Snails

[Boris]

55g tank. artificial plants, community fish. Infested with those low
life snails. I want to kill them all. And painfully if possible.

What do I use to kill them. Mostly cone shaped snails, no bigger than
1/2 inch. Don't say buy a snail killing fish as I already tried that. I
declare chemical war!

And once they're dead, dead, dead how do I get the chemical out of my
tank?

Thanks, in advance.

[Dinky]

"Boris" > wrote in message
news:Ly_9c.25099$wl1.1067@fed1read06...
| 55g tank. artificial plants, community fish. Infested with those
low
| life snails. I want to kill them all. And painfully if possible.
|


Despite your plea, I'd recommend visiting www.loaches.com, many
loaches are voracious snail killers.
That said, there are several products, "Had-a-Snail" is one I've
used. After dosing is complete, use carbon and water changes if
you're concerned about chemical residue. Be warned, these products
can have undesired effects on other living things.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/search/?type=catalog&method=all&collection=sitebuilder%2Fcatalog3-1&keywords1=snails

(watch wrap)

billy

[Dave S]

"Boris" > wrote in message
news:Ly_9c.25099$wl1.1067@fed1read06...
> 55g tank. artificial plants, community fish. Infested with those low
> life snails. I want to kill them all. And painfully if possible.
>
> What do I use to kill them. Mostly cone shaped snails, no bigger than
> 1/2 inch. Don't say buy a snail killing fish as I already tried that. I
> declare chemical war!
>
> And once they're dead, dead, dead how do I get the chemical out of my
> tank?
>
> Thanks, in advance.
>
I have the same problem and was advised to drop a piece of cucumber
(elasticated to a stone) into the tank at lights out. Remove the cucumber
before lights on and millions of snails would be attached (to the cucumber
not the stone). I haven't tried it myself yet!

HTH - Dave

[Geezer From Freezer]

Boris wrote:
>
> 55g tank. artificial plants, community fish. Infested with those low
> life snails. I want to kill them all. And painfully if possible.
>

Why would you want to kill them painfully? Sounds a bit nasty to me!
Loaches are the trick, failing that pick them out. Snails aren't necessarily
a bad thing!

[coelacanth]

Geezer From Freezer" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Boris wrote:
> >
> > 55g tank. artificial plants, community fish. Infested with those low
> > life snails. I want to kill them all. And painfully if possible.
> >
>
> Why would you want to kill them painfully? Sounds a bit nasty to me!
> Loaches are the trick, failing that pick them out. Snails aren't
necessarily
> a bad thing!

Well, I can't think of a more painful way to die than being
eaten alive by a loach...

[Paige]

every once in while I put an algae tablet in to feed my otto's and the
snails come running. Then it's easy to grab alot of them out of the tank.

Paige

[Vicki S]

I seem to have the opposite problem in I can't keep snails alive in my
tank. Between my loaches and festivums, snails all gone. Every month
or so I add a few dozen to the tank and it is like the dinner bell goes
off. I think the festivums have taught the keyholes how to hunt them
too because lately they have been joining the fest!

Vicki

[Geezer From The Freezer]

coelacanth wrote:
>
> Well, I can't think of a more painful way to die than being
> eaten alive by a loach...

Being eaten is a quicker death than chemicals thats for sure!

[NetMax]

"Boris" > wrote in message
news:Ly_9c.25099$wl1.1067@fed1read06...
> 55g tank. artificial plants, community fish. Infested with those low
> life snails. I want to kill them all. And painfully if possible.
>
> What do I use to kill them. Mostly cone shaped snails, no bigger than
> 1/2 inch. Don't say buy a snail killing fish as I already tried that. I
> declare chemical war!
>
> And once they're dead, dead, dead how do I get the chemical out of my
> tank?
>
> Thanks, in advance.

CHEMICAL WARFARE
Your weapons of choice, to be truly effective require you to remove the
fish and filter to another location while the battle is underway. Note
that any snail eggs hiding in your filter will become terrorists sneaking
back in when you think you are safe. Note that all my remarks below are
strictly from what I've read or heard and I have no practical experience
with any of them, except the last one (which doesn't meet your chemical
specification).

Your prime choices are copper, bleach, salt and heat, each having their
pros & cons.

Copper is (I think) the most toxic. Pro is speed. Con is there is some
difficulty in rinsing it all away (tends to stick to surfaces) and it's
also toxic to fish in slightly higher dosages than used to kill snails.

Bleach is an all-purpose killer. Pro is toxicity (even snail eggs). Con
is the dosage is unclear and the amount of rinsing and de-chlor needed to
recover your tank, and any remaining bacteria (in the gravel) would have
all been nuked (bacterial bloom). I use 20 parts water to 1 part bleach
as a bleach dip for items which might have snail eggs. This might be
sufficient for a 'tank dip'.

Salt works like bleach, but not as quickly, dosage is unclear, easier to
rinse away, residue is less harmful.

Hot water rinse (tank tear down). Relatively quick but somewhat labour
intensive. Drain tank. Remove any ornaments to be scrubbed clean and
soaked in bleach elsewhere. Pour in very warm water (100F?), stir gravel
and wait about 20 minutes (let the gravel and bottom glass absorb the
heat). Drain and refill with hot water. The key here is to apply heat
uniformly to all the glass panes at the same time, so they all
expand/contract at the same rate, so the stress on the silicone is
acceptable. To do this, the gravel must all be heated at the same rate
as well, so stir everything around. Let it sit for an hour. Drain and
refill with warm water. You now need to do the reverse, cooling the
gravel so the bottom glass is not significantly hotter than the side
panes. Alternately leave the entire tank alone until the temperature
gets cool enough (around 90-100F), and then drain and reset normally.
The cheaper your tank (thin glass) the more prone it is to crack due to
uneven expansion. Gravel has tremendous heat storage capacity. You can
easily burn yourself by putting your hand into gravel, shortly after
draining hot water from it.

A variant of the hot water kill, (if you are a patient person) is to dial
your heaters to the max and wait. It might take extra heaters and
several days, but snails have a finite temperature range, and you will
eventual kill them all. Your fish are of course elsewhere during this
procedure. I haven't tried this one either, but I'm pretty sure that it
would work.

Are those snail eating loaches starting to sound a bit better ? ;~)
NetMax

[Tim Voet]

Vicki S wrote:
> I seem to have the opposite problem in I can't keep snails alive in my
> tank. Between my loaches and festivums, snails all gone. Every month
> or so I add a few dozen to the tank and it is like the dinner bell goes
> off. I think the festivums have taught the keyholes how to hunt them
> too because lately they have been joining the fest!
>
> Vicki
>
Hi Vicki,

if you want to keep snails with your loaches, i have found a species
that manages to survive quite well( throught the fact that i have 6
hungry clown loaches in my tank ). Look up neritina natalensis. I
don't know what area you live in, but i heard from a contact that they
are illegal in the US....we get then all over the place here in Canada.

Tim

[NetMax]

"Tim Voet" > wrote in message
. ..
> Vicki S wrote:
> > I seem to have the opposite problem in I can't keep snails alive in
my
> > tank. Between my loaches and festivums, snails all gone. Every
month
> > or so I add a few dozen to the tank and it is like the dinner bell
goes
> > off. I think the festivums have taught the keyholes how to hunt them
> > too because lately they have been joining the fest!
> >
> > Vicki
> >
> Hi Vicki,
>
> if you want to keep snails with your loaches, i have found a species
> that manages to survive quite well( throught the fact that i have 6
> hungry clown loaches in my tank ). Look up neritina natalensis. I
> don't know what area you live in, but i heard from a contact that they
> are illegal in the US....we get then all over the place here in Canada.
>
> Tim

Tim, I just got a batch of nerita sp in (same thing according to the
pictures). These are also called African striped snails. Occasionally
someone comes in and grabs a bunch, saying that they are plant safe, but
I haven't tested that theory. I find that they get a lot of shell
damage, so I'm afraid they need harder water than the Apples. I keep
coral pieces in the snail tank to supply a bit of calcium to the water
(which is normally about 3dH). Anything you can share about them?

NetMax

[Tim Voet]

NetMax wrote:
> "Tim Voet" > wrote in message
> . ..
>
>>Vicki S wrote:
>>
>>>I seem to have the opposite problem in I can't keep snails alive in
>
> my
>
>>>tank. Between my loaches and festivums, snails all gone. Every
>
> month
>
>>>or so I add a few dozen to the tank and it is like the dinner bell
>
> goes
>
>>>off. I think the festivums have taught the keyholes how to hunt them
>>>too because lately they have been joining the fest!
>>>
>>>Vicki
>>>
>>
>>Hi Vicki,
>>
>>if you want to keep snails with your loaches, i have found a species
>>that manages to survive quite well( throught the fact that i have 6
>>hungry clown loaches in my tank ). Look up neritina natalensis. I
>>don't know what area you live in, but i heard from a contact that they
>>are illegal in the US....we get then all over the place here in Canada.
>>
>>Tim
>
>
> Tim, I just got a batch of nerita sp in (same thing according to the
> pictures). These are also called African striped snails. Occasionally
> someone comes in and grabs a bunch, saying that they are plant safe, but
> I haven't tested that theory. I find that they get a lot of shell
> damage, so I'm afraid they need harder water than the Apples. I keep
> coral pieces in the snail tank to supply a bit of calcium to the water
> (which is normally about 3dH). Anything you can share about them?
>
> NetMax
>
>
Well as far as the hard water, affecting their shells, haven't really
noticed. They seem to do better in my tank as opposed to the Pet Store
where i get them....i usually get them and they have damaged shells, but
the shells seem to heal/re-grow in my tank. I always thought it was
that they were outgrowing the shell so it cracked and expanded.

as far as being plant safe, definitely. My just graze over them
occasionally and eat some algae. Have not damaged my plants since i
started keeping these guys about 18 months now. They also seem to be
the best to survive a tank of loaches. Since they stay flatter against
the glass, the loaches have a much harder time getting to them, and
since i usually drop a mystery or apple snail in every once in a while
for loach food, they leave the neritina's alone.

Tim

[Vicki S]

Hi Vicki,
if you want to keep snails with your loaches, i have found a species
that manages to survive quite well( throught the fact that i have 6
hungry clown loaches in my tank ). Look up neritina natalensis. I don't
know what area you live in, but i heard from a contact that they are
illegal in the US....we get then all over the place here in Canada.
Tim

Hey Tim,
Ya, Virginia USA here. I have never heard of them before so it could be
that they are illegal here in the States. But it is ok because I get
the MTS for free or next to it. I did see a few baby ones Friday during
one of my water changes so I may get lucky and have a few grow up and
help out in the tank.

Vicki

[Tylan]

Ok,

This have probably been asked before but I have a tank with plants and
mostly tetras. I do have a ton of snails though. Are loaches too agressive
and if so is there some alternative other than salt (I was under the
impression that salt could be bad for tetras) or chemical Snail - B- Gone
type product?


"coelacanth" > wrote in message
. com...
> Geezer From Freezer" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> >
> > Boris wrote:
> > >
> > > 55g tank. artificial plants, community fish. Infested with those low
> > > life snails. I want to kill them all. And painfully if possible.
> > >
> >
> > Why would you want to kill them painfully? Sounds a bit nasty to me!
> > Loaches are the trick, failing that pick them out. Snails aren't
> necessarily
> > a bad thing!
>
> Well, I can't think of a more painful way to die than being
> eaten alive by a loach...
>
>

[NetMax]

"Tylan" > wrote in message
news:oyKcc.316$FE2.55@lakeread01...
> Ok,
>
> This have probably been asked before but I have a tank with plants and
> mostly tetras. I do have a ton of snails though. Are loaches too
agressive
> and if so is there some alternative other than salt (I was under the
> impression that salt could be bad for tetras) or chemical Snail - B-
Gone
> type product?

Some loaches eat snail eggs. Can't recall which though, Bengals, Banded
something like that, long snout. Some snails also eat snail eggs (Nerita
or MTS possibly, also can't recall, must be an age thing ;~). Anyways,
if you have something which eats snail eggs, then you are left with
dealing with the adults. Not a very quick solution, but it keeps you
away from aggressive loaches and copper based snailacides which don't
really work anyways.

I think that the amount of salt needed to kill snails might be beyond
your tetra's threshold (and maybe even your plants). Maybe someone has
some practical experience they can share regarding salt dosages as a
snail killer.

NetMax

[Dinky]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
|
| some practical experience they can share regarding salt dosages as
a


This salt dosage issue just keeps coming back to haunt you, eh?<g>

billy

[Charles]

On Tue, 6 Apr 2004 23:58:53 -0400, "NetMax"
> wrote:

>
>"Tylan" > wrote in message
>news:oyKcc.316$FE2.55@lakeread01...
>> Ok,
>>
>> This have probably been asked before but I have a tank with plants and
>> mostly tetras. I do have a ton of snails though. Are loaches too
>agressive
>> and if so is there some alternative other than salt (I was under the
>> impression that salt could be bad for tetras) or chemical Snail - B-
>Gone
>> type product?
>
>Some loaches eat snail eggs. Can't recall which though, Bengals, Banded
>something like that, long snout. Some snails also eat snail eggs (Nerita
>or MTS possibly, also can't recall, must be an age thing ;~). Anyways,
>if you have something which eats snail eggs, then you are left with
>dealing with the adults. Not a very quick solution, but it keeps you
>away from aggressive loaches and copper based snailacides which don't
>really work anyways.
>
>I think that the amount of salt needed to kill snails might be beyond
>your tetra's threshold (and maybe even your plants). Maybe someone has
>some practical experience they can share regarding salt dosages as a
>snail killer.
>
>NetMax
>


Had-a-snail did nothing for my snails. Hex-a-mit killed most kinds.


--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

[Gail Futoran]

"Tylan" > wrote in message
news:oyKcc.316$FE2.55@lakeread01...
> Ok,
>
> This have probably been asked before but I have a tank
with plants and
> mostly tetras. I do have a ton of snails though. Are
loaches too agressive
> and if so is there some alternative other than salt (I was
under the
> impression that salt could be bad for tetras) or chemical
Snail - B- Gone
> type product?

Just answering the fish question (I don't use
snail killer products):
I have two kinds of loaches, 3 skunk botia in one
10 gal tank, only other inhabitants otos. In the
20 gal I have two yo-yo loaches along with
neon tetras, otos, corydoras & until recently a
lone female Betta. The loaches haven't bothered
the other fish as far as I can tell. (They even
ignored the dead on the bottom of the tank Betta.)
They can be a bit aggressive when going after
sinking pellets but the corys (their main food
competitors for pellets) just move out of the way.
They've all cohabited at least 6 months.

The thing I don't know is mature size. I think
the skunk botias have settled at a mature length
of about 2"; the yo-yos are also a smaller
loach but might get to 3 or 4". I don't know if
that will make a difference in how they relate to
tankmates, though.

Both do a pretty good job of keeping the snail
population down, but not nonexistent. I don't
mind some snails in a tank.

Gail

[Tylan]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the helpful hints. I just thought I'd let you guys know
about the results. Well, there aren't any, yet. I went to Petsmart (I
know I can hear you groaning now) and can you believe they refused to sell
me ANY kind of loach / botia? The salesgirl told me they were all
incompatible, even the smaller varieties and refused to sell it to me. Then
she said, "You might try adding salt to your tank or Had-a-Snail." I said
that from research I had done and information given to me by users of this
group that the Had-a-snail doesn't work and the salt would be intolerable
for my fish and plants. She just kind of looked at me with a "well what do
you want me to do about it look" and said "I still can't let you have the
fish." I walked out and am never going back. Also fired off a nasty email
to PetSmart because I was tired of the Fish Tank inquisition every time I
wanted to buy something there anyway.

I'm trying to find a NICE local dealer here. I know of one in Lynchburg
(about an hour away) but I don't get down there very often. Anyone know
someone in the Roanoke, VA area? :) There is a spot I'm going to check out
this week just as soon as I get off the overnight shift. Wish me luck!

Thanks again.



"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Tylan" > wrote in message
> news:oyKcc.316$FE2.55@lakeread01...
> > Ok,
> >
> > This have probably been asked before but I have a tank with plants and
> > mostly tetras. I do have a ton of snails though. Are loaches too
> agressive
> > and if so is there some alternative other than salt (I was under the
> > impression that salt could be bad for tetras) or chemical Snail - B-
> Gone
> > type product?
>
> Some loaches eat snail eggs. Can't recall which though, Bengals, Banded
> something like that, long snout. Some snails also eat snail eggs (Nerita
> or MTS possibly, also can't recall, must be an age thing ;~). Anyways,
> if you have something which eats snail eggs, then you are left with
> dealing with the adults. Not a very quick solution, but it keeps you
> away from aggressive loaches and copper based snailacides which don't
> really work anyways.
>
> I think that the amount of salt needed to kill snails might be beyond
> your tetra's threshold (and maybe even your plants). Maybe someone has
> some practical experience they can share regarding salt dosages as a
> snail killer.
>
> NetMax
>
>

[Dinky]

"Tylan" > wrote in message
news:_3nec.7303$VE5.5739@lakeread01...
| Hi Guys
|
| Thanks for all the helpful hints. I just thought I'd let you guys
know
| about the results. Well, there aren't any, yet. I went to
Petsmart (I
| know I can hear you groaning now) and can you believe they refused
to sell
| me ANY kind of loach / botia? The salesgirl told me they were all


That's a new one. Usually they'll sell anything to anyone. I once
witnessed them selling 4 channel cats to a guy who said he had a ten
gallon. I don't recall what they called them.

[NetMax]

"Dinky" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
>
>
> "Tylan" > wrote in message
> news:_3nec.7303$VE5.5739@lakeread01...
> | Hi Guys
> |
> | Thanks for all the helpful hints. I just thought I'd let you guys
> know
> | about the results. Well, there aren't any, yet. I went to
> Petsmart (I
> | know I can hear you groaning now) and can you believe they refused
> to sell
> | me ANY kind of loach / botia? The salesgirl told me they were all
>
>
> That's a new one. Usually they'll sell anything to anyone. I once
> witnessed them selling 4 channel cats to a guy who said he had a ten
> gallon. I don't recall what they called them.

I've also met the type Tylan described. It's a case of extreme good
intentions coupled with insufficient information. It's usually a girl,
very environmentally aware and hates Siamese fighting fish because of the
containers they get sold from. They can get quite militant with their
beliefs. At the other more common extreme are the ones who will sell you
anything (usually it's a guy), and the more aggressive the fish, the more
they know about them (offering to feed the Piranhas for you to watch).
As commercial industries go, training is pretty weak in the fish trade
:o(.

NetMax

[Chris Palma]

This group has helped me stay away from fish that are inappropriate for my
tank. My LFS doesn't stock the usual suspects of fish that tend to crop
up on the group as bad for small aquaria. I've seen at our PetCo &
Wal-Mart that they have all the fish that get too big for 10 gallons --
tinfoil barbs, various plecos, Oscars, etc.

I was poking around on the web and came on this picture:

http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=2&ID=4765&what=species

I think this should be posted next to the tinfoil barb tanks at Wal-Mart &
PetSmart. :)

--chris



On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, Dinky wrote:

>
>
>
> "Tylan" > wrote in message
> news:_3nec.7303$VE5.5739@lakeread01...
> | Hi Guys
> |
> | Thanks for all the helpful hints. I just thought I'd let you guys
> know
> | about the results. Well, there aren't any, yet. I went to
> Petsmart (I
> | know I can hear you groaning now) and can you believe they refused
> to sell
> | me ANY kind of loach / botia? The salesgirl told me they were all
>
>
> That's a new one. Usually they'll sell anything to anyone. I once
> witnessed them selling 4 channel cats to a guy who said he had a ten
> gallon. I don't recall what they called them.
>
>
>




NB: This email address is dead. If you would like to email me directly,
please use: cpalmaATSYMBOLastro.psu.edu

[RedForeman ©®]

> I've also met the type Tylan described. It's a case of extreme good
> intentions coupled with insufficient information. It's usually a
> girl, very environmentally aware and hates Siamese fighting fish
> because of the containers they get sold from. They can get quite
> militant with their beliefs. At the other more common extreme are
> the ones who will sell you anything (usually it's a guy), and the
> more aggressive the fish, the more they know about them (offering to
> feed the Piranhas for you to watch). As commercial industries go,
> training is pretty weak in the fish trade
>> o(.
>
> NetMax

OMG, I just about fell out of my chair reading that one.. Just what I needed
on this, ugly a$$ed rainy, dreary, _MONDAY_..... that was hilarious...
especially coming from NetMax...

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Snails - Update
>From: "Dinky"
>Date: 4/11/2004 9:56 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: et>
>
>
>
>
>"Tylan" > wrote in message
>news:_3nec.7303$VE5.5739@lakeread01...
>| Hi Guys
>|
>| Thanks for all the helpful hints. I just thought I'd let you guys
>know
>| about the results. Well, there aren't any, yet. I went to
>Petsmart (I
>| know I can hear you groaning now) and can you believe they refused
>to sell
>| me ANY kind of loach / botia? The salesgirl told me they were all
>
>
>That's a new one. Usually they'll sell anything to anyone. I once
>witnessed them selling 4 channel cats to a guy who said he had a ten
>gallon. I don't recall what they called them.

I agree! It's 99.9% the other way. They're usually selling the wrong fish for
the wrong tanks.
I know there are some here that have good PetsMarts by them.....but wish them
to know that is so rare.
I usually get into it with the *Goldfish in a bowl is perfectly fine *
employees, but once I over heard the store manager trying to sell a couple some
Oscars for their 20g tank that they had in the cart...with them.
The manager ducked away for a minute to finish helping some other folks, and I
quickly explained..holding up my hands how large these fish (the manager told
them they could have 4 in the 20gH) will get and their eyes about bugged out of
their heads.
The wife asked why he would sell those fish to them....I said because he
obviously knows nothing about fish.
I recommend that they go home with their tank, research fishless cycling (this
was before Bio Spira) and them research fish that they fancy on the internet
before coming back.
I'm glad they left without any Oscars!
I later aksed the manager why he was going to sell them 4 Oscars for a 20g tank
that they had in their cart. He said...they're hardy and they won't grow any
larger than that tank.
I couldn't believe what just came out of that man's mouth.
He didn't have a clue as to how wrong he was. Isn't that sad.

[nuchumYussel]

All I have to say is WOW! I, just for kicks, looked at their fish. (I
was in there getting some dog food). 2 tank were COVERED w/ ich. There
were about 3 dead fish for every tank. G-d was it horrible!

Evan