sarah Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 I recently bought some plants for my community fish tank, and I managed to introduce 2 different snail species (ramshorn and bladder snails). I ignored them, and of course now there are snails everywhere. I am worried about them damaging my plants. I am willing to do whatever it takes to remove them alive, even if it takes hours and I have to pull them out one by one... I just cannot bring myself to kill them. And I definitely can't add assassins. It would break my heart. I was thinking maybe I could take a 3 liter water bottle and set up a snail sanctuary for the snails I remove. Does this sound feasible? Would I need a bubbler? Or is there any other way to get rid of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maylee Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 The trick I usually see being recommended is to dip a piece of lettuce or other veggie over night and pull it out in the morning when it's covered in snails. I can't go by experience on how well it works though sarah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemd36 Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 I started an outdoor planter with water and added some extra frogbit from my tank. I throw in some snails in there whenever they climb to the top of my tank and are easy to pick out. Not too sure if the snails stay alive in the water outside, but they probably should be fine. sarah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 They will not damage your plants. If you had a snail infestation, it means there's too much junk in your tank. Speaking from experience, ramshorns only reproduce if there is enough food to support more. I threw 3 ramshorn adults in my 10G and 5 months later, there's only about 20 now. Whereas my 10G tank with 20 adults, reproduce rapidly and fills tank with 200+ in a matter of weeks. Figure out what's decaying in your tank or if you're simply just feeding too much. sarah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted May 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Thanks for all your input. Any thoughts on adding 3-4 dwarf loaches? My aquarium is a 20L moderately planted and is currently under-stocked - I have 2 male dwarf frogs, a pair of cory catfish, 3 elderly black neon tetras, and 4 amano shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda.m.amundsen.1 Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Zebra loaches stay fairly small if you want to that route. If you want to remove them you could make a snail trap. Take one of those el cheapo plastic storage containers and cut a hole in the side of it. Put a cobble in it to weight it down, then add some lettuce or other veggie to it. Then sink it in your tank. You should be able to harvest them the next day. The trick is not to feed your other critters in the tank for a day ahead of time and a day or two after you put the trap in. I have never tried it, because I enjoy my ramshorn snails. I even sent away for some fancy pink and red ones! I pluck the big ones out of my small tank and drop them into my 90 gallon. All my tanks have live plants in them, and frankly, I think my bristle nose plecos do more damage to the plants than any snail could. sarah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roborep1 Posted May 29, 2015 Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 The population will stabilize. I like snails and find them to be very beneficial. I usually put some food in and export the out once attached to the food. This keeps population in check. I do it completely randomly. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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