Compatible fish/catfish with shrimps

[albash]

I have no snail problem at all till bought moss from someone and snail problem is one of listed problem I have now. As far I know fish does eat those pond snails? Just wonder have anyone experience putting fish and shrimp in same tank?

 

I just feel disgusted with those pond snail - don't know why. Just want to eradicate all of them. Please advise.

[fishmosy]

Any fish that will eat your snails will also decimate your shrimps.

Snail traps and manual removal (along with persistence) will help you to eliminate pond snails eventually. Unlike MTS, pond snails lay eggs, so if you can remove or kill any large adults, that will stop more young appearing. Then you can kill off the rest of them over time, including any babies which have recently hatched (which will grow large enough to see over time) I have beat a pond snail infestation before so it is possible.

Otherwise its basically a tank tear down but theres no guarantee that you will get all the eggs, so they may come back. Good luck!

[revolutionhope]

hey I dont want to hijack thread but just briefly I will :-) - sometimes I squish a stack of snails at once and my rcs feed on them. is there any dangers associated with heavy snail consumption for this (or other) type of shrimp?

[inverted]

Maybe a ammonia spike?

Edited February 18, 2015 by inverted

[albash]

Thanks for the feedback. One thing i have observed the more i squeeze the more snails there are. I have 2 sections in one tank, the one that i always squeeze and guess what it has more snails than the other section.

I actually have emptied one of my tank bcos of these snails n nitrate issue. Still this tank has snail again not sure where it came from.

I regret didnt quarantine moss that i bought last time. Before i bought, i have no pond snail at all. So guys make sure not to repeat my mistake.

[ineke]

The snails will burrow in the substrate and also live in the ribs of sponge filters. I have been fighting them for 2 years and still have them. It's a nightly ritual to squish them. The only upside is my shrimp love them. In my big tank they line up and follow my movements around the tank to catch the snails as they fall to the bottom. It's quite funny to watch them.

[NoGi]

I just learn to live with them. They make for great clean up crews too.

[Odin]

Buy some assassin snails, 2 or 3 will do and they will eat all the pest snails.. Plus they are not prolific breeders themselves.

[kizshrimp]

Unfortunately in this case, we can't buy that sort of thing in Australia. 

 

We should remember that a population of snails needs a food supply like a population of any other animal. It doesn't just grow from nothing with no resources to exploit and the resource in question is usually excess food. I say this as someone with plenty of snails in my own tanks, including pond snails. Not pointing fingers! 

[Odin]

Unfortunately in this case, we can't buy that sort of thing in Australia. 

 

We should remember that a population of snails needs a food supply like a population of any other animal. It doesn't just grow from nothing with no resources to exploit and the resource in question is usually excess food. I say this as someone with plenty of snails in my own tanks, including pond snails. Not pointing fingers! 

 

 

ahh didnt know that! sorry lol.

[ineke]

I have to say not always the case I have on several occasions setup new tanks with a few plants and left them empty of livestock so no food being given and still had a healthy population of snails that came in on plants. They don't die out just by not feeding they will live nicely off the biofilm in the tank.

[kizshrimp]

Mech, no worries. Most people overseas struggle with our biosecurity restrictions. 

 

Ineke, I agree you're certainly right - that's why I said usually. Nutrient loading can come from other sources than food but it's the most common one. If we're talking about a population explosion to plague proportions then biofilm is insufficient. Some snails eat plants though - mine like Pellia. 

Those burrowing snails are particularly tenacious in a tank. They're great long-term survivors. 

[KillieOrCory]

I don't particularly care if there are snails in my tanks or not. I find they fill an important function in a balanced aquarium. Having said that some snails I like some not so much.

 

I have eliminated pond snails from a number of my tanks buy just simply removing the ones on the glass everytime I walked past the tank. Over time successfully eliminated the pond snails. I have over 100 tanks and if I manage to do this anybody out there should be able to do it. Takes time but if anything shrimp people stare at their tanks more often than not! Don't just stare remove a few snails while you're at it!!!

 

I do add red ramshorns and Malaysian trumpets on purpose to some of my tanks.

[kizshrimp]

Yes I like to add Malaysian gravel snails to my tanks too. I had to go grab a few from a LFS recently as I started new tanks and didn't have enough spares around. 

Also really like the Austropeplea that Dave sells from Aquagreen, but they're the buggers who eat my Pellia. 

 

What I want is some nicer, bigger snails that are difficult to breed in aquaria.