant leaves and look like a clear glob with circles inside.

I have decided to move my betta to the old tank and completely redo the whole tank, soaking everything in alum and such. I will recycle the tank, but i will have the filter still running and stuff so it shouldnt taje as long as before. My betta lived 2.5 years in her old tank so i think she will do fine while we redo the tank, i am going away for a while so it will probably be like 12 weeks or more

 

[awilkinson871]

The beneficial bacteria in the filter needs to have a consistent ammonia source or it will die. Running it on an empty tank isn't going to help it cycle faster once you get back. You could take the filter media out and put it in the other filter or add this filter to the other tank while you are gone. Although snails could be living in the filter itself.

 

[JasperWard]

The beneficial bacteria in the filter needs to have a consistent ammonia source or it will die. Running it on an empty tank isn't going to help it cycle faster once you get back. You could take the filter media out and put it in the other filter or add this filter to the other tank while you are gone. Although snails could be living in the filter itself.

I am probably going to restart the whole thing, i didnt like how the tank looked anyway, could i run a filter in a bowl or something, i have dr.tims ammonia fhat i could have parents dose, it would be like a one gallon bowl, how would
i dose that. I dont mind a long cycle i just want the snails gone i will replace the whole filter if need be

 

[awilkinson871]

It would probably be easier to just tear it all apart and let everything dry out to ensure the snails are gone. They cant survive if everything stays dry especially for 9-12 weeks. Then when you set everything back up use the ammonia to do a fishless cycle.

 

[JasperWard]

It would probably be easier to just tear it all apart and let everything dry out to ensure the snails are gone. They cant survive if everything stays dry especially for 9-12 weeks. Then when you set everything back up use the ammonia to do a fishless cycle.

Yeah that seems to make the most sense

 

[StarGirl]

Just make sure the tank the betta is in is cycled before you leave for camp. Then all your parents have to do is water changes and feed.

 

[JasperWard]

Just make sure the tank the betta is in is cycled before you leave for camp. Then all your parents have to do is water changes and feed.

I leave in 10 days, how would i check, i am hopeful that it is, and if not i do not know what to do my parents will have np idea how to do that

It would probably be easier to just tear it all apart and let everything dry out to ensure the snails are gone. They cant survive if everything stays dry especially for 9-12 weeks. Then when you set everything back up use the ammonia to do a fishless cycle.

Would soaking the filter in a salt bath for a day Hurt? Would that kill BB

Overpopulation of snails just means your feeding too much. 9 weeks is a long time. Will someone be changing the water? Whoever is taking care of your fish should just feed once a day and just what the fish can eat in 3 min. That will keep the snail population at bay.

It is not yet i just do not want it to happen as i am already seeing eggs and babies

 

[awilkinson871]

Has the old tank been running with fish in it all this time? Or did you have it taken apart?

 

[JasperWard]

Has the old tank been running with fish in it all this time? Or did you have it taken apart?

Taken apart but i do not really see another option i have a cycled sponge filter and i could add the bio rings from old filter

 

[awilkinson871]

Taken apart but i do not really see another option i have a cycled sponge filter and i could add the bio rings from old filter

If the tank is taken apart it is not cycled. If the sponge filter has been dried it no longer has BB. You can remove the bio rings from the old filter and use them to help cycle the old tank faster but it is not likely to cycle in 9 days. I recommend leaving the betta in the current tank and asking your parents to do water changes weekly and feed maybe 3 pellets daily. This will minimize uneaten food and waste for the snails. Use some cucumbers or zucchini nightly until you leave to try to remove as many as possible until you leave. I would then rescape the tank when you get back. Switching the betta to an uncycled tank is something that should be done when you have multiple weeks to check parameters and do water changes as needed so it should wait until after your trip.

 

[JasperWard]

Taken apart but i do not really see another option i have a cycled sponge filter and i could add the bio rings from old filter

If the tank is taken apart it is not cycled. If the sponge filter has been dried it no longer has BB. You can remove the bio rings from the old filter and use them to help cycle the old tank faster but it is not likely to cycle in 9 days. I recommend leaving the betta in the current tank and asking your parents to do water changes weekly and feed maybe 3 pellets daily. This will minimize uneaten food and waste for the snails. Use some cucumbers or zucchini nightly until you leave to try to remove as many as possible until you leave. I would then rescape the tank when you get back. Switching the betta to an uncycled tank is something that should be done when you have multiple weeks to check parameters and do water changes as needed so it should wait until after your trip.

sponge filter has not been dried, my
parents understand how to change water and gravel vac, plus testing water. I will be gone for 7 weeks

 

[awilkinson871]

sponge filter has not been dried

Using the sponge filter and bio rings will lead to helping to cycle the tank faster as it will have some BB on it, but there is not guarantee it will cycle in the time you have before you go. What size is the current tank and what size is the old tank?

 

[JasperWard]

Using the sponge filter and bio rings will lead to helping to cycle the tank faster as it will have some BB on it, but there is not guarantee it will cycle in the time you have before you go. What size is the current tank and what size is the old tank?

5 current, 3.5 old

 

[awilkinson871]

Personally, I would leave it in the larger tank. Downgrading the size could lead to behavior issues and since you cant transfer gravel, plants, decor without risk of transferring snails and eggs I dont think the tank will fully cycle in 9 days. StarGirl mattgirl your input please.

 

[StarGirl]

I would just try to remove as many snails in the time before you leave for camp. They wont get out of control too bad in 7 weeks. Tell your parents to remove them when they see them too. Leave the 5g how it is with the betta.

 

[JasperWard]

I would just try to remove as many snails in the time before you leave for camp. They wont get out of control too bad in 7 weeks. Tell your parents to remove them when they see them too. Leave the 5g how it is with the betta.

My parents dont care enough to do that

Personally, I would leave it in the larger tank. Downgrading the size could lead to behavior issues and since you cant transfer gravel, plants, decor without risk of transferring snails and eggs I dont think the tank will fully cycle in 9 days. StarGirl mattgirl your input please.

I need to erradicate these snails, she has only been there for a few weeks, i think i am going to move her to the smaller tank, I am sorry

My parents dont care enough to do that

I need to erradicate these snails, she has only been there for a few weeks, i think i am going to move her to the smaller tank, I am sorry

I just dont know man like i want to get rid of them and she was fine in thwre so many times starting from scratch before i learned and this is really stressing me out, i wish i had just never bought those stupid plants

 

[mattgirl]

I agree. I would just leave the little guy in the tank it is in right now. As long as left over food isn't left in the tank the snail population isn't going to explode. Spend the time before you leave removing all you can. Simply put a piece of lettuce or just about any kind of fresh veggie in a dish of some kind. Put it in there after lights out. Lift the feeding dish along with all the snails in it out of the tank first thing each morning. Once out of the tank kill and then dispose of them. Repeat each night and you will have removed a lot of them.

I recommend putting the food on a dish of some kind. If you don't a lot of the snails will let go of the food and fall back in the tank when you try to lift them out. May be considered cruel by some folks but back when I was removing dozens of ramshorn snails from my tank daily I killed them with table salt. I would just put the snails in a tiny bit of water, add about a teaspoon of salt and swirl it around. As far as I could tell it instantly killed them. Please don't throw them away alive.

I need to erradicate these snails, she has only been there for a few weeks, i think i am going to move her to the smaller tank, I am sorry

Of course all we can do is advise. You don't have to follow our advice.

 

[JasperWard]

My parents dont care enough to do that

I need to erradicate these snails, she has only been there for a few weeks, i think i am going to move her to the smaller tank, I am sorry

I just dont know man like i want to get rid of them and she was fine in thwre so many times starting from scratch before i learned and this is really stressing me out, i wish i had just never bought those stupid plants

I could have my parents having it cycle for a few weeks but i really want her moved

I agree. I would just leave the little guy in the tank it is in right now. As long as left over food isn't left in the tank the snail population isn't going to explode. Spend the time before you leave removing all you can. Simply put a piece of lettuce or just about any kind of fresh veggie in a dish of some kind. Put it in there after lights out. Lift the feeding dish along with all the snails in it out of the tank first thing each morning. Once out of the tank kill and then dispose of them. Repeat each night and you will have removed a lot of them.

I recommend putting the food on a dish of some kind. If you don't a lot of the snails will let go of the food and fall back in the tank when you try to lift them out. May be considered cruel by some folks but back when I was removing dozens of ramshorn snails from my tank daily I killed them with table salt. I would just put the snails in a tiny bit of water, add about a teaspoon of salt and swirl it around. As far as I could tell it instantly killed them. Please don't throw them away alive.

Of course all we can do is advise. You don't have to follow our advice.

I have been but rhere are always more

I agree. I would just leave the little guy in the tank it is in right now. As long as left over food isn't left in the tank the snail population isn't going to explode. Spend the time before you leave removing all you can. Simply put a piece of lettuce or just about any kind of fresh veggie in a dish of some kind. Put it in there after lights out. Lift the feeding dish along with all the snails in it out of the tank first thing each morning. Once out of the tank kill and then dispose of them. Repeat each night and you will have removed a lot of them.

I recommend putting the food on a dish of some kind. If you don't a lot of the snails will let go of the food and fall back in the tank when you try to lift them out. May be considered cruel by some folks but back when I was removing dozens of ramshorn snails from my tank daily I killed them with table salt. I would just put the snails in a tiny bit of water, add about a teaspoon of salt and swirl it around. As far as I could tell it instantly killed them. Please don't throw them away alive.

Of course all we can do is advise. You don't have to follow our advice.

Could i dismantle it after going away?

 

[grrushgirl]

Hello all,

I have a 20-gallon tank with a variety of fish and wayyyyy too many snails. I have 5 mystery snails, which I want to keep, but unfortunately, I didn't notice an egg sack and get it in time (totally my fault) and now have a good dozen baby mystery snails. But currently, that's the least of my problems. On top of that, that same 20-gallon tank is full of bladder snails. I have tried everything to get rid of them (humanely!!) but to no avail. It has gotten so bad that I had to dust off my 3.5-gallon tank to just get them out of my main tank. Now, I am up to probably 300-500 bladder snails in total. No, I am not kidding, and I want them GONE! They were cool for a time cause they miraculously popped up out of nowhere (I think on a plant I added to the tank). But now, I am kind of fed up with having to care for a bazillion snails I didn't want in the first place. Please, please, please, someone give me advice! I've thought about getting assassin snails, but then I'd have to get another tank for the mystery snails while I slowly feed off the infestation of bladder snails. And when I don't have the issue anymore, I'm then stuck with assassin snails... It has been a rollercoaster of dilemmas. I really just need a solid plan on how to get rid of these little boogers without having to just kill them.

Thank you so much in advance for any and all advice. I never thought snails would make me start to go crazy!

 

[FishPlanet]

The best way I read to lure snails is by putting a piece of lettuce in the tank and they are attracted to it.

 

[grrushgirl]

The best way I read to lure snails is by putting a piece of lettuce in the tank and they are attracted to it.

Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, I have tried that. I've tried making my own little bait traps, putting food down and waiting; they are just so tiny and not fooled by my tricks. Half the time, they ignore it, or when I do manage to see a little clump of them on the food, they scatter surprisingly fast, and I only manage to snag a couple. I have even looked into buying traps online from Europe! I'd rather not have to spend money to fix this, but it is getting to that point where I'd gladly drop a few bucks.

 

[FishPlanet]

Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, I have tried that. I've tried making my own little bait traps, putting food down and waiting; they are just so tiny and not fooled by my tricks. Half the time, they ignore it, or when I do manage to see a little clump of them on the food, they scatter surprisingly fast, and I only manage to snag a couple. I have even looked into buying traps online from Europe! I'd rather not have to spend money to fix this, but it is getting to that point where I'd gladly drop a few bucks.

Have you tried cucumbers?

 

[grrushgirl]

Have you tried cucumbers?

Okay, that I have not tried. But I certainly will now.
Thank you!

 

[mattgirl]

Okay, that I have not tried. But I certainly will now.
Thank you!

Put the cucumber in a low sided dish of some kind. By doing so the snails will drop into the dish instead of back down in the tank when you pull it out. Eventually you may have to get coldhearted and have to kill some of them. If you don't feed them in the tank you are moving them to they may start dying off on their own or they may start eating their tank mates. Either way the numbers may start going down.

You may also need to cut way back on how much you are feeding in the main tank. The more food the faster they will breed. Nature often regulates the population of lots of species when food is scarce.

 

[Debbie1986]

I manually removed bladder snails for over a year. Now, I leave them alone but for my 6 gallons where I remove any extras because it's fish tank not a snail tank. The tank is too small to be over taken by them.

Also make sure you check your filter when ding water changes - they will breed there as well.

imo - cutting back on food is meaningless. they will survive on biofilm and if you have plants, that means more yum yum biofilm to eat. The betta tank gets 1 dash of betta bites a day and pest snails thrive there. it's not the food.

zuchinni , squash, green beans - all are good for attracting snails if you need to thin the herd.

I have Ramshorns snails (probbaly around 100 in 4 different tanks over all) and when the population exceeds my aesthetic sense, I remove them to my blue lobster tank or silver dollar tanks where they get eaten. circle of life, etc etc.

 

[kansas]

I disagree about overfeeding. Cut back on the food and physically remove snails. A lot can be sucked up when you're doing water changes.

 

[Marlene327]

I get a paper towel out and start picking them, and don't stop til that towel is full. I leave them, come back the next day and they're all dried up. Heartless, unkind? I don't care anymore, I feel no remorse, I don't want overrun by them either. In your case you can't even get a couple assassin snails or they'll eat mystery snails too. If you have a shrimp tank, they enjoy a couple crushed ones thrown in for them to eat. That doesn't help when you have hundreds. Get crazy and catch what you can! Just my opinion. I do have assassins in a 20 gallon, used to have 10 but gave 9 away, thought I kept 2, but it was only 1. Last week I found a half grown baby, so now I've got 2 and they keep the lower number in check. I don't mind "some" but they get out of control too fast. Good luck!

As for extra mystery snails, you can always take your extra to Petco or other stores. You won't get anything, but they'll live a good life.

 

[FishPlanet]

How's it going? Did you remove most of the population?

 

[Charlie’s Dad]

I have assassins for sell if you're interested.

 

[Marlene327]

I have assassins for sell if you're interested.

I know you didn't write that to me, but I'd gotten 10 from you before and they totally cleaned the tank dry of any snail. Or so it seemed, you know how they are! I was taking them from my large tank and dropping them in for them. I saw posts people made of hundreds of their babies climbing from the substrate and reallllly didn't want that. I gave 8 away and put 1 into a 10 gallon tank, kept just 1 in that 20. Then you know it, the pest population started coming back and I wish I'd saved a couple. One day, there was a baby.... I think we're going to be okay. If another baby shows up, great, but hope not a lot! They're amazing. I just can't put a mystery snail in there, I'm afraid because the one in my large tank went rogue and killed 3 of my mysteries once before I figured out it was that 1 little bugger - and there were plenty of bladder snails in it, he didn't need to go after the big ones when they napped. I'll just let that one 20g tank be mystery-free. It's funny how every tank we own becomes so individual!

 

[Charlie’s Dad]

Mystery snails are very unique an beautiful. The ones we got from Marlene are doing so well. We have had a clutch to hatch an the babies are growing so well!!!!

I would not put assassins in a mystery tank either!!

 

[Biz]

I tried everything as well, including the snail scraper contraption from Germany. Finally, I got so fed up I just took apart the tank. It wasn't actually as much work as I thought it would be, and I wish I would have done it sooner.

I just took a 5 gallon bucket, filled it with aquarium water, and then scooped the fish into it. I then emptied the rest of the water, trashed the substrate and plants, and put the ornaments out on my deck for a few days.

I replaced the fish and water and went bare tank for about 2 weeks. I was still able to find a few surviving snails that I took care of. Once I knew I was safe I added substrate and began rebuilding. The whole process only took up a few hours total, and I although I really liked my old tank it was enjoyable to rebuild it, and didn't cost much. Good luck, but if your end goal is no pest snails this is probably your only option.

 

[Charlie’s Dad]

Assassin snails do the trick. They do not over populate like other snail species. 2 or 3 for a 5 gallon setup would do nicely. If interested please pm me. I sell them.

Brian in NC

 

[John58ford]

A slightly different method I have found for pulling snails is to bend a fish net 90 degrees like a ladel, sink it to the bottom with the handle up and put an algae wafer on the net, pull it up as often as you want.

 

[Redshark1]

Well you asked for help then discounted Assassin Snails (the only sane solution). I personally am very happy to be stuck with my Assassin Snails they are beautiful and they removed all my pest snails after everything else had failed.

I spent many years trying. I couldn't see through the glass I had that many and I didn't overfeed my fish.

Maybe these people can help. The Magic Circle – The world's premier magic society