LuminousAphid
New Member
Removing "pond snails"
Hello everyone, I was just looking at my 20 gallon tank and realized, "I need to get rid of these *bleep* pond snails." I have had them in the tank almost since I set it up, and didn't really care about them; at the time they seemed harmless, and while they are sort of ugly, I didn't feel like trying to get them out. I guess I was just lazy.
Now I realize that as their numbers grow, they are really doing work on some of my plants, most noticably my val and other broad-leafed plants like crypts and even anubias. I have noticed more and more holes in leaves and some almost being cut completely off, and I think this is probably due to these snails making a buffet out of them, I now realize. Otherwise all my plants look colorful and healthy, and I try to doze flourish once in a while to supply micronutrients, so I don't think it's a deficiency causing the holes.
I am going to use this thread to document the most efficient ways I find to remove pest snails from this tank. It's pretty heavily planted, so there are lots of places for snails to hide, so this will be an ongoing project.
So far I have 2 assassin snails in the tank, and I have noticed them taking out quite a few ramshorn snails, but I don't know how well they are affecting the pond snails. This may actually work out in the pond snails' favor, because if the slower ramshorns all die out, there will be more food for the pond snails! This might be because they are much faster-moving than the ramshorns, or just not as tasty?
The best method I have come up with so far has been fresh butternut squash, blanched for 1 minute and then soaked in garlic juice. The snails swarm it, and even plecos will come and have a bite. I might try making my own snail trap with this stuff inside. The only downside is that when I froze the extra squash and then tried it again, all that happened was my tank got very cloudy- freezing it seems to kill some of the aroma, or maybe make it less tasty.
Hello everyone, I was just looking at my 20 gallon tank and realized, "I need to get rid of these *bleep* pond snails." I have had them in the tank almost since I set it up, and didn't really care about them; at the time they seemed harmless, and while they are sort of ugly, I didn't feel like trying to get them out. I guess I was just lazy.
Now I realize that as their numbers grow, they are really doing work on some of my plants, most noticably my val and other broad-leafed plants like crypts and even anubias. I have noticed more and more holes in leaves and some almost being cut completely off, and I think this is probably due to these snails making a buffet out of them, I now realize. Otherwise all my plants look colorful and healthy, and I try to doze flourish once in a while to supply micronutrients, so I don't think it's a deficiency causing the holes.
I am going to use this thread to document the most efficient ways I find to remove pest snails from this tank. It's pretty heavily planted, so there are lots of places for snails to hide, so this will be an ongoing project.
So far I have 2 assassin snails in the tank, and I have noticed them taking out quite a few ramshorn snails, but I don't know how well they are affecting the pond snails. This may actually work out in the pond snails' favor, because if the slower ramshorns all die out, there will be more food for the pond snails! This might be because they are much faster-moving than the ramshorns, or just not as tasty?
The best method I have come up with so far has been fresh butternut squash, blanched for 1 minute and then soaked in garlic juice. The snails swarm it, and even plecos will come and have a bite. I might try making my own snail trap with this stuff inside. The only downside is that when I froze the extra squash and then tried it again, all that happened was my tank got very cloudy- freezing it seems to kill some of the aroma, or maybe make it less tasty.
