Snails In An Erithistidae Only tank

[Shovelnose]

Hi,

I am currently keepin Hara Hara's, Hara Jerdoni's and a Pseudolaguvia (undescribed) species in a 3 foot tank. Temperatures around 21C. Decor is drift wood and pebbles. They are fed primarily live foods and water changes are 80% every week.Filtration is taken care of by 2 internal filters.

I have noticed that the number of snails in the tank has more than doubled in the past 2 weeks.

http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 001tk3.jpg

http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 003rr8.jpg


Thats as good as my camera work gets. Pathetic but true.


I have seen a few 'Get Rid Of Snails' kinda medicines in the LFS here but I am a bit apprehensive about trying them out cos these are not the hardiest of fish and I have no idea how they will react to the addition of the medicine.

I did contemplate adding a few loaches to the tank but I wanna maintain this as an Erithistidae only set up as more Erithistid species are expected to arrive by month end.

Im guessing a substrate change is the only way out.

Are there any alternatives to getting rid of the snails without changing this set up???? Very obnoxious query I know but I hate disturbing these guys.

[DutchFry]

The best solution is to add more snails! this might sound confusing, i understand

To be precise, add some Anentome helena, maybe 5 or 6 or so. these snails eat other snails, even the malaysian trumpet snail with his hard shell is no match for the A. helena! and they breed relatively easy, the other day i found a young A. helena in one of my tanks!

[Shovelnose]

Ah. Right. So these are the famous assasin snails I have been hearing a lot about of late. I thought these guys are not very commonly available in the hobby. Anyone know about their water parameters??? I did find that their Range/ Habitat is SE Asia but not too much said here about requirements as such .


I have been suggested another very interesting way to get rid of the snails on another forum by Beta (another member from India). Thought Il share it here too in case someone else is facing the same problems.


'Try sinking a lettuce/cabbage leaf in the tank.. turn the lights off for a few hours. The snails would have converged on the leaf and you can remove them out of the tank. Ofcourse you can't eradicate but keep the population in check.'

[Richard B]

Assassin snails are widely available over here although not cheap (IMO). Apparently they can be added to a wide-range of water conditions & they live in my tanganyikan se-up ok. I am a little disappointed by their performamce with the MTS but perhaps i need more than 4???

[sidguppy]

you have a snailproblem in a TANGANYIKAN biotope, Rich?



now if you'll excuse me while I roll around on the floor holding on to my butt



I can understand South American or West African or even Central American tanks having trouble with snails; because the snail eaters available (puffers) are scum and nip other fishes.

but Tanganyika has a perfect solution and it's pretty, it's small (5") and it's quite docile and catfish-friendly when kept alone......

enter The Terminator; exit snails!


Shovelnose, I think mechanical eradication is your best bet.
your hillstream cats are among the more fragile and messing around with chemicals will screw them pretty bad.
also: the dying snails will poison the water!

add a single weighed-down slice of cucumber on a small saucer. it'll become a wad of snails. them pull out the saucer, toss the snails in the bin and put the saucer with cucumber back in.
a small glass preti-dish will be perfect.

if you try it without a saucer or dish the MTS will let themselves drop right away and it's frustrating to find a ball of snails falling apart again when you pick up the cucumber.

your cats are mostly carnivorous and will not be attracted by the cucumber, most likely they will hide under the dish.

[Richard B]

I do! Although i personally don't mind, my girlfriend hates them. As i'm not a cichlid fan really, my stocking level is taken close to the max by the cats & the decor is such that the entire tank is choc-a-bloc with rock work. The S.Polli don't seem to impact on them to a discernable level although i am beginning to believe they might have munched the assassin snails instead of the MTS! Doh! I am due to change the layout soon-ish & thin the stock a bit so might make room for a single "Tret" - it IS a good looker after all - i'll keep you posted.

Manual removal does work very well with the blanched runner bean left overnight (plus the synos nibble at it too getting a touch of veggie food)

[Shovelnose]

Thanks for the inputs guys.

I have actually never seen Assasin Snails for sale down here (maybe cos I wasn looking for em.)

These are not MTS I thought. Look like a Planorbis species??????? Anyways I would prefer getting rid of the snails without adding anything to the tank. So im gonna stick to the veggie bait and see how it works for now.

Also I was thinking I will do this exercise just before a water change cos I expect the water quality to go down if cucumbers are left in there for a few hours. The Pseudolaguvia's especially are quite finicky. Skin starts shedding if water change is postponed by a few days.