# Nuisence snails



## andy (27 Mar 2013)

Im going to be stripping my tank down this weekend and wanted to dip the plants and equipment in something to kill the billions of snails i have.

I was told to use potassium permanganate which i have left from when a koi had fin rot. Any truth in this and any ideas on how much to use.

Cheers, Andy


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## AverageWhiteBloke (27 Mar 2013)

This may be of some use to you. AE one of our sponsors also have these if you don't want to take everything out. Not sure how effective they are, never tried one.


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## basil (27 Mar 2013)

A good overnight soak in some Carbonated water is very good - plants seem to quite like it too!!


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## SA_Aquatic (27 Mar 2013)

I would suggest before tearing everything apart, why don't you introduce some snail eating fishes like clown loaches, skunk botia or tiger loaches. I am sure they will get rid of the snails without having a cocktail of chemicals in the tank.

Sak
Affordable aquarium and fish tank cleaning and maintenance services in London


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## Matt Warner (27 Mar 2013)

Maybe you could add loads of assassin snails. They should take care of them!


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## SA_Aquatic (27 Mar 2013)

Matty1983 said:


> Maybe you could add loads of assassin snails. They should take care of them!


Good idea Matty


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## andy (28 Mar 2013)

Thanks guys.  tank needs a strip down, vallis has gone absolutely potty and my bristlenose plecs have bred to such a point where i must have about 40 of them so it just needs rescaping.

Any more suggestions on the potassium permanganate ?


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## greenink (28 Mar 2013)

Pop in a dwarf puffer and you get helicopter gunship snail hunting entertainment. Or just post the snails to me and I'll give them to my puffers.


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## LancsRick (28 Mar 2013)

Both striata are a good addition to control snails. They're shy, but you'll see the evidence of their work even if you don't see them!


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## Shrimp Toast (5 Apr 2013)

I have assassins and they have done a brill job, must have eaten hundreds of pest snails for me!


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## Andy Thurston (18 Apr 2013)

Dont put clowns in with shrimp they will probably eat them, and large clowns will wreck most of your plants
I heard copper sulphate for snails but thatll kill shrimp 
If your tearing tank down anyway you could use snail killer or copper sulphate before you put stock back in my lfs sell this and say its very good 
Assasin snails are good my mate used them in his tank but you need to feed them when snails run out or they will die


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## Andy Thurston (18 Apr 2013)

Also clown loach wont stop snails populating filter i keep these numbers down with hot water when i clean filters and they still come back in mass i suppose you could put assasins in filter to sort that


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## sciencefiction (19 Apr 2013)

Don't put copper if you ever like to keep shrimp in there or any inverts.
Snail explosion means you are feeding too much and there's too much waste in the tank. My fry tanks turn into a snail factory for a while but as soon as one stops putting all that food they slowly but gradually disappear to almost nothing. When I see any of my tanks with too many snails, I know something isn't right there.


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## Andy Thurston (19 Apr 2013)

Iv been told to soak plants for longer when snails/inverts are going present because most are treated with chemichals such as copper and potassium so surley doing the same with other plants equipment will be the same? And i agree there may be small traces of copper left but adding new plants could carry same risks?
And ive just read an old post on applesnail.net called "what exactly does copper do to snails/inverts " its not a full scientific explanation but it explains a bit
My small tanks silicone is blue from having copper in it and my armanos are ok


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## sciencefiction (19 Apr 2013)

If adding copper directly to the tank, it can get into the silicone, therefore never to get rid of anymore and killing inverts added to that same tank. Even fish won't appreciate it in the long run. It depends what type of copper as for example fertilizers with copper have little to no effect in the form and amount they are added to a tank.


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## Andy Thurston (19 Apr 2013)

More reading most plants dosed with snail killer copper at aquatic plant wholesalers  not rinsed properly killed inverts copper poisoning
I never said put copper in tank with inverts in but before they go back in and i assumed the equipment and plants would be properly rinsed and probably several large water changes too . Perhaps i should have put that into earlier post. but do the levels of copper leaching from  plants/silicon/other equipment treated with snail killer carry similar risks? 
 I cant find a definate answer, so it think it boils down to personel preference and if my armanos dye mysteriously overnight with no other reason i too may adopt a clinical approach to keeping copper out of aquarium and start using ro water in tanks with inverts


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## IanD (19 Apr 2013)

I used assasin snails once to take out a snail population, it's certainly effective. I added one assasin snail to a 60l tank and ended up with over 30 assasin snails.

Really your replacing a harmless snail species with a predatory species of whelk which for me isn't an improvement.


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## Andy Thurston (19 Apr 2013)

As an earlier post says snail population size is down to how much food is available mainly caused by over feeding. best bet with snails is dont let em get in in the first place buy plants from good sources without snails or use some of the dipping options available and good soak. afterall its what wholesalers do.
Snail traps are ok but dont get all the snails and you could use a jar with lettuce and remove snails daily is cheapest safest option


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## sciencefiction (19 Apr 2013)

Explosion of snail population is just a sign of an issue in the tank, mainly due to too much decaying stuff, whether food,or other debris. With snails or without snails, the condition will be there and should be addressed before it gets too late but at least when one has snails, it's impossible not to notice 
On another hand, snails will process that excessive debris to smaller particles for the beneficial bacteria to handle before it rots and attracts pathogenic bacteria harmful to fish. And if you see there are too many snails, you know what to do, less food, more cleaning,removing old decaying plant leaves, etc... and plenty of water changes. In a few weeks, there'll be barely any snails for one to bother with them.


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