Trumpet Snail Invasion

I have a 30 gal. W/BDBS loaded with trumpet snails, it was a angel breeder, now I need to tear it down and do a deep cleaning but I want to get rid off the snails when I take and clean the sand, any ideas?

 

Put the sand through a strainer? I'm not sure if you can bake that kind of sand to sterilize but maybe someone can chime in about it.

 

I don't know how far the nearest Tractor Supply is from you, but I'd just buy a new 50 lb bag for $8. $8 is totally worth not having to pick out the snails/strain the substrate. I doubt you'd be able to get them all out.

 

I thought about that also I have a tractor supply pretty close, I have some assassin snails in with them but they can't keep up with the trumpet snails. Thinking about it I will replace it, with all the dead snails might contaminate the water, its just not worth it, Thanks.

 

You could always pick out as many assassins as possible, too.

 

sell mts on ebay, folks are buying them lol

 

Being that I'm going to replace the BDBS with new that gives me more time to deal with the snail sand, I think I'll flush as many out as I can, than let them bake in the sun for a few days, hopefully they dehydrate enough for air pockets to form and they float to the top, at least it sounds good in theory.

 

Eh, I had sand I was drying out for a few weeks and some MTS still survived in the damp sand. If you're going to dry the sand in the sun, I'd empty all water and spread it in a thin layer in the sun so it can dry all the way.

 

I do it the same way I do gravel, I use a old bed sheet spread out on the deck and bring it in every night and respreads it the next day, on a good suny day I'll take the broom and re-spread it, after a week of this it is bone dry and ready to store or use.

 

That should work to dry them out then! I was thinking you meant drying it out in a tank, and that never seemed to work for me.

 

It would probably take months in the tank. It will need to go on the back burner for now, TS is out till next week. I still need to get out the last dozen or so of angel fry.

 

I have an over abundance of snails in my tank that appear to be Trumpet snails. I was thinking about getting an assassin snail to kill them off, will that work? Or are there any fish that would eat those?

 

What kind of tank is it? I had probably 2 dozen snails yesterday breeding for pea puffer food and I have three left today.

Assassin would probably be the best bet though.

 

Yes, that will work. But like every snail, it will eventually reproduce and possibly be a nuisance itself. I would recommend to just pick them out when you see them.

 

What kind of tank is it? I had probably 2 dozen snails yesterday breeding for pea puffer food and I have three left today.

Assassin would probably be the best bet though.

Its a 10 gallon but they are everywhere. Ill head to the store tomorrow for one

 

I meant stock wise haha! Peas are best suited for species only but the assassin should get the job done fine. I’m just shocked at how fast they managed to get them all.

 

Just chuck a green leafy veggie in for a couple of hrs after you turn of the lights and when you remove it it will have heaps on it.

 

Hi

MTS are not a problem. If your MTS population is exploding its because there is lots of food in the tank.

Give your gravel a good vacuum and do not overfeed the snails will quickly die off to what the tank can sustain.

 

or sell them online or something like that

 

Its time to train your trumpets!

Mine know to keep their heads low and stay in or on the gravel otherwise they'll be syphoned out otherwise.

I once could barely see through the glass and had the indignity of a visitor chastising me for my snails like he was an expert and I was a nube!

 

My favorite option for stuff like this is getting a few clown loaches they are neat fish that will destroy the snail population.

 

or get a pea puffer

 

Just chuck a green leafy veggie in for a couple of hrs after you turn of the lights and when you remove it it will have heaps on it.

Hi, would spinach work for this? It won't hurt the fish or anything?

 

With my trumpet snails in the night they come out to eat from the sides of the tank. So if I wanted to remove some I would just leave the tank and room lights off and let it get really dark and then turn on the lights and scoop them out with a net, sell or dispose. I don't mind snails my 15 gallon tank has 100+ trumpets in it now. I only really notice them if I do the above process. Otherwise they are in the gravel. Overfeeding is the #1 cause of snail explosions. If they run out of food they will slowly die off but then that leaves all the snail shells, same with assassins. Good luck

 

Clown loaches are great at eating snails. But need a much bigger tank than a 10gal. Assassins will kill them off but than you’ll have lots of them instead. Best is remove as many as you can and cut down on your feeding.

 

My favorite option for stuff like this is getting a few clown loaches they are neat fish that will destroy the snail population.

You must be jokinf Fishboy141.. this is a 10 gallon tank. Clown loaches get huuuuuge. Soo that is a terrible idea.

 

I have a large population too. I am growing them in the 29 to put in the 75. I think they actually do a great service by eating stuff in the substrate. Mine came in with a few plants I bought. I will probably never totally get rid of them.

 

drop in some copper

 

You must be jokinf Fishboy141.. this is a 10 gallon tank. Clown loaches get huuuuuge. Soo that is a terrible idea.

it takes a ton of time for them to get huge they are a great short term solution.

 

it takes a ton of time for them to get huge they are a great short term solution.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree