Snails in the discus tank...

[TeeFM]

Just found some small snails of about 1-2mm, spiral shape, and silver in colour attached to a piece of driftwood (with plant attached to it) that I bought from a local aquarium shop. Are they pests or normal habitates of the tank? Are they harmful to the discus? Should I get rid of them?

[mcloughlin2]

Ur in for one hell of a fight....They breed like wildfire :evil:

Two snails turn into a hundred in week :evil:

[Merrilyn]

Hi TeeFM. I don't like to see snails in a discus tank at all. Some of them can't take the temperature in the tank, and others are so prolific you never seem to get rid of them.

They do a really bad job of algae control, play havoc with your plants, and have absolutely no place in a breeding tank.

JMHO

[TeeFM]

how do i get rid of them? Is it too late now to take the driftwood out of the tank?

[DR.V]

how do i get rid of them? Is it too late now to take the driftwood out of the tank?

i've seen snail trap in LFS , so they can get in but cant get out.

Its like a little box. Doesnt cost that much either...

[duck]

I have read but not done it myself as snails don't bother me.
Put a slice of cucumber in the tank leave for a couple of hour's and it should be full of snail's.
Goodluck

[TeeFM]

are they harmful to the discus? can i use medication to get rid of them?

[DR.V]

cucumber wont be harm discus ... in fact bristlenose catfish love to eat them.

theres a medication by aqua master that can get rid of snails but im not sure if that will effect other fish.

[Merrilyn]

They won't cause any harm to your discus, but they do love fish eggs, which is why I don't have them in the breeding tanks.

Just pick them off when you see them, but I wouldn't be using any snail rid preparation. You'll soon get rid of them if you remove them each time you see a snail.

The cucumber is a very good idea too.

[otto]

clown loaches have always been my snail defense. they love them. no need for chemicals.

[TeeFM]

clown loaches have always been my snail defense. they love them. no need for chemicals.

What is clown loaches?

[DR.V]

clown loaches is a fish

[lesley]

If you have a BB tank and driftwood, you should be able to pick them out, when you clean the glass and you can lift out the driftwood and wash it under a tap.

Getting snails out of a BB is just an amount of perserverence, a planted tank, now that is a whole new ball game!

I have a hatred of pesticide (even antibiotic) type things that kill something. In my opinion, eventually this all builds up from killing small things to cumulately killing big things (which translates to my kids and friends)!

[kalebjarrod]

just wipe your BB clean of them with a chuck's and them throw it out

[TeeFM]

Luckily, I have a BB tank. I have removed the driftwood and see no remaining snails. Hopefully, they've gone. I will return this drift wood to the aquarium.

[nicholas76]

Ive been through this whole situation before and these snails are a total pain in the back side. When they spawn it is a nightmare.


Go to your local fish store and buy "snail rid" by aquamaster. The active constitute is copper. The will die in seconds. Follow the dosage instructions and remember remove your carbon filter.

in my case they all died almost instantly with a couple surviving. They spawned again within a week so i dosed again and that totally fixed my problem.

no need to buy extra fishes like loaches ( your stuck with them!! what happens when your discus spawn, eggs are food! )

no need to empty out the tank. just follow the instructions and do your water changes.

no signs of ill effect on my discus too!


nick

[TeeFM]

At moment I see no snails in my tank after removing the driftwood. Will there be some snail eggs attached to the tank? How long should I wait to see if snails are completely gone?

[nicholas76]

It seems you may have removed the main source.

dont stress for now, however in the coming days if you start seeing the little buggers all over again then you need to.

1. wash out the tank or

2. nuke it with what I mentioned

cheers

[nicholas76]

forgot to mention - if you do get them popping up again

wash out the cannister filter, as best as you can using clean tank water.

you might have eggs and snails in there too.

[TeeFM]

how do i wash the tank? Do i empty it and start the cycle again? How can I be sure that no eggs or snails are in the cannister filter? How long will it take before I know that they are completely gone?

[nicholas76]

Tee,

just evaluate the situation for now. in 7 days let us know if your tank has snails in it still.

trust me you will know if you have snails !!!


by washing the sponge gently using current tank water you shouldnt damage the bio load within it, just dont go blasting it with cold tap water or anything.

HOwever for now sit back enjoy and keep us all posted

[nicholas76]

just further to what was discussed

the product i used is this..

[TeeFM]

After I got rid of the OLD driftwood, the snails seem to have gone for about 10days. I couldnt resist to buy driftwood from another LFS which promised no snails would be found. Two days later, I saw 2 small snails and got rid of them quickly. I have not seen one for a couple of days now. I am not really sure if these two snails are from the NEW driftwood or the left over from the OLD driftwood. I kind of give up already. I dont really wanna use any chemicals.......I am still cycling my tank using 18 tetra fish and cant wait to buy some discus to put in. I wll wait and see what happen eventually.

[nicholas76]

nice one,

2 weeks and if you dont spot another you should be ok

[rytis]

Hi TeeFM. I don't like to see snails in a discus tank at all. Some of them can't take the temperature in the tank, and others are so prolific you never seem to get rid of them.
hahahaha what i CANT get rid of is a blue fox LOACH in my tank. so dam fast, i can never catch it, gave up on it actually. been eating all bloodworms - i would drop a cube and if i dont hold it in my hand, that rat grabs the whole thing and drags it down the bottom. get a loach and u wont see one snail.