I am on a mission to rid my aquarium of snails! I seem to have found the secret to capturing them without too much effort. I anchored a lettuce leaf to the bottom of the aquarium, shut off the light, and after two days at least 50 snails have found the lettuce leaf and in the morning I just simply lift the snail-laden lettuce leaf out of the water and throw it away.
I am on a mission…gotta get rid of these snails. I thought they were pretty cool at first…until they started multiplying worse than rabbits! Oh my gosh! Now my goal is to get rid of all snails!
I read that you can get a Puffer fish and that they actually eat the snail however, once the snails run out they can get aggressive to your other fish, so I’m not sure that’s the best route to go. 🙂 For now I’m gonna stick with the lettuce traps ;).
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Upon My Word... 
Snails are worse than rabbits!! I remember as a kid taking a couple from a teacher and taking them home. I didn’t have an aquarium, just a fish bowl. We filled it with water and before long I had hundreds of snails. My mama finally made me flush the whole thing down the toilet, I bet it was awesome for our septic tank!! I can imagine these giant snails living in the septic city!
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Haha….yeah, I’m not sure they could actually live in the septic tank though…haha…but you never know. Giant Septic Tank Snails….there’s a blog you need to write 🙂
I am finally starting to get control! I’ve thrown away two lettuce leafs with 50+ snails on each and 3 cucumber slices with at least 10 on each leaf. I still have quite a few snails left on in there, but 130 snails less than what I had. Whew…maybe I do need one of those clown fish 🙂
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I meant puffer fish 🙂
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Sounds like saltwater snails are just as prolific as freshwater!! I’m assuming it’s a saltwater tank since you said puffer fish. I would love a tank if it didn’t require so much maintenance. I think that fish are some of God’s most beautiful creations, but I’m a low maintenance kind of pet person!
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No, my tank is NOT a saltwater tank, although I would love one! Just don’t have the know-how yet. However, one day, maybe! Aquariums really are low maintenance once you get a biological balance set up in them, it’s just a matter of changing the filter every couple months, feeding the fish a couple times a day, and changing out some water (or simply adding some de-chlorinated water) every couple of weeks. Seriously, an established aquarium is very little work.
The puffer fish I’m talking about can live in a freshwater aquarium, but you do need to add some salt…doesn’t have to be as salty as a saltwater aquarium, but it does require some salt.
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That is fascinating to me! Of course, I think my desire to look at fish will have to wait until we are settled in one place instead of moving every few years. The other thing that is fascinating is that a puffer fish can live in fresh water. We are studying, in Berry’s science, about the oceans and water creations of God. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that a puffer fish can live in both salty and fresh since the salmon go back and forth all the time. Thanks for the education on that!! 🙂
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Here’s a link that will show you the different kinds of puffers…many of them actually prefer freshwater. ( http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/brackish_water/puffer_figure_eight.htm#top2 ) But you have to keep them well fed to keep them from being aggressiveto your other fish. So I don’t know. They also have beak-like teeth that continue to grow like a rabbit’s teeth, therefore, you have to keep them trimmed or provide hard-shelled food for them (like clams, crayfish, & SNAILS, etc). But their aggressiveness makes me hesitate, but if I were to get one, it would probably be this one: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/otherfish1/p/figure8puffer.htm
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Thank You sooo much for the lettuce idea. I saw it on several other sites & am going to the store right now to get some. With 3 tanks set up, I have the same war going. Hand picking them is getting me no where. I will keep you informed of the battle!
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I’ve finally decided to add a few clown loaches to my tank, but there are also other kinds of community loaches who eat snails…the Yo Yo loach…
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The lettuce idea didn’t yeild the results I hoped. Maybe they don’t care for Romain? I did see a goldfish in each tank at a local ‘chain’ pet store. When ask why, I was told they eat parisite snails. I bought a fantail this week. They do OK in a comunity tank supposedly(plecos excepted!)
Second day I was sure I could see a reduction. Now, 4 days later, I see an explosion again! Goldy seems content to clean the bottom & I am still hopefull. There are 6 or 8 on the romain…
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I realized after I posted this that you have to wilt the lettuce a little first under hot water….then leave it in there at least two days before it attracts the snails, but it does attract them….I used Romaine.
I bought clown loaches and they are doing a WONDERFUL JOB…my snail population is almost gone….any babies that are born they take care of almost immediately….I have a few bigger ones they don’t seem to touch, but wow….tons of empty shells on the bottom now.
The only problem with the loaches is they eventually get big and need at least a 55 + gal. tank …. which I only have a 29 gallon tank. However, they are slow growing….I probably won’t need to move mine for at least another year…..
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