katmintblue Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Okay, will start off by saying I'm not sure if this is the right place for this post. What happened is my Hubby (bless his soul?) decided to put a shell in one of my tanks while I was away on holiday. After I returned & was having a good look at the tank I have found lots of snails. This shell is originally from the Pacific Ocean near where I grew up in Washington. It has resided in my flowerbed with other shells I brought from home. He didn't think it would hurt anything to put it in the tank. I have no idea what kind of snails these are. They are small maybe about a centimeter? in length. Long & cylindrical. I would like to find out 1) are they going to be a problem? 2) can I get rid of them some how? 3) if so...how the heck do I get rid of them? I think I recall something about certain types of fish that eat snails. Is this true? If so what kind would be farily docile as I am trying to keep mostly nice mellow community fish in the tank. I appreciate any & all information. I have been away from the forum lately as I have been busy working & volunteering. Thanks & look forward to some much needed information. Kristie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 hmmmm, unless there were snails hiding in the shell when your hubby put it in, i would be inclined to think the snails came from elsewhere. and i wouldn't think mts (malaysian trumpet snails, as per your description) would live out of water for any length of time (in the shell in the flower bed). have you added any new plants lately? snails love to hitchhike......lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wackinator Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 any kinda loach will eat all your snails, the best one for you would probably will a yoyo loach cuz they stay small I think. When I had a snail problem I just borrowed my friends yoyo loach for a lil while and he went back to him a week later full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katmintblue Posted August 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Hello & thanks for your response. The only thing that has been added is just the shell. No new fish, no plants, the only other thing I can think of is a couple new shells that I picked up at Big Als for "Sunny" she's a lamprologus ocellatus "gold". But they were added months before I went on holidays. I have not noticed anything amiss until I returned. He had added the shell right after I left & I was gone for just over two weeks. That's why I was thinking it must have been the shell that he added. It is a total mystery to me! The shell had been in the garage since last fall with all the rest of my garden decorations. I did see another response about loaches eat snails. Maybe I will go shopping for some of them? Thanks, Kristie hmmmm, unless there were snails hiding in the shell when your hubby put it in, i would be inclined to think the snails came from elsewhere. and i wouldn't think mts (malaysian trumpet snails, as per your description) would live out of water for any length of time (in the shell in the flower bed). have you added any new plants lately? snails love to hitchhike......lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobies et al Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 If they are MTS, and ~ 1 cm long, they have been in your tank for months hiding in the gravel. They are beneficial as they keep the gravel loosen and eat what goodies they find there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 If they are MTS, and ~ 1 cm long, they have been in your tank for months hiding in the gravel. They are beneficial as they keep the gravel loosen and eat what goodies they find there. this is a possibility, and when you were away on holiday your hubby could have been overfeeding the tank a little and the population of the snails, that normally would have been un-observed, exploded due to the increased food source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTK Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Big Al's has assassin snails. They are great at killing other snails and you dont have to be concerted about them taking over your tank. Loachs are good also. Clowns, yoyos, kuhlis will all help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish_Frenzy Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Adding Loaches may sound like a good idea but Loaches have special requirements that need to be met in order to thrive. Clown Loaches and Striatas need warmer water than most fish enjoy. Border Loaches stay small, but can be pushy. Yo-yos can get to 7-8 inches and are much happier in groups, as are ALL Loaches! All Loaches require high water flow/ lots of oxygen. Most Loaches get too big for any tank under 40G. The exception being Kuhli Loaches... and the don't eat snails. Some other suggestions would be cut way back on feeding, try some assasin snails, or even just squishing/plucking the snails. Loaches require alot of water changes, and are quite delicate if not properly maintained. They do not exclusively eat snails, and must also be fed wafers, shrimp pellets and frozen bloodworms. Hope this helps Tammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katmintblue Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Thank You to everyone who has responded! I have received lots of information. I went to Big Al's today & after all my research & the advice of people here & consulting with the staff.....we brought home a few YoYo Loaches. I also picked up some other foods for them to eat. I already have frozen blood worms on hand. I really like my little guys! They are so cute.....I am starting to think I should have bought a couple more. They aren't very big right now only a couple inches. I try very hard to keep my tank up to snuff. Water changes, vacuuming, etc. I forgot to replace my water test kit while there but, will have to wait til my next trip to the city. The tank in question is a 55g. Bought it off a member from this site. I did check out the Assasin Snails but, wasn't really sold on them. The food issue...my Hubby only fed the tank once a day versus our twice daily feeding so I don't know about an over feed in the tank...think the daughter already does that. Though she is getting better. Will wait to see what my new YoYo's do. I even like the name!! Got called the YoYo in High School as one day I was there & one day I was not. Had a full schedule keeping up my own apartment & working full time & attending school when I was only 15. Must say I have become a great multi tasker!! Anyways......thanks again to everyone for their help I greatly appreciate it. Just gotta say....I love this site!!!!!!! Take care all!!! Kristie Adding Loaches may sound like a good idea but Loaches have special requirements that need to be met in order to thrive.Clown Loaches and Striatas need warmer water than most fish enjoy. Border Loaches stay small, but can be pushy. Yo-yos can get to 7-8 inches and are much happier in groups, as are ALL Loaches! All Loaches require high water flow/ lots of oxygen. Most Loaches get too big for any tank under 40G. The exception being Kuhli Loaches... and the don't eat snails. Some other suggestions would be cut way back on feeding, try some assasin snails, or even just squishing/plucking the snails. Loaches require alot of water changes, and are quite delicate if not properly maintained. They do not exclusively eat snails, and must also be fed wafers, shrimp pellets and frozen bloodworms. Hope this helps Tammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetras_corys_loaches_oh_my Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 Thank You to everyone who has responded! I have received lots of information. I went to Big Al's today & after all my research & the advice of people here & consulting with the staff.....we brought home a few YoYo Loaches. I also picked up some other foods for them to eat. I already have frozen blood worms on hand. I really like my little guys! They are so cute.....I am starting to think I should have bought a couple more. They aren't very big right now only a couple inches. I try very hard to keep my tank up to snuff. Water changes, vacuuming, etc. I forgot to replace my water test kit while there but, will have to wait til my next trip to the city. The tank in question is a 55g. Bought it off a member from this site. I did check out the Assasin Snails but, wasn't really sold on them. The food issue...my Hubby only fed the tank once a day versus our twice daily feeding so I don't know about an over feed in the tank...think the daughter already does that. Though she is getting better. Will wait to see what my new YoYo's do. I even like the name!! Got called the YoYo in High School as one day I was there & one day I was not. Had a full schedule keeping up my own apartment & working full time & attending school when I was only 15. Must say I have become a great multi tasker!! Anyways......thanks again to everyone for their help I greatly appreciate it. Just gotta say....I love this site!!!!!!! Take care all!!! KristieAdding Loaches may sound like a good idea but Loaches have special requirements that need to be met in order to thrive.Clown Loaches and Striatas need warmer water than most fish enjoy. Border Loaches stay small, but can be pushy. Yo-yos can get to 7-8 inches and are much happier in groups, as are ALL Loaches! All Loaches require high water flow/ lots of oxygen. Most Loaches get too big for any tank under 40G. The exception being Kuhli Loaches... and the don't eat snails. Some other suggestions would be cut way back on feeding, try some assasin snails, or even just squishing/plucking the snails. Loaches require alot of water changes, and are quite delicate if not properly maintained. They do not exclusively eat snails, and must also be fed wafers, shrimp pellets and frozen bloodworms. Hope this helps Tammy I have a soft spot for clowns but kuhlis drove me nuts, I had one that was suicidal and got sucked up my intakes... kept going there so i had to build a CAGE around the opening to keep him from sticking his face in LMAO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingFishy Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 I rather like those little guys, and yes they usually come in on plants. There was a period where I was scooping out at least 50 snails per week from my 33 gallon, but, after moving the tank into a less sun-lit area, and diligent removal with water changes, the problem just sort of disappeared. I think sunlight exposure and algae growth may have something to do with snail population explosions. To remove snails, try using a container lid from cream cheese, or yogurt, etc, something with a rim on it is great to scoop them off the glass, put them into the container and voila, disposal. Anyways, to make a long story short, I have those cylindrical snails in one tank and find them beneficial and not out of control, they are more active at night. The 33 gallon tank now simply has one apple snail, I like him, he's about a centimeter wide and he just moves around and eats all day. There are still some empty shells from the other ones in the gravel bed, so they may come back one day, who knows. if they do I don't mind. Good luck and enjoy your snail, they can be good for the tank and entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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