aquaboyaquatics

Most crayfish will eat snails. The Asian algae eating shrimp and the Blue Neocaridina shrimp also eat snail eggs. The Penguin shrimp will eat the eggs also. Macrobrachium shrimp will chow the snails also.

If you have shrimp in the tank already then I would lean towards a crayfish. The Macrobrachium are super efficient predators and shrimp would also be on the menu. If you could post a list of inhabitants I could narrow it down a bit. Is there live plants also?

Mike

vollman1

This is interesting. Do you know the scientific name for these? I found the Blue Neocaridina but couldn't find the "Asian algae eating shrimp."

sarahbobarah

If you keep your tank water soft and slightly acidic, will that help keep snail populations down?

Raul-7

My MTS are happily overbreeding in a KH that varies from 2 all the way down to .3 at times; it didn't even affect the Cherry's either. I think GH is more essential to them than KH.


Mike, I would happily buy any shrimp that happens to eat MTS avidly - please don't tell me they are off the menu. It seems nothing eats this snail, not even Loaches and Puffers seem to enjoy eating them. But at the same time, they would have to be pleco and Cherry friendly - did I narrow it down too much?

Minsc

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

I would love to get a new tank and fill it with loaches, and consequently, have a convenient snail disposal solution. However, I would need either a bigger apartment or to throw away my wife's drafting table for that to happen...
Not very likely
And my LFS certainly doesn't need any more snails

aquaboyaquatics: I doubt a predatory invertibrate is appropriate for my tank, but I would like to hear about them regardless.

epicfish: I'm going to break down my tanks, a 10 and a 2.5 to replace them with a 15, probably next week. I'll probably end up with about 20 ramshorns and a single pond snail. If you want them, they're yours. If you throw them in a small tank and give them a tiny bit of food a couple times a week, you should have as many as you'll ever need.

erijnal

sarahbobarah, since most snails reproduce quickly, soft/acidic water wouldn't really dent the population.

excaliborg

Snails can live through anything, I took a load from my tank and put them in a tray outside with minimal water, a little bit of spare wood and a few strands of java moss. Havn't fed them for about 4 months and they're still alive! I was hoping a bird would fly down and eat them to be honest!

toddnbecka

Amano shrimp are one species of Asian algae-eating shrimp.

onemyndseye

Many kinds of sunfish that are native to the US will readily eat snails. The Redear Sunfish has specialized teeth in the back of its throat just for the purpose... Nick Named "Shell Cracker"

That was the best part about having my tank of Sunfish.....instant snail disposial (Oh...btw - MTS are MOSTLY too hard for them to eat)

Take Care,
-Justin
One Mynds Eye

Minsc

A sunfish tank would be fun!
The way I ended up dealing with my snails was to give the post office four dollars to lose them for me