Too Many Snails in my Tank!

Question

I've got a freshwater tank with guppies, neon tetras, and an algae eater. It looks like I didn't do that good of a job checking my new live plants before I added them to my tank and now I've got tons of snails and I can see just as many eggs on the plants. I was wondering what kind of loaches would work best in my tank and with my other fish? My tank is only 10 or 20 gallons (can't remember exactly) so they would have to be relatively small.

Answer 1

are you sure you want to get ride of them? some snails can actually be beneficial to your tank! i had the same sort of situation with my 75 gallon tank all of the sudden my tank was COVERED in snails. and i went WTF how did this happen?  and where the h**l did they come from!?!? well i found out that they came in on the plants that i bought and then got there freak on... alot.  they didn't seem to be doing any damage so i let it go. then my dad for some reason got obsessed with them and read up on them. as it turns out they burrowed in the gravel and moved around the dirt aerating it.

so just google image "freshwater snails" and look for ones that look the same. and see if they really need to be removed.  

Answer 2

well, clown loaches eat them like candy, but you would need a bigger tank for clown loaches... your best bet is a little bit of aquarium salt, that will get rid of them pretty quickly. There are also products for killing snails at petco and petsmart, you can try those.

Answer 3

Loaches need about 40-50 gallons of water. You could buy freshwater salt. It usually cost 2.00 dollars a pound you could use a half pound or a quarter of a pound. The salt is safe for freshwater tanks. Just dont use too much. Ask your aquarium dealer for exact salt specs.

Answer 4

this is what you should do.   take a lettuce leaf..boil it in water until it's all soft and grose feeling.   then lay it at the bottom of your tank.   turn off the lights and check it every 15 min.  there should be a bunch of snails on there that are attracted to the algea and the warmth of the lettuce leaf.   when you think there's enough of the snails on there take it out and they should still be on there and just dispose of it.   and keep repeating this process until all are gone.  

good luck and if you have any more Q's drop me an email.

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