Ramshorn snails ?

Question

I got some fish from pet smart and about a week later i noticed little baby snails I was excited thinking my golden apple snail had babies. WRONG my tank has been over taken with rams horn snails I have put lettuce in the tank scooped them out that way, I have even scooped them out with just a net , I have scrubbed all the plants and decorations in the tank and cant seem to get them under control. I looked for some kind of snail remover at petsmart but no luck in finding anything and the girl in the fish area looked at me like I was asking for a million dollars and had no idea what i was talking about. Now to the root of my question ... Is there something I can get to control my snail population and if so where can i get it ?

I am assuming some eggs were in the water when I bought the new fish because they only showed up a week after I got them and never had a problem with them before

Answer 1

Any chemical you get to control ramshorn snails will also kill your golden apple snails.

There is a good snail killer on the market and a good fish store will have it on the shelf. You will have to remove your golden apples while you are killing the ramshorns, though. Next time ask the store manager for the product he/she will know what you are talking about.

The main reason snails take over a tank is because you are feeding way too much food to your fish. If the fish have not eaten all you have given them in 2-3 minutes, it is too much food. The snails are multiplying because of the vast amounts of excess food.

The lettuce method is one of the best ways to control them, but you have to do it every night for at least a week to really see good results. Make sure the lettuce sinks to the bottom so they can find it easily.

I have tanks that are heavy with snail populations, but I use them to feed my loaches in other tanks. I have yoyo loaches, skunk loaches and clown loaches all in separate tanks. They all eat snails, but the yoyos are the best. They would, however, eat your apple snails too.

Buy another small tank for your apple snails and 3-4 yoyo loaches for the snail tank. They should clean it up in less than a week.

Answer 2

You can either tear the tank down and boil the gravel and decorations, or you can add a pair of Yo-yo Loaches. For the tear-down method, you need to move the fish into a large bucket with a heater and filter while you boil the decorations. If you have a 20+ gallon tank with some room, a pair of Yo-yo Loaches will wipe out the snails and keep their numbers down in about 2 weeks max. Avoid chemicals because they can have adverse effects on the fish and water chemistry. Good luck!

Nosoop4u

Answer 3

i was unnaware that ramshorns breed in captivity i thought they were a safe bet.
but most loaches will eat them as will dwarf puffers if they are still small enough. make sure to remove the apple snails before treatment.

Answer 4

how do they even get there?