Snails unaliving themselves filter?

[Biotope Biologist]

I’m not sure if it’s the vibration or what but my adolescent ramshorn snails keep flocking to my filter at night. They get stuck as their shell is too big to get sucked through but their bodies are too small to unstuck themselves. 
 

I have lost maybe ~30 snails to this and I’m at a loss as to how to prevent them from getting stuck. For now I have a net over it. I have tried the following:

 

-filter floss rubberbanded over the intake. They just squeezed inbetween and unalived themselves.

-blocking off the filter compartment. They just crawled down the intake hose.

 

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated! They are a favored food source for my gobies in the display tank. 

Current solution:

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/8/2023 at 3:13 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

I have lost maybe ~30 snails to this and I’m at a loss as to how to prevent them from getting stuck. For now I have a net over it. I have tried the following:

Some people take a piece of foam similar to what you'd use for a corner filter.  They orient it at the top of an overflow box to keep shrimp or fry out of the pump area.  It might work, just a piece of 2" foam and make a hole for the hose to fit through.

On 4/8/2023 at 3:13 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

I’m not sure if it’s the vibration or what but my adolescent ramshorn snails keep flocking to my filter at night.

Oxygenation and/or safety? 

[Flying fox 6523]

Go online on ebay & get what's called a intake sponge filter 
get the course 1's so they don't clog up as easy, it should 
do the trick, cause mine do it too till I put a sponge on it. 

They go to get food is why, & they know where it goes 
but they don't know that it's a death trap for them.

[Biotope Biologist]

Thank you I will try that. this net looks a little dorky! The shrimp in there do fine walking around the filter and eating off of it. But who know if I’m losing shrimplets to the intake. 
 

 

[Flumpweesel]

Pre filter sponge, I highly recommend the co op ones  you need to make sure it is a very course foam or it will clog and risk damage to the filter motor..

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I can’t really tell from the angle what type of intake you have, but is a pre filter sponge an option? Co Op sells them, and in the details of the product you can lookup your specific filter and see which sponge size is appropriate.

[nabokovfan87]

I believe it's this, with a tube going out to the output.

Not this exact thing, but that gives you an idea of the orientation / setup for a "prefilter" for an overflow weir.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 4/10/2023 at 12:41 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I believe it's this, with a tube going out to the output.

Not this exact thing, but that gives you an idea of the orientation / setup for a "prefilter" for an overflow weir.

They look like little castles! ⚔️

[Tanked]

I have a single Ramshorn that seems content to remain in the Anubia under the intake.  The young bladder snails haven't been so smart. I've always assumed they ride in on tiny pieces of plant matter.

The mesh bags used to package garlic bulbs at the grocery might also work for you.

[Biotope Biologist]

My filter is just a generic hydroponic one like this:

So a pre-filter sponge won’t work. The pump compartment is separated and walled off. But the snails and shrimp climb over the partition. A mesh bag over the entire pump could also work! 

Edited April 10 by Biotope Biologist

[jwcarlson]

I haven't found that the coarse foam intake covers keep snails from getting in.  At least bladder snails.  Even most full grown ones can navigate them as you can more-or-less see through them.  Though it might keep some out.

 

The mesh bag might be a better bet.  

[Guppysnail]

@Biotope Biologist I have pumps like that. Seachem micron mesh zip bags (the ones for purigen not the regular media bags)come large enough you can set the entire pump in the bag and zip it to the tube. Some may still get in around where the zipper stops but definitely no mass unaliving. 

Edited April 10 by Guppysnail

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/10/2023 at 8:30 AM, Biotope Biologist said:

So a pre-filter sponge won’t work. The pump compartment is separated and walled off.

What does the partition look like? The overflow style weir prefilter concept won't work?

Rectangle of sponge with a hole cut around the pump tube? You could use AC foam to do this or something finer.

The foam they use and the style of cut they use is essentially exactly what flip aquatics uses. Instead of it being vertical, foam for you would be horizontal.

[Biotope Biologist]

Just an update.

 

Thank you @Guppysnail bag works like a charm and also has made my filter quieter in the process. Don’t mind the gunk, the snails and shrimp really like it so I leave it