HELP!!! Snails growing out of control!

[bobafet1]

Hello, I have a snail problem. They are small snails and have started to overpopulate my tank. They look similar to the ones that multiply like crazy in fresh water tanks. Is there an animal that will dine on these??? I didnt really care about them until the other day when I picked up my mag float and scratched the heck out of my acrylic because a snail was hitching a ride.

 

[bobafet1]

bump

 

[Doc Hammer]

Did some one say snails?
<a href=target="_blank"><img src="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m196/Macacka/15.jpg" border="0" alt=></a>

If you're willing to take the risk, you could always introduce a small mantis shrimp into the tank, such as a N. Wennera. These guys are low maintenance and should go after the snails, however they're just as likely to pursue shrimp and hermits as well.

 

[bobafet1]

Yikes, mantis would be the last thing I put in my tank and only to feed an octopus..thanks though.

 

[graveyardworm]

I think you're pretty lucky to be blessed with snails reproducing in your tank. Sorry to hear about scratching your acrylic, but I wouldnt blame the poor little snail, he was just doing his job.

 

[Opcn]

How about a harlequin tusk?

 

[shilo_1]

What about trying hermits ? Lots of people complain about hermits killing their snails.....maybe if you put some in the tank, they would go after the snails ? Just an idea....

 

[Opcn]

hermits tend to kill snails for the shells, small snails don't fit that bill.

 

[blmeier7]

I'm tagging along. I have the same problem with tiny snails getting out of control. They get stuck in my pumps and I am constantly cleaning them out.

If there is a "reef safe" natural predator I would like to know what has worked for others.

 

[onecrzyboi4u]

I have the same issue.. but i like them.. i like watching them grow.. but they havent caused my any issues so far.. keeps the tank clean better.. lol..

 

[coralnut99]

You should try to identify the snails first. Can you take a decent pic? I think copperbands will do the trick too. Though I have to say I'm not a fan of buying something to keep something else under control or erradicated.

 

[coralnut99]

If they have a very narrowly pointed shell, they are most likely ceriths. Nassarius are a bit shorter and stockier. You find these for sale for a pretty good price, so if that's the case you might want to share the wealth and offer them for sale to local reef club members, or get store credit from a LFS.

 

[graveyardworm]

It would be nice to know what species of snails we are dealing with here. There are organizations which may be very interested to know.

Can you guys put up some pics?

 

[J. Montgomery]

Until you hear a better solution, I'd say grab a pair of tweezers and start manually removing all the ones you see (though I can see why that wouldn't sound appealing with a 400 gallon display tank!).

 

[Ryanhdd]

my Sally light foot eats up all my snails. I want the sally light foot gone. But cannot get him out. I probably could have smashed him on several occasions but could not get myself to do it.

 

[blmeier7]

The snails that are reproducing in my tank are the ceriths. They have the longer pointed shell. I bought a dozen or so of them online about a year and a half ago and they have just multiplied. I wouldn't mind them if they were larger. I just pulled three of them out of my return pump guard that were about 1/4" each.

I also have the nassarius and turbos but have never had problems with them reproducing.

 

[ChrisB]

How bout a puffer?

I have seen some that eat snails(especially the small ones) like M&Ms.

 

[bobafet1]

sorry but I haven't been subsribed to this for a while.. Im still having the same problem with these darn snails...so far Ive been siphoning them out but they are everywhere..they are not the type of snails that anyone would buy..they look more like the little yellow/brown snails found in freshwater tanks...they are the size of a nerd (the little candy from back in the day). I'll see if I can post a pic tonight..when lights go out I notice they climb the walls of the tank and they are all over the place..at first I didn't mind cause I figured they would clean the little spots but they are now growing out of control...

 

[Zooid]

A picture would be very helpful......you might also want to stop by www.projectdibs.com to see if any of the invertabrates there match your animal.

 

[Trip 22]

I have the same problem too....100's of them in my 14 gallon. They seem mostly white and some are brown and some are white with brown swirls. The nerds description is the perfect way to describe the size. I'm gonna piggy back on this thread.