What is the best way to get rid of all snails without hurting fishes and plants?
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Every morning when the lights first came on, my tank walls would be peppered with MTS snails (except one tank) a Paretroplus tank.
I started moving the Paretroplus from tank to tank, they would reduce the snail population by 3/4 in 48 hours, because
snails are their main food in nature. That said........these fish get large.....P menerambo get @ 15", P maculatus not quite so large, so you'd need a separate 6 ft tank just for them.
They easily crush small snails. For those they can't crush, they have can-opener like teeth that extract snail flesh.
P maculatus above, P menerambo below
More maculatus below, I kept them in shoals, but 1 in a tank might work to shuttle between tanks, They are usually not aggressive with other species.
I started moving the Paretroplus from tank to tank, they would reduce the snail population by 3/4 in 48 hours, because
snails are their main food in nature. That said........these fish get large.....P menerambo get @ 15", P maculatus not quite so large, so you'd need a separate 6 ft tank just for them.
They easily crush small snails. For those they can't crush, they have can-opener like teeth that extract snail flesh.
P maculatus above, P menerambo below
More maculatus below, I kept them in shoals, but 1 in a tank might work to shuttle between tanks, They are usually not aggressive with other species.
Some plecos eat snails. Actual experience with this seems to vary, even within a species, but some are well equipped for it. For example, link to photo of L014 (goldie/sunshine pleco) teeth, which they're said to use to scoop snails and inverts from their shells:
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/image.php?species=scobinancistrus_aureatus&image_id=4964
Some of the larger pleco species are said to be capable of rasping the shells to get to the flesh.
I've just recently seen an apparently good case for L91 plecos being capable of reducing, possibly eliminating snails. I moved a couple of tanks around, kept an old 75 running with nothing in it while I decided what to do with it. Had snails in it at one time, which I thought I was almost rid of, but apparently an A. metae in the tank had just been keeping the numbers down. Without fish in the tank they multiplied. After noticing this I siphoned a good bit and caught them when they showed up on the glass, all of which helped some, but I'd still find them on the glass at night and each morning I'd see snail tracks. Put a 3.5 inch L91 in the tank and later a baby L014 (which for now mostly eats algae, but probably also snail eggs on surfaces) and I haven't seen a snail in over a month and no snail tracks the past couple of weeks.
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/image.php?species=scobinancistrus_aureatus&image_id=4964
Some of the larger pleco species are said to be capable of rasping the shells to get to the flesh.
I've just recently seen an apparently good case for L91 plecos being capable of reducing, possibly eliminating snails. I moved a couple of tanks around, kept an old 75 running with nothing in it while I decided what to do with it. Had snails in it at one time, which I thought I was almost rid of, but apparently an A. metae in the tank had just been keeping the numbers down. Without fish in the tank they multiplied. After noticing this I siphoned a good bit and caught them when they showed up on the glass, all of which helped some, but I'd still find them on the glass at night and each morning I'd see snail tracks. Put a 3.5 inch L91 in the tank and later a baby L014 (which for now mostly eats algae, but probably also snail eggs on surfaces) and I haven't seen a snail in over a month and no snail tracks the past couple of weeks.
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I’d second the loaches. My morleti/eos probably consume more than my puffers do.
I wouldn’t be surprised if your puffers are in fact eating the snails, there’s just so many.
I wouldn’t be surprised if your puffers are in fact eating the snails, there’s just so many.
When you think about it, in reference to using something to eat them, there are two ways to get rid of pest snails. You can either eliminate all the ones big enough to breed or you can eliminate any and all babies they produce. Very few things eat all sizes of snails.
I am not a huge loach person but I have kept species, yoyo, clown and sidthimunki. The first I gave away when they began harassing the DD black angels. Some of my clowns have been with me for 19 years and some of the sids for a bit less. I have watched them both clear heavily infested tanks of snails. The clowns were too big to eat pretty much anything smaller than an adult sized pond snail. The clowns eventually got so big I was afraid they would inhale the whole snail shell and all instead of sucking out the goodie inside. So I stopped throwing snails collected from breeding tanks into the clown tank. They had long ago wiped out the original snail infestation.
The sids went into a tank well populated by pest snails. But I never saw them eating the big snails. What I did start to notice was there were fewer and fewer small snails in the tank. And then the big ones began dying off from old age. And once again I had a tank completely snail free,
I got 10 -15 assassin snails for another tank about 12 years ago. Since then I have sold or given away hundreds, I have likely killed a few hundred more and I still have many 100s spread across 9 tanks. When their babies are born they go into the substrate to grow which makes them less likely to be eaten because they are in the open.
I am not a huge loach person but I have kept species, yoyo, clown and sidthimunki. The first I gave away when they began harassing the DD black angels. Some of my clowns have been with me for 19 years and some of the sids for a bit less. I have watched them both clear heavily infested tanks of snails. The clowns were too big to eat pretty much anything smaller than an adult sized pond snail. The clowns eventually got so big I was afraid they would inhale the whole snail shell and all instead of sucking out the goodie inside. So I stopped throwing snails collected from breeding tanks into the clown tank. They had long ago wiped out the original snail infestation.
The sids went into a tank well populated by pest snails. But I never saw them eating the big snails. What I did start to notice was there were fewer and fewer small snails in the tank. And then the big ones began dying off from old age. And once again I had a tank completely snail free,
I got 10 -15 assassin snails for another tank about 12 years ago. Since then I have sold or given away hundreds, I have likely killed a few hundred more and I still have many 100s spread across 9 tanks. When their babies are born they go into the substrate to grow which makes them less likely to be eaten because they are in the open.
You can use our IAqua Purple. It will kill the snail. But. It will kill shrimps as well. Sorry I didn’t mean to spam your post.
Not sure if you still have this snail issue, but nobody has mentioned zebra loaches. About 3-4". Yo yo loaches are great too at 2-3" (only get big in the wild or large environments). Both should be kept in groups of 5 or 6. Crush some snails and drop them back in. They'll taste, then figure out how to get them out on their own. Not sure how big your puffers are, but your tank is ok if they're small and there's no other bottom dwellers. Puffers shouldn't bother loaches, but there's always that chance with puffers.
Alternatively you can try seapora snail zap. Haven't tried it myself, but my LFS (which I work at) sells it. Supposed to be generally safe for fish and plants.
Hopefully you've already dealt with the issue. That's a lot of snails lmao. Because of not knowing any better, years ago I had a mystery snail explosion. Over 500 at once easily. Then 400 more. It led to lots of research, emergency purchases, etc. And now has actually become a nice hobby for me (breeding, donating to LFS..not killing them lmao).
Also, I second the cucumber trick. No matter how you go, it's not a quick process. I have much experience with snails..and it has cost me much gold.
Alternatively you can try seapora snail zap. Haven't tried it myself, but my LFS (which I work at) sells it. Supposed to be generally safe for fish and plants.
Hopefully you've already dealt with the issue. That's a lot of snails lmao. Because of not knowing any better, years ago I had a mystery snail explosion. Over 500 at once easily. Then 400 more. It led to lots of research, emergency purchases, etc. And now has actually become a nice hobby for me (breeding, donating to LFS..not killing them lmao).
Also, I second the cucumber trick. No matter how you go, it's not a quick process. I have much experience with snails..and it has cost me much gold.
thank you so much! Yes, I solved the issue with snails and I used snail trap to catch them and remove them
I am truly sorry I am not trying to spam your post. You can use IAqua Purple to wipeout your snails ?
