Way too many MTS's

[pcole6765]

How do you get rid of these suckers? Eventually this tank will be for our puffers so I kinda need them as food but I also don't want my puffers to eat too many at once and get sick.

Any suggestions?

[Fishnut]

Assassin snails!!

If you check Worldfish's Forum, he has some on his list and He'll be bringing some fish to Aylmer on Friday I think.  It's not too late to add some to the order.

[dan2x38]

place some lettuce in the tank with a little stone to hold in place. do this in the evening inm the morning pull it out throw away and do it again... vacuum deeper to get more babies... feed less this controls them if you have a large population you are over feeding.

[apuppet]

& clown loach, as mine, finally figure out, that snails are edible.

[pcole6765]

can I borrow someone's clown loach..LOL Don't they get really big? Once I get the puffers in that tank I'll have to find a new home for what ever I put in there to eat the snails. The substrate in that tank is eco complete so vacuuming it is a pain in the butt

[dan2x38]

I have eco-complete I vacuum the surface... use some lettuce and reduce feeding... adding something to get rid of them is like, I swallowed a fly so I swallowed a frog to eat the fly... etc... etc...

[beowulf]

Much better to just pick them off the surface of the substrate in the morning before the lights in the tank come on then to get a clown loach.  Clowns do indeed get very big and do much better in groups of 5 or more.  So I would not get clowns unless you plan for their needs of a very large tank for the next 40+ years potentially as they can live that long.

[J]

What species of puffer? The puffers themselves love to eat snails.

[apuppet]

hmm... IF your giving them away for free, and heading to his weekends breakfast. i'll be happy to grab some from you, 
i've already MTS, but i think i'd like a few more. i only see a few around at any given time.

[pcole6765]

What species of puffer? The puffers themselves love to eat snails.

I just don't want the puffers eating too many at once, that's my problem. Also from what I understand MTS's have a harder shell compared to  pond snails and it could damage the puffers teeth

hmm... IF your giving them away for free, and heading to his weekends breakfast. i'll be happy to grab some from you, 
i've already MTS, but i think i'd like a few more. i only see a few around at any given time.

I can try to get you a few, I'll have to do the lettuce trick that Dan suggested, they blend in well with my gravel so when they aren't all over the glass they're hard to spot.

[Pamelajo]

Another trick is to take a water bottle attach enough fishing line for it to reach the bottom of the tank and have some hanging out the top.  Add they favourite food to the bottle and fill with water and drop to the bottom of tank.  In the morning you can remove and it should have a bunch in them, to give away of dispose of.

[Bees]

Quick way - I drown a piece of zucchini and grab it in the morning.  The snails tend to drop off if you just lift the food source straight out so I take the whole shebang out with a net.  The bottle idea above will save you the trouble.

Long way - chain loach - botia sidthemunki - will eat up smaller snails.  I think yoyo loaches will do that too.  Heck, I think most loaches will at least make some effort.

[pcole6765]

I may go the loach root then put it in with my apistos

[beowulf]

Actually yoyo or pakistani loaches can live 10+ years, I have heard of one person having some for 16 years.  They also can grow as large as 6 inches so it is best to have an aquarium that will be large enough for them.

[beowulf]

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/asian-loaches/yoyo-loach/100092.asp

I can quote websites also.  I also have personal experience to go by, I got a couple from someone who had had them for 6-7 years (he could not remember exactly) and I had them for about 2 years afterwords so that would have made them 8 to 9 years old when they died due to a moving accident.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoyo_loach

Like the clown loach, the yoyo loach will readily devour snails, especially the smaller variety. Invertebrates are one of the yoyo loach's natural food sources, and freshwater shrimp and snails are not safe.

This fish can live for 20+ years

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/loaches/YoYoLoach.php

We have had a Yo Yo Pakistani Loach for 13 years. It died just the other day. It has been the coolest fish ever. It has never bothered the other fish other than the odd chase and certainly had a personality. It has always been kept in a large tank with lots of other small fish ie, tiger barbs, tetras, platys, cichlids etc. I have always kept a lot of plants in the tank and bog wood and it seemed to have the same hiding places. We have just bought another one today. Who knows if it will also still be here in 13 years.
kirstie whyatt

[dan2x38]

I can quote websites also.  I also have personal experience to go by, I got a couple from someone who had had them for 6-7 years (he could not remember exactly) and I had them for about 2 years afterwords so that would have made them 8 to 9 years old when they died due to a moving accident.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoyo_loach
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/loaches/YoYoLoach.php