unhealthy plants

[pnmdsz6]

hello everyone,

ok i have some plants in my tank that are just being devoured by the millions (thats obviously an egsaturation) of snails i have in there. and i know i could get a clown loach but i can't because i have 2 fairly small bettas (approx. 8 months) and i'm assuming the clown would eat them.
anyway does anyone have any suggestions? let me know.

pnmdsz6

[BigDaddy]

Most snails will only eat dead or dying plant matter.

If you have healthy growing plants, the snails should not have a huge impact on them (now... some applesnails... well maybe)

What kind of plants are we talking about and what size tank and amount of light do you have?

[PaleoFishGirl]

Squish 'em!  :lol: (my snail population is virtually nil, not counting my zebra snail who I would never squish).

Seriously, though, your fish will love you for it

[Toss]

There are two (or more) type of snails. One is the MTS, they won't eat plant even if they will starve to death. The other one looks like pond snail but very small and the shell is very easy to crush. This one is a pest. It multiplies a lot faster than MTS and will eat plants if there is no other leftover or decaying leaves. If you have a pic, I can tell you if it is the one you have.

[Flawed_Artist]

An easy solution that's guaranteed to work is to drop in organic cucumber slices (emphasis on organic - no one except Tetramin and Wardley food makers believe in pesticides in an aquarium, right?). Some stores (BAs, SP Barrhaven, and I believe all other SPs) carry plant weights, and they're cheap. You can weigh down the slices with them.

This will become food for the snails. They are less likely to eat the plants this way.

The trumpet snails or MTS that Toss is talking about look like drills - they are cone-shaped, with subtle spikes need. Pond snails or look-alikes have mostly rounded backs. MTS are good and can be used to stir up gravel in planted tanks; most others can usually eat plants. Therefore, if they're MTS, it might be another problem.

Kuhli loaches are not very effective at snail eating, but they will reduce (usually not kill, though) the population quickly. If you have another tank for your zebra, maybe this is an option.

One more thing - check out SP Barrhaven for drill nerita snails. They look cool, they're the same genus as your zebra, and pretty plant safe.

Good luck.

PS. - If you're going with a clown, if I may be rude enough to suggest, maybe a yoyo would work better? They're smaller when full size, and cheaper. They can even eat MTS more easily, because they're usually available at smaller sizes, so they can get into the meat of the well-protected MTS shell (MTS have mini-spikes).

[PaleoFishGirl]

If you don't want to squash them, another thing that always works is to get a film canister (if you still use film cameras) and punch a couple of holes in the lid.  Put it in the bottom of your tank and wait overnight.  The next morning, empty it out, it will be full of snails (whether you put food in it or not).  

Rinse.

Repeat.

[Mettle]

Film cannister? People still use film?  :lol:

[PaleoFishGirl]

I know! I don't, that's why I squash my snails.

[pnmdsz6]

There are two (or more) type of snails. One is the MTS, they won't eat plant even if they will starve to death. The other one looks like pond snail but very small and the shell is very easy to crush. This one is a pest. It multiplies a lot faster than MTS and will eat plants if there is no other leftover or decaying leaves. If you have a pic, I can tell you if it is the one you have.

i know for sure it's pond snails, i was told by the guy i bought it from. but i didn't do anything about it because i didn't think it would be a problem.

An easy solution that's guaranteed to work is to drop in organic cucumber slices (emphasis on organic - no one except Tetramin and Wardley food makers believe in pesticides in an aquarium, right?). Some stores (BAs, SP Barrhaven, and I believe all other SPs) carry plant weights, and they're cheap. You can weigh down the slices with them..

can i just buy a regular cucumber and cut a slice off and wash (or rinse) it?

[BigDaddy]

Give your plants the right conditions to grow, and you could have hundreds of pond snails with no problems.

[Aiglos]

I have 2 yo-yos that keep my snail population in check, they do a great job !