need snail assasin

[Vallisneria]

If you can't add zebra loaches(i've found them to be the best peaceful small snail eater) then manually removing them is your best bet.

Pick out as many as possible by hand. Then I usually stick a piece of zuchini in the tank, wait untill its covered with snails(works best after lights out) and then remove. Repeat the process as needed. Then once the snail population is low enough, you can just squish or remove any left over that you find.

I had a bad snail problem in my cherry shrimp tank, so I wasn't able to use loaches or meds and its now pretty much gone after doing the manual removal for a few weeks. Now I only see a couple in the tank and try to squish them whenever I find them.

Also reducing feedings, but you already know that one.

[sumergold]

I had a terrible snail problem in August, couldn't keep up by picking them, or trapping them in containers that had pellets. I bought 2 yoyo loaches and in 2 weeks, no more snails. I move the yoyo's around to wherever they are needed to get the job done. Had them in with the guppies for awhile, and didn't notice any fry missing.

[jvision]

My experience with Pea Puffers is that they really only go after inverts - snails are their favorites. They'll even munch the foot off of bigger snails. They're so small that they don't harrass most fish - I had a few in a community tank for quite a while... even the cherry shrimp proliferated in there.

[EowynJane]

^ Really? I might have to move one of my puffers into my snail filled Endler tank and see if any good comes of it.

[grapeape]

It sounds like the pea puffer is my best option. Does anyone know of a place that has them right now?

[EowynJane]

Big Al's sometimes has them, that's where I got mine 7ish months ago. I'm not sure if they have any now but you could call and ask.

Edited October 14, 2008 by EowynJane

[clockwork]

i use to have a full blown infestation in my 20 gallon community tank, there was even a fast moving pond snail in the mix.

i reduced the amount i was feeding and got the lil buggers eating some dead plant matter or zucchini and removed the manually.

now there are only maybe 4 or 5 little (like 3mm across) ones visible at any given time... its not perfect but i didnt have to add fish and the population has been under control for about 5 months.

keep the amount of food and plant waste to a minimum and start scooping them out and it should curb their numbers very quickly without having to get any other animals.

Edited October 21, 2008 by clockwork

[Callie]

Another option that could work for you is if you can get a couple adult rainbow fish... these will eat your fry so you may need to take your fry out. Another option is take the snailes out by hand. After the lights have been off for a couple hours more snailes will come out so you are able to find more of them. in the mean time you can remove some of your plants at a time and rinse and dip soak your plants in a copper water solution. rinse and rub the leaves to get the snaile eggs off they are hard to see but you can feel them. They are small whitish/clear deposits. Or you can put copper into your tank this will not hurt your fry it is actually good for fry to have a small amout of copper in the water. (not all of the time they will get copper poisoning) Another approach is place a copper hanger in the tank Im not sure for how long I have never done this before but it kills the snails. For more info on this approach call Riverfront and talk to Dave about this. Good luck.