Snails

[Mikayla]

I have recently discovered that my 6 gallon tank has developed snails. Now i know that they can multiply fast so i was wondering what the easiest way to get rid of the snails is. In case it matters, the tank contains one betta, one tiger shrimp and one fish that i cannot remember that name of but it is a really really tiny silver fish with one black stripe going down each of his sides.I also have a variety of live plants in the tank. Any suggestions help!
-Mikayla

[vanillarum]

One good way is to put a piece of veggie (cucumber, zucchini, lettuce, etc.) in the bottom of your tank. Leave it there overnite, then in the AM, take the veggie, and the snails that are attached to it, and dispose of it. This will get rid of a lot of them, but you may never get rid of them all. You could also add a puffer fish or some loaches that eat snails, or add an assassin snail or 2. Good luck.

[joephys]

Why do you want to get rid of them?

They don't hurt anything (the vast majority) and add diversity to a tank. If you aren't over feeding, they shouldn't ever reach plague proportions.

Personally I perfer bait and trap method. I don't like adding something that will eat them, because I feel its the wrong reason to add something to an aquarium, but that is simply my opinion. If you do add something make sure that you are willing to care for it properly and not just use it as a snail eradication tool. Puffers and bettas don't mix. Zebra loaches would be the best bet.

[Emg]

If it's a trumpet snail...they WILL mass produce to plague proportions. I have them in my small brackish tank and I don't over feed. It is very annoying to look in there and see snails hanging on everything and eating up the java fern. I squish them whenever I see them but that doesn't keep up with the numbers at all.

Once I emptied the tank and sifted out the gravel in an attempt to get rid of them. It being a small tank that was fairly easy to do.....it worked for a little while but now they are making a comback... ah well....

[Mikayla]

I put a piece of lettuce in the tank over night and not a single snail stuck to it. I actually wouldnt mind adding a fish to get rid of them the only problem is i dont know if i have enough space to add anything. I wouldnt mind keeping the snails if they were bigger and less numerous but they are tiny little buggers and they are all over everything and like EMG said they are annoying to look at. So does any one have any opinions about whether or not i have enough room to add a fish that will help get rid of them?
-Mikayla

[Emg]

Well, if you feel desperate and just want them gone....you could toss everything in the tank (except the fish of course ) in a bucket of bleach/water and let it sit overnight. That'll kill off your bacteria but you will still have some on the sides of the tank. Do a good scrub of everything with a stiff bristle brush, rinse it all off well and toss in a bucket with water and a double dose of dechlorinator before you put it all back in the tank. You could put the betta in a temporary smaller tank till everything is back in order.

I would consider this since it's a smaller setup with just one betta in it. Bettas adjust very well and I wouldn't worry too much about killing off the bacteria.

[steveh28]

Just be careful of what you put in the tank to get rid of them. Many fish that eat snails will also try to snack on your shrimp. I would try the lettuce/zucchini method described above. It might not work real quick, but after a few days, they might start figuring out you are putting food in there for them. Like joephys said, you won't get them all, but can keep the population in check that way. Snails are good to help eat up uneaten food, and add some fun watching.

[Mikayla]

I will keep trying the veggie thing to see if it works over time. I actually have a question about one of the suggestions vanillarum made which was adding an assasin snail. Would the snail work with the fish i already have in the tank? Would my betta pick on it and adventually kill it? and do i even have a enough room in the tank? The truth is i really enjoy snails and love to watch them but these little things are so tiny they just look like crud on the walls of my tank. I appreciate the help!
-Mikayla

[d_frag]

First I would say identify the type of snail, if it is a malaysian trumpet snail, the assassin snail can't keep up with the reproduction. I've watched them in action, you'll need a lot to just take down the numbers of malaysians just a tiny bit.

Another solution out side of bleach, which might not work because malay's can't close up shop for months on end is fluke tabs, a double dose will knock off any of the malay's if that is what you have. And that is my working assumption.

I've seen trumpets live in a bucket on a side of a house for atleast a year. They are nasty lil buggers.

[Achaicus]

If you don't mind a few snails you can use a tendency for balance in your favor. If you want lots of snail production and higher population, remove the largest snails, but if you want fewer snails leave the largest ones in and remove the smallest snails.

The theory is that the tank can support a ball park amount of snail flesh, if you reduce the amount of snail flesh by removing the largest ones the population will try to expand to make up for it. If you have a few large snails there isn't the resources to support fast population growth so things tend to be more stable with a fewer large snails.

I do know people that have managed to set up snail free tanks. They soak their plants in Alum water for a while before introducing anything. It took them a few tries to get completely snail free though.

[Mikayla]

I have noticed that when i take out the veggies every morning the little snails are attacked to it so i think if i keep doing what i am doing i will get rid of the smaller ones. I wont mind if i have the bigger ones its just those little ones that annoy me. And thank you Achaicus i will try what you said.
-Mikayla

[Em]

If you are up to it, I would suggest harvesting and posting on craigslist/donating to LFS - little snails are GRRReat for clowns - your trash is someone else's treasure - my bettas even eat them... when snails get overwhelming in my tanks, I do the veggie trick and dump them into bare 10g (vs. trash) - post on CL: free to clown home...