FishProfiles.com Message Forums

All of a sudden, I have a serious outbreak of teeny weensy little brown snails. They must've hitched a ride in on some new plants I bought awhile back.

I am treating for Ich with a Formalin/Malachite Green med and have raised my tank temp into the low 80s. Could that be the instigator, the higher temps?

What can I do to blast them outta there? I don't mind a few but WOW!

Also, this same tank has an outbreak of hair algae. I've never had this before, what can I do on the hair algae? I have a GAE, but he doesn't seem interested in the hair algae.

Thanks!

0 ammonia, 0 Nitrites, 20 ppm nitrates 8.0 pH

1 Male Betta and 8 Harlequin Raspboras, 1 GAE.

I would wait until you have wiped out the Ich ans another post, then get a small CL it wont take long and you will never see a snail again unless you import more. Turn the lights off when treating the Ich this might slow the hair algae down.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Mate ..You could also use Dwarf Loaches ..most type of Loaches will finish off your snails . Only thing is they don't do well with those meds you are using ..so wait till you've beaten the Ich .

As fair as the Hair Algae is concerned ..Its more likely that its a fert imbalance .. If I remember rightly you are using ferts for your plants ..what are you using . ?


Garry

DON'T buy a clown loach for snails, unless you want to buy several clowns (they're sociable) and have a suitably large tank for fish that should reach 12" and live for 20 years.

As countryfish says, there are smaller species of loach which will eat snails such as striata or yoyo. However you can't add any fish until after you're certain the ich has gone from the tank.

You also have to consider whether you have the stocking room to add a small group (4+) of loaches and if the water parameters are suitable for them (they're softwater fish).

Other tactics for dealing with snails which don't involve adding fish include cuttng back on feeding (a major reason why snail populations explode is left over food) and then leaving a piece of cucumber or lettuce inside a jar in the tank overnight, then removing the jar the next morning.

Mature, sensible signature required for responsible position. Good prospects for the right candidate. Apply within.

A smaller loach for you to try which can be purchased as a single loach is a Skunk Loach or Skunk Botia, they are terratorial and I have had two in a 30 gallon tank before and they have been at each others throats. But a single one is great for the snail population. A skunk botia will go after any snail including large apple snails and that size, they are awesome little fish but they have a temper.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

I can get a skunk botia, the LFS has them all the time. My concern is this... I had jsut bought two kuhli loaches last weekend, finally found some. Within a day one died, within three more days the second one died.

All my water params were good, pH is a little high 8.0 but I know my water is hard. Could that have caused the deaths of the Kuhlis? And, would the skunk Botia do ok in a pH of 8.0 and hard water?

I think loachs prefer softer water scott. is it possible there were any meds in the tank still after you got the kuhlis? that could have killed them.

The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we dont know what to do.

Scott, my botias were in water PH of 7.8 so I dont think that .2 would cause a problem. All you have to do is spend alot of extra time acclimating the fish to the different PH, just dont shock them and they will be fine

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

1 agree with all said although i have 5x cls in my 40gal so any snails only see life for a few moments, as for the hair algae you could try flourish excel it does not work in every tank but it is renown for killing this typ of algae
cheers

papasan.

sora... on the meds.... I hadn't had meds in that tank in some time... and there was carbon filtration so I doubt very much that meds killed the kuhlis. However, I suppose anything is possible lol.

Garry, I use flourish root tabs and Tetra Plant Florapirde which has Potassium and Iron, with a wee bit of Molybdenum. Could those things have given my hair algae a start and boost?