How do I get rid of the hitch hiker snail I missed on a plant I bought?

Question

My 120 gallon tank now seems to have several small snails which I hoped would be eaten by my dojo loaches but then I moved a piece of driftwood and found a whole clump of them and now there are several more. I have heard that other loaches like yoyo and clowns are both good snail eaters. I do not want to use chemicals and I don't want to use the lettuce method since I'd have to kill them somehow after. I'd rather they be used as a food source then crush them or let them dry out. Please let me know what has been the most effective way for you to get rid of these little pests.

I am completely fine touching snails... I just don't want them to die for nothing.. I am not a cruel person. I will buy a fish to eat them and I am fine with that. I have caught a bag before and brought them back to the store. I am just wondering what fish people have had work best for eating snails.

Answer 1

Within the limits of what you feel is right for you and your tank, your only real options are to put up with them or get a few large loaches to keep them under control. Of course, that's just fish eating the snails. If you crush the snails first, most any fish will eat them.

EDIT: Then I would suggest you use the lettuce method and then instead of just tossing them out feed them to the fish. Most fish will eat them once they are crushed.

MM

Answer 2

If your fish are too small to eat the snails whole then crush them against the glass with your finger. If you don't want to touch them use a spoon or some thing like that. Once they are crushed then the fish will soon eat them. If you don't get rid of the snails then they will breed in your tank and you will have a snail epidemic. Then the only way to get rid of the snails is empty the tank totally, clean the inside of the tank and boil all of the stones, rocks and everything else that you had to decorate the tank. Also closely inspect the weed for any snails or snail eggs. They look like a clear jelly stuff with black or brown dots in it. Good Luck.

Answer 3

We had the same problem in all three of our tanks. We bought live plants from a local store and became infested with snails.
Our African and South American Cichlid tanks kept the snails at a minimum. I did not crush the snails as these fish were plenty big enough to just eat them.
However, our community tank quickly became over run.
We finally bought, for 3 bucks, a small bottle of "had a snail."
One treatment and snails were gone.
Unfortunately, your only other option would be to completely empty the tank (which wouldn't be healthy for your fish) being sure to scrub any decorations, etc... to completely remove lingering snail eggs.
Good luck

Answer 4

Some fish medicine contains copper, which is supposed to kill snails.. i dont know if you would consider that chemicals tho? maybe you could do the lettuce thing, put them in a jar and take them to the petstore? when my uncle had them in his tank, he would just crush a few each day and the fish would gobble them up.. so they never really got out of control.. you could also crush them and put them in your plants..

Answer 5

Try google. And also, maybe... well, first you should tell the audience if you're afraid to touch them. Then, answers will come rolling in! I suggest getting a new tank!