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If you have a fish pond, fish tank or are seeking advice about keeping tropical fish, you can find advice on our Fish forum.

Original poster

unwanted snails

11 replies

wanttosinglikemarycoughlan · 16/10/2014 13:47

I set up a tank with minnows and a sucker fish a few weeks ago
I noticed that I had a tiny snail in with them, it must have been on a plant
Now I have lots of snails and they keep leaving what looks like eggs on the glass
I have got some out in a bucket
Are they able to be put in the river and how do I get rid of the rest in my tank. One was cute but I really do not want a tank full

OP posts:
EauRouge · 16/10/2014 19:05

No, I wouldn't just put them in the river if you don't know what species they are. If they're non-native then they can cause a lot of problems.

They might be physa snails, which are considered a pest species. Snails are part and parcel of having an aquarium, so it's highly unlikely that you'll manage to get rid altogether, but if you don't overfeed then they won't breed too much. If you want to get rid of loads at once then the best thing to do is stick a lettuce leaf in overnight and then in the morning when it's covered in snails, chuck it on the compost heap.

Do you know what the sucker fish is?

FizzyMakeFeelNice · 16/10/2014 19:08

We had this problem. A few clown coaches soon sorted it out.

FizzyMakeFeelNice · 16/10/2014 19:09

Gah! *loaches.

Original poster
wanttosinglikemarycoughlan · 16/10/2014 20:15

what do I do with the 10 I have picked out? They are in a bucket of water, I am not good at killing living creatures but I was worried they were not native

OP posts:
FizzyMakeFeelNice · 16/10/2014 20:54

Erm... we just used to bin them Blush. If you're going to get loaches maybe put them back in the tank, they'll be an extra snack for them!

EauRouge · 16/10/2014 22:18

Clown loaches get really big and they need to be in a shoal (they also live for a really long time- 20 years is not unheard of)- how big is your tank? They need around 6 ft+. There are other smaller loaches or you could get assassin snails which breed much slower- they will eat your snails for you. They're also quite pretty.

Could you get someone else to kill the snails?

FizzyMakeFeelNice · 16/10/2014 22:36

Is it clown loaches I have then? The tiger stripe ones? We have 4 and they're about 2-3". We also have a very old plectosmus who is over 30 years old!

Original poster
wanttosinglikemarycoughlan · 16/10/2014 22:36

I think loaches are out
I will either let the snails live in a bucket, toughen up or let dh sort them out. He thinks I'm nuts anyway

OP posts:
Madratlady · 16/10/2014 23:03

Get some assassin snails, they will eat the smaller pest snails. Yoyo loaches are even more effective, we had 4 and they cleared our snail problem very fast and they don't grow as big as clown loaches.

EauRouge · 16/10/2014 23:37

Clown loaches have stripes, but so do some of the smaller loach species. Your old pleco sounds lovely! What species is he?

FizzyMakeFeelNice · 17/10/2014 00:32

I'm not sure TBH, we were given the tank by MIL when she moved and had no room for it and he came with it. He's dark brown with small sort of leopard print markings. He's about 30cm ish. I do have a pic but am in bed ATM.

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