Snail Problem in Fresh Water

[Flipper]

I've got snails multiplying like crazy in one of my units at petco (Marineland MARS system. I know loaches and some other fishes will eat snails, but since they're in the sump and filters and everywhere else, a preditor is not a vyable solution. I hate using chemicals, but in this case I don't see any other option. Does anyone know any product that will eradicate the snails, regardless of whether the treatment is intended for that purpose, or whether their demise is a side effect? Thanks!

[SaltyQueen]

I've never had a snail outbreak, but I've heard bad things about the snail-killing chemicals, that they may be harmful to fish and plants as well. If you do use one, however, make sure to clean out the tank & sump regularly, as dead decaying snails can wreak havoc on your water quality. Have you tried replacing the substrate? That can sometimes wipe out the problem.

[Witfull]

copper.but it will kill all ornamental snails also. or check out a product by Jungle i think its called Rid-a-Snail.

[swissgaurd]

hi flipper
why not put a loach in the sump
just make sure all inlets are screened

vic

[sharks]

Green spot puffers love them
Rid-a-snail and almost all the other snails be gone stuff are just copper. I would physically remove as many as possible then copper the system. Just run a low level untill you see the snails die off. After that do some water changes, run some carbon, and in a few weeks you should be able to buy ornamental snails again. ALWAYS look over the live plants when they come in. That is where in infestation almost always comes from.
If possible keep the live plant tanks returns covered with sponges to keep them out of the sumps. If it is real bad be sure to open the pump and clean out all the ground shell material out of the impeller.
HIH
S

[fidojoe]

I helped one of my neighbors get rid of his snail problem, I'll tell you this, it was a huge PITA! We scrubbed, drained replaced, we even dosed copper, no luck, cause the fish started to wig out with half a dose of copper, so we did a large WC. Then I remembered a little trick that MWRager used in the tank (which was passed from him to me, then to my other neighbor) Put pennies in the substrate, a week later, they started to dissapear, and no adverse affects from the copper, cause it is such a small dose, and its constant. You could also put some of the pennies in the sum. HTH

[Flipper]

A loach in the sump is a good idea, but out of the question. The way these things are laid out, I'd never catch him. I did run coppersafe in the system once, but maybe additional applications are in order. Ornamental snails and plants are of no concern, as they're kept in a separate unit. Thanks for all the advice!

[Scooterman]

Let us know what you do to solve this problem Flip!

[ReefLady]

Moved back to "Off-Topic" forum.

[Flipper]

Thanks, Teri!

I am going to try out the penny method that fidojoe suggests. I don't expect I'll see results overnight, but I'll report back.

Fidojoe- If you're still checking in on this thread, let me know how long it took before you began to see results. Thanks, all!

[Alf]

Rid-a-Snail.

This is what we used to control tem at the LFS I use to work at!!

[Cosmic]

One other thing I don't see mentioned here is a very normal and natural cure, albeit a little more work and patience.

Try adding a piece of lettuce to the tank/sump/whatever right at lights out, and harvest it from the system at lights up in the morning. After a few days, your snail problem will be small, if any.

A note on the loaches, and that is that they are ONLy going to do the trick if the infestation is small. You MUST thin the population down using other means, then adding a loach to finish off the remaining few.

Ok, back to my salty world now

Cos

[mwrager]

Originally posted by Flipper
Thanks, Teri!

I am going to try out the penny method that fidojoe suggests. I don't expect I'll see results overnight, but I'll report back.

Fidojoe- If you're still checking in on this thread, let me know how long it took before you began to see results. Thanks, all!

Flipper

I was the one who told Fidojoe about it and was successful at it. It took about a month to work but it does work. The process is slow. Just put the pennies out where the snails can crawl across them. I think it is better than chemicals. Hope it works for you like it did me. Just a word of cushion it is copper, so any tank hooked up to that tank will be affected. Also that tank can never be used as a reef tank with out a very good cleaning.

Mark

[Midway]

I've the same problem, I've noticed the snails popping all over the place but the real problem aren't the snails, the real problem are the eggs, they can resist a lot.

I guess the pennys are a good solution but here in México we don't use copper coins all our money are made of nickel... I'll put a lot of plumbing pipes (copper pipes) to fix the problem..

Thanks for the tip.

[mwrager]

Midway

I would cut them in 1/4 to 1/2 inch length and put about 3 or 4 in the tank. that should do it. Just remember you will never be able to put coral or inverts in the tank until you clean it, thats if you ever want to use it for salt water. If you want some pennies, I can send you some. Pennies need to be pre 1983, that is when a penny was made of 100% copper. After 1983 pennies are only 5% copper.