# Argh! Snails!



## asm1006 (May 5, 2007)

Right had enough LOL
The invasion of the snail brigade is really peeing me off.

I have columbian tetra
neons
a guppy (others koofered it)
pleccy
cory cats
and scissor tails.

There are hundreds of the buggers and no matter how often I remove them there are more!

Which type of fish will deal with them and not hurt my other fish?


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## pied pythons (Jan 18, 2008)

Loaches from what I've read...

I'm going to invest in a zebra loach to hoover up my snails


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## Bear. (May 20, 2010)

I think u can get snails that will eat over snails assassin snails they are called and they don't breed aswel as others so u shouldn't get over run with them.


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## pigeon (Aug 26, 2007)

If they are ramshorn i could do with a few if any spare.


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

you need to say how large your tank is and what filtration you have, what stocking you have, not just names but quantities and we can help find you a solution. 

some loaches are good, but, some loaches grow very large, for example the clown loach, will hit a foot long and like to be in groups. most loaches like being in groups to be honest so research the ones you like before you go out and buy. some loaches such as dojos are fairly good at snail eating but prefer cold water so would be wrong for your set-up. research is very important.

assassin snails are great, they eat up to 3 snails per night, dont take up much bio-load like more fish stocking, and are self limiting, the more snails there are to eat the more they breed, if the snails run out, they stop breeding. they only lay around 10 eggs at a time too instead of the hundreds that pest snails make. i added 3 assassins to my 6ft tank, and once they had made a significant dent in the mts and ramshorn snails population i sold them on.

the best way to stop a snail invasion is dont overfeed. they will only really take over if there is enough food for them to thrive on. i used to overfeed, hence the massive snail explosion. never again :lol2: i was pulling out up to 100 per evening when lights went out, seemed to go on forever!


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## zenazoo (Mar 28, 2009)

asm1006 said:


> Right had enough LOL
> The invasion of the snail brigade is really peeing me off.
> 
> I have columbian tetra
> ...


Clown loach, best in pairs (or more) they eat and eat and eat, our problem solved. : victory:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

zenazoo said:


> Clown loach, best in pairs (or more) they eat and eat and eat, our problem solved. : victory:


clown loach, great for 5-6ft tanks or larger, a complete no-no for anything smaller. they reach a foot long, are big chunky fish, and need to be in groups of 5-6 at least to be happy.


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

asm1006 said:


> Right had enough LOL
> The invasion of the snail brigade is really peeing me off.
> 
> I have columbian tetra
> ...


To kill a snail you need a snail :2thumb:. The Assassin snail eats other species of snails. And unlike most snail, Assassin snail aren't hermaphrodites like most snails. So for Assassin snails to breed you need a male and a female snail, So if you buy a two Male or a two female Assassing snails they will eat all the pest snail and not breed them self. How ever Assassing snails mature slowly and only lay ONE egg a MONTH :2thumb:. And most likey the egg will get eaten by the tank fish anyway. So you are very unlikly to get over run by Assassin snails even if you do end up with a male and female pair.
YouTube - Anentome Helena in action


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## RhianB87 (Oct 25, 2009)

Do they eat adult snails?

they are quite pretty actually, tempted to get some to try in my tank but wouldnt I need loads to have any real affect?


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

FallenAngel said:


> Do they eat adult snails ?.


They can but if you have big snails you may need a group of assassin snails.
YouTube - Anentome Helena Hunt


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

Assassin snails on ebay :2thumb:.
assassin snails items - Get great deals on Home Garden, Crabs Snails items on eBay UK!


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

just a quick note, 1 egg per month not exactly true, the amount they lay depends on how many snails they have to eat. we put in 3 assassin snails, and they were laying around 10 eggs per week and that was just the ones we saw on the silicone seams, under the driftwood we found many many more. they wont breed as fast as the pest snails though. definately your best bet i think.


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## asm1006 (May 5, 2007)

Thanks for all the help - am on a mission!: victory:


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## clw71 (Apr 17, 2010)

ive had 2 clown loach in my community tank now for 18 months now, id say my tank is a medium 200litre/44uk and they have only grown to about 3 inches now, not a fast growning fish like some, ie gourami,silver dollars etc.
But it depends on the size of the tank, if you put live plants in thats were you most likely got them from and if you use an external filter the snail eggs will be in that too.


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## asm1006 (May 5, 2007)

I made the mistake of giving them plants from 'granny's pond':whistling2::lol2:

how would I get rid of eggs from the external filter?


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## thalie_knights (Jan 19, 2007)

i feel your pain..we had hundreds..we got loaches - did nothing....assassin snails - did nothing....in the end i turned out the lights for 1 hour in the eve, put in a huge slice of lettuce..aaaaaall the snails went to the lettuce..and then they got 'disposed of'..within a few weeks problem dramatically curbed :2thumb:


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## asm1006 (May 5, 2007)

Bless-lol
Shall do that tonight then
Just sifted the sand....blimey I shallpost a piccy later lol


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