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A few months ago i decided to make my 20 gallon in a planted tank, I love it! I spent probably $100-$200 on getting my tank to the point it is, but I am being sabatoged by algae and snails! I HAVE MILLIONS OF SNAILS!! And the algae has taken over every side of the tank! I keep scrubbing the alage off the sides but I know that is not solving anything. I also try to get rid of snails, but every night they multiply by 100000! I would love any suggestions!

As for the snails...get some yoyo loaches, or if the tank has nothing in it and the snails are just plain pond snails get some dwarf puffers. As for the algae, you could be leaving the light on to long? I'm not sure your gonna have to be more specific on that one.

In the tank i have 2 paradise fish, 6 black neons, 2 rainbowfish, and one blue ram. Will the yoyo loaches still work? I probably am leaving the light on too long, i have to get an automatic timer that has a three hole g fitting. What other kinds of fish are there for snail control? How many yoyo loaches should i get? Do cories eat snails?

Would ottos help with the algae? How many?

Last edited by Hooktor at 13-Mar-2005 20:13

It seems as though the yoyo loaches are quite large, is this true?

Yoyo loaches reach around 4 inches, get atleast 3 so they have friends to shoal with. But the more the better with shoaling/schooling fish. I believe clown loaches are actually one of the better snail eating loaches but they grow to be a foot long if cared for well. Most clown loaches ive seen were only around 8", but have the potential to hit a foot maybe more.

So what would be my best bet for ridding of the snails? I do not think i could add 12 more inches of fish into my tank so are there any other options? I would love to get rid of the snails! Would cories work? Clown loaches are way to big for my tank, and i am pretty sure they are a schooling fish also. Thanks so much for your help!

cory's will not get rid of snails for you. I have read that snail out breaks are usually caused by overfeeding. There are a number of ways to get rid of them.
First, you can put lettuce in a small container overnight, in the morning it should be covered with snails, and you can just dump them. Also, I have read that it is possible to get rid of snails by putting pennies in your filter, however, they must have been minted before the year 1983, otherwise it is just copper coated zinc.
Algae is caused by a nutrient deffeciency, in order to get rid of it, you must find the imbalance and correct it...
Hope this helps,
Sundewd