Getting rid of snails

This is my first time posting here so if there's already a thread on this, please redirect me

I've had my tank set up for about 2 months now but just added plants from a different shop and have been finding tiny snails around my tank :/ I've cleaned all of my plants again and managed to take out quite a few snails but I'm worried that there are still some hiding in there. I just got my axolotl last week and it'll be in a tub for a while since its so young. Would it be okay to put clown or yoyo loaches in my tank for about a month to get rid of the snails and then remove them when I transfer my axolotl?

I know they aren't a major problem since theyre so small, but I just dont want the population to get out of control.


Thanks

The population wont get out of control if you dont over feed. Snail populations boom in fish tanks because of excess fish food, but since your tank is an axie tank then you probably wont have that problem.

You could put a piece of lettuce in the tank and pull it out when it has snails on them. but Im fairly confident that your snail population wont be very big if you just feed your axie worms, as pest snails eat greens.

On a side note, i would like to have some 'pest snails' in my tank with my axies...I have pretty deep sand in there.

Kupcake said:

The population wont get out of control if you dont over feed. Snail populations boom in fish tanks because of excess fish food, but since your tank is an axie tank then you probably wont have that problem.

You could put a piece of lettuce in the tank and pull it out when it has snails on them. but Im fairly confident that your snail population wont be very big if you just feed your axie worms, as pest snails eat greens.

On a side note, i would like to have some 'pest snails' in my tank with my axies...I have pretty deep sand in there.

Click to expand...

Oh okay that seems like a much simpler plan Thanks a bunch

Snails, the huge argument. I love snails in my planted tank. The infestation turns over the sand, preventing hydrogen sulfide from building up. I use clown loaches to pick them off and keep the population in check. If I had a normal gravel aquarium, without the sand/plants/loach balance I wouldn't be such a fan.

But, if established it's almost impossible to entirely wipe them out, without chemicals.

I just pick out the big ones - once the population is big enough (in number and physical size) that cleaning up after them is getting to be a pain.

If snail poop is everywhere, it's too much for me.

I've got snails in all my tanks, even in the small boxes I raise my larvae in.

You can massively reduce cone snail populations by throwing in some zucchini or similar into the tank at night, and pulling it out in the morning covered in snails.

But you won't wipe them out.

The chemical killers may work, but I would not use them with an axie. Maybe he will survive, but that is not good keeping. One option might be to set up an entirely new tank (even a holding tank like a Rubbermade bin), sterilize the old tank, and move in with care to prevent a cycle...or just accept the snails. You're dealing with hermaphroditic, armored, resistant monsters. Your ridiculous monster that has somehow survived in one single lake in Mexico has nothing on the blighters.

I've just found a teeny tiny snail in my tank. Should I pull it out or leave it then??

Sam, pull it!

Personally I'm not a big fan of getting loaches to eat snails in a planted tank. What do you do when you need more snails to feed the loaches? Or if they are like a friends clown loaches and eventually just like to munch holes in your plants despite still having some snails and feeding them a varied diet of mic. sinking pellets.

The cucumber method works very well; Some run a fishing line string through the slices and drop them in. in a large tank I would drop 3-4 slices in a night. I'll bet after a week of daily evictions, you'll be happy with the numbers. With a good feeding regime you shouldn't have a snail explosion like that.

BTW I had a friend who tore down a snail infested tank for 2 years- put it back up with the same gravel and after 2 months started seeing snails. This was an unplanted tank the 2nd time around, so there was no possible way that they were added.

Poisoning them with copper will do a few things. 1: Kill all the snails. 2: Push your ammonia level through the roof with the die off. 3: Poison your poor axis friend '''(._.)'"