# Pest snail in planted tank



## RedVulcan (Dec 7, 2010)

So.. I have a pest snail outbreak. there must be at least a hundred of these little snails crawling around.

The snails are tiny (less than 1 mm), transparent and flat.
I read through old posts and google on dealing with pest snail and I think hiring some assassin snails is my best option.

my questions/problem:
anybody know if assassin snail would ruin hc carpet? (i'm guessing they burrow into substrates like trumpet snails would)

or is there better alternatives I can try?

I am prepared for worse case scenario (throw out the substrate and start over)

Some info on my tank:
Tank: 20 Gal
Filter: Eheime ecco 2232
substrate: Fluval Plant Stratum

Heres a shot of the hc, substrate, and snail (in the centre of photo). Pleco jumped in right before shutter 









Thanks in advance for your input


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## Sliver (Apr 19, 2011)

i like skunk botias for getting rid of snails. they're cheap and they stay small but have huge attitude.


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## AquaSox (Jun 9, 2010)

Its hard to tell without a shot of the shell what kind of snail it is as I can only see the foot. I wouldn't worry though....from my experience most snails seldom ever do significant damage to plants. If you want to kill them naturally you could stop adding calcium to the water...but this may result in your plants suffering a bit.

Haven't kept assassin snails so not sure if they would damage your carpet.


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## JohnnyAppleSnail (May 30, 2010)

I can tell you for sure that Assassin Snails burrow.


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## Jojodog (Oct 16, 2011)

I bought a few pea puffers a couple of days ago. Now I see many ram horn and small mts shells littering over the substrate. Is very neat watching the puffers hunt and bury their beaks into the snail shells.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Thats the shell...I have them as well. I think they are ramshorn, at least that would be my guess. Assassin snails definitely keep their numbers in check, but because of their size (i guess?) they certainly didn't eradicate them like they did my trumpets.


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## arakhavan (Nov 15, 2010)

I have two dwarf chain loaches from aquariums west. I got them for the same reason. And have not seen a snail since! I have a glosso carpet and they are pretty good with it. They are also two of my favorite fish. 

Armand


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Most loaches eat snails so they are always a good option. I like the skunk botias and chain loaches too. Pea puffers work great. If you dont want to purchase fish you can make a trap. Stuff some zuchinni into the bottom of an empty salt shaker or small glass. Place it in the gravel at night. You will wake up in the morning to find lots of snails in your trap. It may take some time to catch them all but its a good way to get rid of them without addinng any fish. I suggested this method to my mom last week and she said it works great! They also make a product you can add to your water. I beleive its called snail be gone. Ive never tried it.


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## RedVulcan (Dec 7, 2010)

Thanks for all your input guys.
for now, i will try to live with these guys. I will reserve the kill option for sometime later


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## andrewjc21 (Feb 15, 2012)

Not to much experience with snails, I've got them now and had these little snails before and it's seemed to me that they come in "blooms" when I get them. Just the other day I noticed them in my tank, I don't have much in there but I know I have 8 mature assassins in there as I also have /had roughly 50 + assassin eggs. I see shells of the mts I had recently fed my assassins and the occasional ramshorns that I feed from time to time for treats. But I never see them eating the small ones we are talking about here. 
So far I've stopped feeding mts and ramshorns for now to see if they get demolished  lol. Good luck with yours


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Skunk loaches are not that suitable for a community aquarium, they need to be kept with fast swimmers who are moderately aggressive and they must be in groups 5 or more. Now for Chain loaches, you should never consider keeping them in groups of less than 5. Most loach species require groups of 5 or 6, the exceptions are normally the larger of the species.


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## miyabi-aqua (May 20, 2011)

clown loach or dwarf chain loach are the best to eradicate snails...


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