iisfaq Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 I have a snail problem - it is getting worse by the week. I am not sure how to cure this problem. I have 3 large yo yo loaches When they were small they seemed to control the population of snails, but now they are large they do not seem to control anything. I do not want to buy any more fish but I would like to control the snails which as you can see are everywhere. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 Reduce the feeding, the main reason you get an outbreak is that there is over feeding/food left over for snails. And from the looks in the picture it looks like you have Malaysian trumpet snail that are harder for the fish to eat then other snails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaC Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 I had a problem with snails a while ago, and I scooped as many as I could with a net each night (though they did get cunning and hide after the second night) and reduced the population that way. Hope that helps Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 one way is to put a small container that the fish cant get in to but the snails can and place some fish food in there, pull out be fore the snail exit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgustipated Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 that's a good idea bro.. bugger the trumpet snails in my tank are just as big as the gobys and khulis. i just squish them with my fingers and let the fish clean it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 if you want to try and get rid of them completely, and have no other invertebrates in the tank, you could try dosing with something like AlgaeFix (or if you just want to reduce the numbers, take a few out, dose, then put them back in a week or so later) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 if you want to try and get rid of them completely, and have no other invertebrates in the tank, you could try dosing with something like AlgaeFix (or if you just want to reduce the numbers, take a few out, dose, then put them back in a week or so later) ..........Why put them back if the idea is to reduce the numbers? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgustipated Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 be careful using snail poison on products like that, because your loaches might eat poisoned snails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 ..........Why put them back if the idea is to reduce the numbers? :-? cause if it kills them all then there wont be any Sounds as though iisfaq is just after a reduction in numbers, rather than total elimination interestiong point re: Loaches eating dead snails... would have thought it would be ok, as it is a water borne medication, rather than 'snail bait' so the fish wont get anything they arent getting anyway? I used it recently in a small minnow pond to get rid of some hair algae with no problems. The Fish were fine, and I imagine they would have been eating a few dead invertebrates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 cause if it kills them all then there wont be any Sounds as though iisfaq is just after a reduction in numbers, rather than total elimination Then take out less. You'll never, within reason, be able to manually remove all of them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Then take out less. You'll never, within reason, be able to manually remove all of them anyway. ??? I was talking about putting 10 (or whaterver) back in after you have killed the ones in the tank... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 I find that yoyo loaches are pretty useless at eating snails, the best are dwarf chains and clowns but your tank looks a bit small for clowns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iisfaq Posted June 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Thanks for the suggestions. Food is probably an issue so will reduce - have been away and someone else was feeding so they probably overfed as well. I would like to remove them "all" but a reduction by 90% would be nice. The tank is about 300 litres... thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 There is a product called snail rid I think. Copper sulphate or something.. If you could house your fish temporarily in another tank and then blitz the main tank with snail rid and once treatment is done do a few big water changes and introduce fish again.. You might kill off some of your plants too though so if there are some plants you care about a lot then take those out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Dangle some pieces of courgette or cucumber in your tank and pull them out when they are covered in snails. That works well. I have also found that MTS love shrimp pellets, pile a few in a corner and net the snails out with them when they come to eat. Other option is to borrow some clown loaches - they will get rid of the visible population but there will still be some turn up in a few months. Normally early morning, just before light the snails come up towards the top of the tank - if you can grab as many as you can each day that will also help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 ??? I was talking about putting 10 (or whaterver) back in after you have killed the ones in the tank... Don't put them back in. They deserve no mercy. Strike them down! Follow them back to their bases and kill them, all of them. All of them! No mercy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 There is a product called snail rid I think. Copper sulphate or something.. If you could house your fish temporarily in another tank and then blitz the main tank with snail rid and once treatment is done do a few big water changes and introduce fish again.. You might kill off some of your plants too though so if there are some plants you care about a lot then take those out too. I had good results doing as you suggest - took the fish out and nuked the tank with copper sulphate. The snails died within minutes, I did two complete water changes, then put the fish back in. Plants and bio-filter were fine. I was snail free for about a year, until some eggs managed to sneak in on some new plants. I'm not over-feeding these days, so haven't bothered nuking again - there's only a few snails and they don't seem to munch plants, so it's all good. You can get copper sulphate at Bunnings in the plant fertilizer/spray section. It's frequently called bluestone. Costs bugger all for enough to last a lifetime for anti-snail duties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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