snails outbreak?

Question

i have an outbreak of snails in my tank.i know i can use a loach to get rid of them but i am moving in less than a month. what can i put in the tank to kill the snails? all my fish have been removed and either given to friends or back to the lfs. and since i am moving what should i do with my sandy gravel stuff. should i throw it away or should i try and clean/dry it and reuse it?

Answer 1

write a letter to the snails wishing them to go away. and ... that should do the trick

Answer 2

While aquarium shops sell snail control solutions, this should not be the first step you take to get rid of them. Unless you can pick them out as they fall dead from the chemical treatment, you will end up with rotting snails at the bottom of the tank, which will quickly foul the water.

Three Steps to Eradicate Snails:

Add a snail-eating fish or two, which is now not workable for you..

Remove snails by hand or with a long pair of tweezers. Try to do this before the infestation gets out of control. Also try to remove the tiny snail eggs from the plants. If you have only a couple of plants, you can remove them and wash the snails off and replace the plants.

Baiting the snails may also work. Place a leaf of lettuce on the bottom of the tank and the snails will climb on. Remove the leaf and replace it until you've removed a good number of the snails.

The best thing to do is to combine all of the above approaches in order to gain control of the problem. If the snails remain a problem then try a chemical agent. Snails are yet another reason to quarantine plants and fish before placing them into the aquarium.

Good Luck..

Answer 3

You can use a plastic container, like a small food container with a snap on lid. Poke holes in it large enough for the snails to go through but small enough so that typical fish can't get in. Bait the trap with a piece of lettuce and weight it down with a hand full of sand. You will be surprized how many snails will find the lettuce over night. Doing this several nights in a row will remove the vast majority of the snails with very little effort.

There are snail killing chemical solutions as well, but they usually contain copper and that would require you to toss the substrate to be sure it was fish safe again.

Either sand or gravel can be washed, dried and reused when you arrive. If it's sand, I would suggest once you wash and dry it well to run it through a kitchen sifter to be sure there are no remaining snails.

MM

Answer 4

Had-a-snail is great and can be used with fish in the tank. It comes in a small bottle and is only a few dollars. Look for it in the same section as the Ick medication. I think its a blue or yellow bottle and it just takes a few drops to treat a tank. It really works though.

Answer 5

run the gravel through a seive under running water and make shure you run your hands through it , this will clean it. use salt to kill your snails, but if you,r moving emptying the tank and leave to dry will have the same effect. when buying plants( as this is where snails eggs come in to tank ) always wash them in salt water it will kill any eggs and adults, then rinse them again under fresh water, no more snails

Answer 6

My advice is just take the snails out and throw them away. Then clean all the stuff you need and reuse it, and throw away stuff that is in really bad condition.

Answer 7

you should trap them and the snails might be bought by the local pet store as it iwll help keep there many tanks cleaner and substrate like sand and gravel should never be reused

Answer 8

put the gravel through a strainer, the snails will get caught. lol. or you can just boil the gravel, the snails will die.