Snail infestation suggestions

[Nepherael]

My girlfriend and I planted her tank recently but she's been finding snails in it. Not sure what they are but they look like this



Thats pretty close to what they look like. They aren't mystery snails. Anyway we've been removing them and it wasn't too bad but maybe there were some eggs or something in the plants because we are now finding babies.

My question is how to go about removing the nuisance. I can't dose the tank because we will be stocking it with purple mystery snails at some point. It is a 55g tank heavily stocked so I don't think a clown loach would work in that size tank. I'm wondering about assassin snails or if there is any other fish that would work as a snail eater? I'm thinking I should go the assassin snail route because I will be stocking it with snails again in the future but I don't know how assassins reproduce. I don't mind buying just one assassin but if it is pregnant or has eggs to lay then that would worry me because the snails I'm buying for my girlfriend are rather expensive.

So with that said can I get away with one assassin snail and be confident I won't then have it reproduce in some fashion, is it ok to put an assassin snail in there if the current snail nuisance small (since there's only babies showing up can the assassin snail survive on something else like algae wafers or zucchini), and are there any other recommended fish that are snail eaters? I could move my dwarf puffer over there for a bit but I don't know if that is smart. It is a very active tank.

 

[mesto]

Tadpole snails! I actually love these guys.

These would be great food for your puffers, first of all. Very thin, soft shells. Second they do explode if you overfeed, so they can be a good indicator of that. Finally they are not bad for your plants IME if you have any, and are good algae eaters too.

To reduce the population and/or collect them for your puffers I would just put some cucumber on a fork in the tank and remove it in a day or two when covered with snails. Rinse, repeat as necessary!

 

[Branden_Pearson]

If you do go with assassin snails you don't have to worry about them reproducing out of control they lay very few eggs at a time and are slow to reproduce. I had a pair for 2 weeks and no babies


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[user_name]

I've had 3-4 assassains for a year or so now, and they've only had a few babies for me. I reccommend that you get a couple more to help clear the snails out, they're a very cool species.

 

[puffykid]

You could also put in a jar with a cucumber in it, leave overnight remove snails in the morning and repeat.

 

[ppetropulo]

Lettuce works just as well. You could also put a few loaches in there till its under control, then just take a few of them back once the population is down. The remaining loach should take care of watevers left, or may appear. He may also try to eat the assassin though, so... You may just want to try the lettuce/cucumber tactic.

 

[mesto]

I think most loaches really want friends. There may be some that don't mind being solitary that I don't know about, though.

Doesn't this tank have sand? I would personally be careful about a decision to introduce assassin snails when you are going for mystery snails soon, because will you try to take them out before the mystery snails come? You may have to go through all your substrate, and if they have been reproducing you'll have no idea if you got them all. But if you want that species anyway I'm sure it would be fun to watch them hunt!

 

[Fish-Addict]

I stopped feeding as much and the numbers reduced dramatically. I still have a few, but I don't mind that and quite enjoy watching my shrimp fight over them!

 

[petluvr]

Adding stock to take care of this type of problem is NEVER the correct decision. Assassins will reproduce and do so prolifically given time, plus if you plan to stock with another snail species assassins will also prey upon them. Reduce your feedings and manually remove them and you will see a decrease, unfortunately if you are planning to have a planted tank these snails you will have to deal with. They are BTW pond snails.

 

[tanker]

A few snails are good for the tank. If you do not over feed, you will not have an explosion. I have snails in both my tanks too, but very few.