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I currently have millions of tiny snails in my tank, and its getting annoying taking them out. I was wondering if there are any things out there than can get rid of them for good.

regards
Mango

Ther are some types of fish that like to eat them. My convics will eat smaller snails but I guess some types of loaches are the best. I want to say that Zebra's are good.

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Are you taking them out just as you see them? I would put a shot glass with a slice of cucumber in there for a few hours, and remove the snails off of it every few hours, be sure not to use the cucumber for more than 24 hours! I also think there is a product that kills snails, but I don't know of it, or recommend it.

mangor34

If you can get a med sized Clown Loach and dont feed the tank for a few days it will not hurt. The clown will love you forever and never a snail again. It will take some time as they have to eat all the eggs as well.

Keith

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My Kribs (Pelvicachromis pulcher) do a great job of snail removal in my planted tank. For a larger, aggressive tank I recommend banded Leporinus (Leporinus fasciatus).

I think that Clown Loaches are the best way. I tried alot of things, but they still seem to survive. Just do as Keith said & the snails would be under control.



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The problem with clown loaches is it's very hard to get rid of them after you've fallen in love with them. They need to be in a group of 6 and will eventually need a large tank. True they are slow growers, but I would not keep it if I didn't plan on increasing the number of them and the tank size.

Loaches that I have used for snail clean up and that stay on the small side are Skunk loaches, and Angelicas loaches. Both have their down side.

The Skunks can be nippy, and the Angelicas are a bit on the expensive side and need to be in a school. At 16 bucks each that is one pricey school of fish.

If the tank is not planted, does not have any other inverts, and you do not plan on using it in the future for saltwater, then a good way to kill the snails is to coppersafe the tank. It remains in the water like salt so you only need to add more as you take it out in water changes. Keep it medicated for a month and you will be free and clear.

Koi Keeper



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Thanks for the sugggestions. I went to look for copper, but i got softwater fish (lfs says catfish are one of them) so i couldnt get that...so i got 2 small clownloachs. I brought some of the snails from home and placed it in the tank of loachs... they went wild for them. Bought 2 and they are now in the tank. Hope they go well.

I got info on my tanks in my website (http://mango4jade.cjb.net), lots of plants with catfish and guppies. When i kill the snails the fish go crazy...but why would i try to kill every snail...they range from 5mm to tiny...impossible.

Anyways thanks once again for the help.
Cheers
Mango /:'

A better choice of snail eating loach for a smaller tank is Botia sidthimunki. Stays small. Only trouble is, it's a hideously expesnive species here in the UK.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

could have used yo-yo loaches as well, i have some and they're on those snails in the blink of an eye! i put some snails in from my other tanks and they are always immediately devoured...

"i feed my fish escargot..." haha