What steps would you take?

[Cinnebuns]

How would you solve this?

Goals:  
1.  Change a 15 long to a 20 high
2.  Kill ramshorn snails

Inhabitants that need to survive:
1.  About 10-15 panda cory juveniles 
2.  Small amount of shrimp culls 

Items in tank with possible eggs:
1.  2 hang on back filters
2.  Plants 
3.  Heater
4.  Substrate 

Have available:  
1.  5 other tanks currently running with various stocking. I prefer not to move the cories to any running tank. 
2.  10, 5 and 2.5 gallon tanks empty
3.  Some sponge filters not cycled
4.  Various other aquarium supplies. 

Possible idea:
1.  Reverse respiration the plants, heater and filters. Put filter media in a bucket with ammonia. Let the substrate sit dry for several weeks and leave the 20 high barebottom for a bit. One plant is going to need substrate so I could put it in another tank temporarily. 

What would you do?

Edited April 8 by Cinnebuns

[Cinnebuns]

@Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

Your RR plan is great with the exception of the media.  I do not keep ramshorns but I did keep bladder snails.  There were always baby snails and eggs in my media.
 

If you can borrow media from another running tank that would be great.  RR on everything you will have no BB to transfer. 
 

I have in the past just dumped boiling water on substrate in a bucket and let it sit until it’s cool and rinse. That eliminates the need for wait time.  
 

 

[AtomicSunfish]

I like snails as cleanup crew, but if you want to get rid of them, you have a few options:

1) Manual removal. An efficient way to do this is set out bait for them (like lettuce), and once most of them are on it, just take out the bait.

2) Introduce loaches, most of which eat snails (in a larger tank, you could use snail-crushing cichlids).

3) Introduce other catfish, like small armored catfish, which eat the clutches of eggs.

[Cinnebuns]

On 4/8/2024 at 5:10 AM, Guppysnail said:

Your RR plan is great with the exception of the media.  I do not keep ramshorns but I did keep bladder snails.  There were always baby snails and eggs in my media.
 

If you can borrow media from another running tank that would be great.  RR on everything you will have no BB to transfer. 
 

I have in the past just dumped boiling water on substrate in a bucket and let it sit until it’s cool and rinse. That eliminates the need for wait time.  
 

 

Now I'm considering getting new substrate and just throwing this out. It'll be full of dead ramshorn snails anyway which is kinda gross. I'm also considering just getting a new filter and media and cycling the tank by adding the cories back slowly. I sold about 75% of them the past 2 weeks so I figure now is a good time for something like this rather than later when more have hatched. I think new media and filter could handle some juveniles added slowly. 

On 4/8/2024 at 6:01 AM, AtomicSunfish said:

I like snails as cleanup crew, but if you want to get rid of them, you have a few options:

1) Manual removal. An efficient way to do this is set out bait for them (like lettuce), and once most of them are on it, just take out the bait.

2) Introduce loaches, most of which eat snails (in a larger tank, you could use snail-crushing cichlids).

3) Introduce other catfish, like small armored catfish, which eat the clutches of eggs.

I have intentionally kept ramshorn snails for several years. I used to selective breed them and was exploring their genetics and have a thread about it. I fully enjoy ramshorn snails in the proper tank. It's a cory growout tank so I can't have pest snails in it because I cannot feed growing fish and manage a population both.

I've explored many options for snail removal. I've had a lot of success with many methods in the past but this time nothing is working. I have tried manual removal and adding no planaria, both of which has worked for me in the past, but neither of which has been effective. That's why I'm choosing this method. I wanted to swap the tank for a 20 anyway. I don't really want to Introduce another fish to the tank as it's not intended as anything more than a growout tank. 

Edited April 8 by Cinnebuns

[Tony s]

Honestly, if I,m getting rid of pests, I’m not fighting with them. I’m getting like everything new. Cause if just one gets in, there you go all over again. I might keep the hardware, but possibly not in something I need clean. I may reuse stuff in the same tank for something else. But snail eaters would be part of that tank. Could you reuse everything, probably, do you want to take the risk? But, I’m good at overkill anyway 🤣

[jwcarlson]

I find that my tanks with bare bottoms have less snail issues than other tanks.  It could be a function that I'm changing more water and therefore removing extra food more often.  But I think another factor is that the food gets eaten more completely because it can't fall down in between gravel and sit there for a snail.  That said... it seems inevitable that snails will get introduced unless you're following what I consider impractical methods.  

I'd go with a whole new tank/setup and just cycle it fresh unless you have a snail-free tank you can pull a sponge out of...

[jwcarlson]

Wanted to add that I grow out corys on bare bottoms and don't see any issues at all with them.

[spokanejared]

I had a snail issue once and I just threw in 3 assassin snails and that problem was gone in about 30 days. They really did a great job. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 4/10/2024 at 1:22 PM, spokanejared said:

I had a snail issue once and I just threw in 3 assassin snails and that problem was gone in about 30 days. They really did a great job. 

I put 4 assassins in a year ago. The ramshorns are still here and the assassins are dead. Not entirely sure why. 

[johnnyxxl]

On 4/8/2024 at 9:30 AM, jwcarlson said:

Wanted to add that I grow out corys on bare bottoms and don't see any issues at all with them.

I saw a video where someone said the fins get damaged for breeding on bare bottom tanks

[jwcarlson]

On 4/11/2024 at 8:17 PM, johnnyxxl said:

I saw a video where someone said the fins get damaged for breeding on bare bottom tanks

I breed them in bare bottoms too.  The key is cleanliness.  Gotta wipe the bottoms sometimes.  I think I know the video you're talking about.