# Fish Folk - help?



## Heather (Aug 25, 2006)

Snails are taking over my fish tank. Tonight I came home and they are all forming this weird snail mass. I broke them up, and they reformed. What the heck is going on, and how do I cut down on my snail population? 

I'll be draining most of the water out of the tank in a week or so, so I plan to try to catch a bunch and dispose of them but is there anything else I should do in the meantime? 

Perplexed!


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## PHRAG (Aug 25, 2006)

Heather said:


> Tonight I came home and they are all forming this weird snail mass. I broke them up, and they reformed. What the heck is going on, and how do I cut down on my snail population?


 

Snail orgy. Bow-chicka-wow.


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## Marco (Aug 25, 2006)

lol national geographic in real life is great aint it


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## Heather (Aug 25, 2006)

Oh come now. Neither of you have fish.


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## Marco (Aug 25, 2006)

I have some in my fridge in little containers you microwave. No snails though.


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## gary (Aug 25, 2006)

have you tried garlic butter?oke:

But seriously, you can pick them out by hand, get a snail eating fish, or take everything out inspecting for itty bitty snails and then start over. As you have noticed some snails can be a real pest and reproduce like mad. Sort of the mealies of the aquarium world.

gary


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## Heather (Aug 25, 2006)

I don't mind them in small numbers. They take care of the tank. But now I think they are mounting a war on the fish. I think I'm going to just have to take many of them out next week. 

(So really, what is that they're doing - is this some great snail orgy going on here?) Geesh.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Aug 25, 2006)

The slightest dose of copper, as is found in most fish medications, is terminal to snails and other invertebrates...the problem is, you may never be able to keep snails again...Take care, Eric


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## Heather (Aug 25, 2006)

Hmmm. I'd really rather a balance of some sort. The snails keep my tank balanced. But they are TOTALLY out of balance right now! lol!


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## Rick (Aug 26, 2006)

If your aquarium is heated (around 80f) you could add some of the botias. The most widely known species is the clown loach.

They like to eat snails and leave other fish alone. There are other botia species too, but they are not as colorful as the clown loach, and harder to find in the retail market.

Unfortunately the clown loach can be prone to ich, and is a bit pricey.


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## likespaphs (Aug 26, 2006)

i'm a big fan of clown loaches. only thing is, they'll eat all the snails. they also require a tank that's been stabilized for a while, i think.


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## Rick (Aug 26, 2006)

likespaphs said:


> i'm a big fan of clown loaches. only thing is, they'll eat all the snails. they also require a tank that's been stabilized for a while, i think.



They do tend to be a bit wimpy. Other botia species are much tougher, and antisocial (with their own species).


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Aug 26, 2006)

Probably the best thing is to mash as many snails as possiblle....nontoxic, and privides all the live food your fish could ever want...Take care, Eric


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## Heather (Aug 27, 2006)

Well, when I drain the tank next week, I guess I'll go on a little mashing spree. Or at least remove as many as I can. I really don't mind 10 or so of them, it's the other 675 that are bothering me.


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## lienluu (Aug 27, 2006)

Heather said:


> Well, when I drain the tank next week, I guess I'll go on a little mashing spree. Or at least remove as many as I can. I really don't mind 10 or so of them, it's the other 675 that are bothering me.



That's what i've always done, just remove them by hand. By DO NOT squish them. I know someone who went on a snail squishing spree and somehow a piece of snail gut goo got stuck under his fingernail and got severely infected and he almost lost that finger.


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## Jon in SW Ohio (Aug 27, 2006)

If they are the tiny black, semi-cone shaped snails...get used to it.

When one of my tanks got overpopulated with them, I emptied the tank and started over by cleaning the tank with very hot water and scrubbing it down. They come in on nearly any live plant you put in the tank. That tank has since repopulated with them since I sometimes feed tiny live copepods and the snails always get netted with them, so now I just ignore them.

Jon
________
HASHISH


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## Heather (Aug 27, 2006)

Thanks. 
There are two kinds, the little cone ones (I actually kinda like them) and then little round ones (such a description huh?) The round ones are much more numerous. I am sure they came in on some plants. They really do do a nice job keeping the tank spiffy, but they are becoming a bit of a menace in numbers now. 

How was the show, Jon?


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## Jon in SW Ohio (Aug 27, 2006)

Show was good, but I have a few delays in uploading pics. My laptop (or apparently Windows XP) died but my techie brother says he can fix it. I am on his computer with the camera, but forgot the CD that needs installed to upload them. I got some great stuff from EcuaGenera, Orchid Inn, Woodstream Orchids, Oak Hill, and Andy's Orchids. 

I should have pics and a review of the show up by tonight.

Jon
________
Ferrari 166 Specifications


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## Heather (Aug 27, 2006)

Jon in SW Ohio said:


> I should have pics and a review of the show up by tonight.
> 
> Jon


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Aug 27, 2006)

The round ones are the planorbid snails...they can become much bigger pests than the cone shaped pond snails. While they seem to be cleaning up, they produce vast quantities of poop....in all likelihood, making up more than 70% of your bottom crud...Take care, Eric


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## Heather (Aug 27, 2006)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> While they seem to be cleaning up, they produce vast quantities of poop....in all likelihood, making up more than 70% of your bottom crud...Take care, Eric


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## Tikva (Aug 28, 2006)

Turtles eat snails.

Eat fish too.

That would cut down on tank clutter

:viking:


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