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New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/17/2008 3:56:24 PM
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| my hubby and i are new at this. have two tanks 29 and 10 gal. the larger one has had every single newbie mistake made - mostly because of advice from large chain pet store employees who didn't know what they were talking about. so, we found an independent, knowledgable and friendly aquarium center and have gotten great advice and are having lots of fun (finally...). i just got a ???golden mystery snail??? because a friend has one and LOVES watching it! but i also have a few snails i acquired from live plants...my questions is...i assume from what i've read i will eventually have TOO many snails...once i collect uwanted ones how do i humanely "get rid of" the ones i don't want - and - do i need to be humane when dealing with snails??? so, what's the deal with snails??? thanks for any advice!
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Average Member
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Last Login: Yesterday @ 7:11:57 PM
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Well, the easiest way to get rid of them is just to pick them out of the tank, crush them, and put them in the trash. Other than that, I don't know.
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10g Heavily Planted - Betta, Cory's, Oto's
20L - Kuhli Loaches, Banjo Cat, Singapore Flower Shrimp, Thick-Lipped Gourami
125g Planted - South American Biotope
20H - Breeding Angelfish
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Senior Member
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Last Login: Today @ 1:13:39 PM
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This may make me a bad person, but I don't usually worry about a humane death for the snails I pick out of my tank. I usually just pick them out, crush them, and toss them.
Your golden mystery snail won't reproduce out of control though, only those ones that came in on your plants will reproduce that fast. The mystery snail might not even lay eggs if it isn't a female or wasn't full of eggs when you got it.
20 gallon long
Lionhead - Kiko
Calico Lionhead - Little Bean
29 gallon
Fantail - Oliver
Black Moor - Damian
Calico Ryukin - Serafina
2.5 gallon
male betta - Pirate
10 gallon planted
minnow, betta, guppy
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Senior Member
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Last Login: Today @ 9:47:18 AM
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| I also don't concern myself with being humane regarding snail infestations. MOA
"Tears aren't a sign of weakness, they're a sign of poor plumbing." --Dead Men's Lies
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Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/13/2008 1:48:48 PM
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i just crush them when theyre on the walls of the tank, ive heard that fish will eat them but i havent seen mine do this yet. but be sure you dont crush too many in the tank or it will pollute your water.
10 gal: 4 black kuhli loaches, 1 female sailfin molly
29 gal: 1 Dalmation molly (male), 1 bumblebee catfish, 1 yoyo loach.
5 gal planted: 2 pygmy cories, 2 amano shrimp, 2 nerite snails, 1 mosquitofish, 3 fancy guppies.
2.5 gal: male betta Nathaniel (avatar) .
20 gal: 9 unknown fish from canal, 3 blue-fin killifish, 1 holbrook's mosquitofish,
Pond: 3 comet goldfish, Panda, Ricco, Elizabeth.
Container Pond (20g): 1 oranda, Reginald "I dont have too many fish tanks, you dont have enough!"
"Hello poor goldfish, doomed to a life in a bowl... er, lack of life"
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Senior Member
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| Snails can be interesting and fun to keep in their own right, but they multiply rapidly at a very young age. The ones that came in on your plants (kudos for getting live plants, by the way!) are likely already producing eggs that will hatch and infest your aquarium. Snails lay their eggs on plants or other surfaces. They look like almost-invisible globs of goo with small whiteish specks inside. These are hard to spot, but each can contain scores of eggs. If you see them, either snip off the portion the eggs are attached to, or reach in and pull them off the plant with your fingers. The mass of eggs will come off in a bunch if you slide them off slowly. Either wipe them off on a piece of cloth or toss them in the trash. Make sure no eggs remain on your skin, though, or they'll just go back in the tank next time you put your hands inside. There are snail killing products on the market, but these are dangerous and I wouldn't use them - the home aquarium almost never gets enough snails to warrant chemical use, since you can pick them out by hand just as easily. These poisons are copper-based and dangerous to everything in your tank; they may damage plants and are deadly to all invertebrates, not just snails. In addition, many catfish can't handle the copper dosages and fall ill. And while we're on it, snail killers kill slowly in my experience. Simply smashing the snail is instantaneous, and thus a lot more humane. I know it sounds gross, but it's the fastest way to remove them safely and is quick and painless. If you don't want to crush them inside the tank, just pull them from the rocks/plants/glass, put them in a cup, and take them outside. Put them on a hard surface like a brick patio or stepping stone and stomp on them hard with your shoe. Now, if you want to keep some of the small snails (they can be good fish food), you can get a small tank and just keep the snails in there. It doesn't have to be anything fancy since snails aren't picky. You can add the snails and let them reproduce at their leisure, feeding them fish food, vegetable pieces, and occasionally cuttlebone for their shells. Then, when you have some to spare (won't take long), you can take them from the tank, chop or crush them up, and feed them to your fish. They'll enjoy the protein and the plants will like the slow addition of calcium to their water from the shells. Good luck! If you have any more questions, just let us know. :)
In the Mountains Of the Mountains For the Mountains
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