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Snails in breeding tank

1.3K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  bae  
#1 ·
I am trying to breed killifish (aphyosemion australe), 1 male and 2 female, on my 10G tank. Lately, I noticed that there are snails, kinda the transparent ones, that have been crawling on the walls. AND they're numbers are growing.

I was wondering if these snails will eat the eggs for the killifish. If they are, what's he best route to get rid of these snails?

I'm tempted to remove the gravel and clean the tank again. I'm using acrylic strings and java moss so that the killifish will attached their eggs.

Also I'm feeding them bloodworms almost everyday.
 
#2 ·
yea i imagine they would go towards the eggs depending on how protective the killi's are, i have no problems with cichlids as they will just pick up the snails and spit them somewhere far, but i don't know about killis. Snails will definitely eat the eggs, even if you clean it good, there might be a pocket of eggs somewhere. I would get a kuhli loach but then what would you do with it after, i guess sell it back to the store or here but other than a good loach, i don't see how you could remove the snails plus the eggs without actually moving the habitants and doing a very very thorough cleaning without damaging the established bacteria in the tank, in the gravel and what not, because if you do, then you have a bunch of hobo fish left over
 
#3 ·
Snails are bad news in spawning tanks, especially with killifish eggs that take about two weeks to hatch, giving the snails plenty of time to go at them. Killifish don't tend their eggs like cichlids do.

Although there are a variety of drugs that will kill snails, the only really nontoxic method is to take down the tank, and boil the mops. You only need enough substrate to keep the glass from showing through, so you can use some new sand or gravel, or wash and boil the gravel you've got. If there's a lot of snails in it, try to wash them out or use new substrate because you don't need a bunch of rotting snails in there.

Wash the tank well and check the glass for any blobs of snail eggs. Sometimes you can feel them even if you can't see them.

Save some live snails for any fry-raising tanks, where they are a big win. It's really hard to keep fast-growing fry well fed without overfeeding, and the snails will clean up any extra food before it spoils.

Alternatively, you can check the mops once or twice a day and remove the eggs to a snail-free container.