# No-Planaria for Pond Snails and Limpets



## Asu1776 (Mar 5, 2013)

I have a big infestation of pond snails and limpets in my shrimp tank. Has anyone successfully treated their tanks with No-Planaria and what exactly was the regime done?

Thanks!


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

I used it once before for some white worms that were in my tank. I don't think they'll affect the snails but I'm not sure.


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## Nestle_ (Jul 4, 2013)

what else is in teh tank?
I've heard that it can kill shrimp


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

That will not kill snails or limpets.... Feed less and you should see a decrease, squish all the ones you see.


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## dmagerl (Feb 2, 2010)

No Planaria will indeed kill pond snails. I used the full dosing schedule listed on the package. The snails sort of just stopped moving over several days and then just died. But you have to keep repeating it over a period of several weeks because it wont kill eggs. 

After it was all was said and done, I was never able to completely eliminate them. They just kept coming back.


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## Asu1776 (Mar 5, 2013)

I think no-planaria is shrimp safe from what I've researched. I've been on a squishing spree with those limpets and thought I made a dent when a bunch of little snails just popped up. I had never found pond snails in my tank until recently. Must have hitchhiked. I'm close to bleaching the whole tank. :icon_evil 

@dmagerl. Did you have any ill effects to your tank? I heard it coats the tank in this slimy foaminess.


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## dmagerl (Feb 2, 2010)

yeah, the water did become kind of foamy and had a sort of yellow hue but neither effect was really objectionable. Just noticeably different. Its best to take the powder and try to pre dissolve it in a small beaker before putting it in the tank. It doesnt dissolve very well and tends to clump.

I should point out that you wont see the snails just instantly keel over and die a horrible death. They seem to die a horrible death over several days. Its very slow acting.


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## Asu1776 (Mar 5, 2013)

@dmagerl. I got a good chuckle out of that. Mostly the "horrible death" part. Thanks!


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

I and others have used no planaria to try and kill pond snails with 3 back to back treatments. Never a pond snail death or a limpit. I just made my own bottle.trap. trapped a ton Nd then squished a bunch. A huge amount of that will have bad effects on shrimps other than rcs which can live in about anything

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## dmagerl (Feb 2, 2010)

It really did look like a horrible death. They started acting strange, falling to the bottom and looking like they wanted to stretch/pull themselves out of their shells. I had read a technical paper that indicated that it acted as a neural paralytic on mollusks.

I want to stress that I followed the full dosing regimen where a bit more is added day by day for a week. It wasnt until the later part of the week that I started seeing dead bodies.


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## larams67 (Jan 24, 2006)

Assassin snails massacred the infestation I had a couple years ago.


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## Asu1776 (Mar 5, 2013)

I saw that technical paper too. I've read that people use the recommended first dose every day for a week, in which they started dying near the later part of the week. I've considered an Assassin snail, but I think all my pond snails are way too small and the limpets would be impossible for the Assassin snail to attack.

@sbarbee54. Did you bottle trap capture limpets too?


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## Min_90 (Jan 25, 2021)

Hey everyone,
This is an old thread but I’m interested in what week long dosing @dmagerl used?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Min_90 said:


> Hey everyone,
> This is an old thread but I’m interested in what week long dosing @dmagerl used?


They haven't been on the forum in years.

But it's overkill to dose your tank with something to get rid of snails. Their population won't get out-of-control if they don't have an overabundant food source. They're also easy to trap.

Real talk? They're beneficial for your tank in that they clean up waste, algae, you name it. Getting rid of them in such a manner is an extreme overreaction.


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## Min_90 (Jan 25, 2021)

somewhatshocked said:


> They haven't been on the forum in years.
> 
> But it's overkill to dose your tank with something to get rid of snails. Their population won't get out-of-control if they don't have an overabundant food source. They're also easy to trap.
> 
> Real talk? They're beneficial for your tank in that they clean up waste, algae, you name it. Getting rid of them in such a manner is an extreme overreaction.


I just think they are unsightly and I already have an algae clean up crew. Looks like I won’t be able to get rid of them.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Min_90 said:


> I just think they are unsightly and I already have an algae clean up crew. Looks like I won’t be able to get rid of them.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Do a good thorough cleaning of your tank, filters and everything. Make sure to vacuum up everything a best you can. Remove as many snails as you can and kill them before disposing of them. Bait at night- drop a piece of blanched veggie/ frozen then thawed veggie. 

I'm not sure about using alum in a tank situation- I, personally, love snails because they tell me when there's something wrong with my tank- I've never tried to get rid of snails using anything but the first method and that was for a customers tank.


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## Ricksza (Nov 8, 2018)

Min_90 said:


> I just think they are unsightly and I already have an algae clean up crew. Looks like I won’t be able to get rid of them.


I have a tank with Otos that was over run by snails. Haven't added food in months. I was killing at least 50 snails each week. I decided to treat my tank with No-Planaria. After first treatment, I had a total of 9 visible snails mostly above water level, which I removed. I'm sold.


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## Min_90 (Jan 25, 2021)

Ricksza said:


> I have a tank with Otos that was over run by snails. Haven't added food in months. I was killing at least 50 snails each week. I decided to treat my tank with No-Planaria. After first treatment, I had a total of 9 visible snails mostly above water level, which I removed. I'm sold.


Glad to hear it worked for you. I have had a different experience. It did nothing to my limpets they didn’t seem bothered. In fact I have more now . When you used it, did you just follow the the amount on the back of the bag?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Let me reiterate this:

*It's overkill to dose your tank with something to get rid of snails. Their population won't get out-of-control if they don't have an overabundant food source. They're also easy to trap.*

Food source doesn't necessarily mean direct feeding. But waste in your tank. Have you conducted regular maintenance? Are you cleaning at all? Is there dead plant matter? A dead critter? Rotting food you don't see? There has to be a food source for their populations to expand to such an out-of-control point.

Show us photos of your tanks. Let us see what's going on.

This isn't something that just magically or mysteriously happens. If you don't put in the effort (seriously, nothing good happens fast in a tank like this) to get to the bottom of the problem? It's going to rear its head again.


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## Ricksza (Nov 8, 2018)

Min_90 said:


> Glad to hear it worked for you. I have had a different experience. It did nothing to my limpets they didn’t seem bothered. In fact I have more now . When you used it, did you just follow the the amount on the back of the bag?


I followed the directions to a T. I’m interested in the results after the second treatment. If it’s successful, I would like to add some male Nerite snails eventually.


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## Ricksza (Nov 8, 2018)

somewhatshocked said:


> Let me reiterate this:
> 
> *It's overkill to dose your tank with something to get rid of snails. Their population won't get out-of-control if they don't have an overabundant food source. They're also easy to trap.*
> 
> ...


The tank gets cleaned and 30% water change every week. If there was ever a dead fish, it gets removed immediately. Plants have any dead matter removed during the cleaning.

I know exactly when the snails first showed up, I purchased some plants from a seller who advertised them as snail free. Two days later, I had a couple of snails. That was 2 years ago.

Let’s face it, an aquarium is not natural. It’s a fantasy world that we assemble of livestock and flora that would never occur in the real world.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Ricksza said:


> The tank gets cleaned and 30% water change every week. If there was ever a dead fish, it gets removed immediately. Plants have any dead matter removed during the cleaning.
> 
> I know exactly when the snails first showed up, I purchased some plants from a seller who advertised them as snail free. Two days later, I had a couple of snails. That was 2 years ago.
> 
> Let’s face it, an aquarium is not natural. It’s a fantasy world that we assemble of livestock and flora that would never occur in the real world.


If all that is as you say, we're left with your introduction of food to the tank as a food source or an extreme supply of algae. Both things that are relatively simple to get a handle on. Also possible there's decaying hardscape you just can't easily see.

Snail populations don't grow mysteriously. They require a food source. Identify that food source, reduce it and their population will diminish.

Planted aquariums aren't fantasy - they're real, tangible things. We control what goes on inside them. Having setups with fish from various parts of the world and a curated collection of plants doesn't really mean anything when it comes to snail population booms. It's truly not a mysterious occurrence. This is well-documented.

You can also find thousands of biotopes in the Tank Journals section here on the forum that replicate natural environs. They're not gloriously aquascaped and don't all look well-manicured. Many are often overgrown or black water setups as they would appear in the wild.

_My overarching point, to reiterate:_ Don't just take the easy way out and expect everything to be fine. Figure out what the problem is. Actually address it instead of jumping on a quick fix. Set yourself up for future success. You'll thank yourself in instances like this that you didn't create long-term consequences or side effects. You can do what you want with your tank, obviously. Just don't expect to find success while refusing to address underlying issues because you're impatient. Patience and effort _are_ this hobby. That's the point I've been making.

Edit for newcomers to the hobby who may see this: Pay close attention to the impatience of others. Don't have to take my word for it. Look and search through the forum. You'll find they nearly all meet failure relatively quickly and overwhelmingly end up leaving the hobby. Compare to those who stick with it for years/decades. You'll pretty quickly come to realize what's what. And you'll come to realize that snails are just part of the hobby that are wholly controllable. Trying to kill them off quickly without putting forth any sort of effort is merely the lazy person's game.


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## Ricksza (Nov 8, 2018)

somewhatshocked said:


> ……an extreme supply of algae….._My overarching point…….._


Yes, I do have algae in my tank for the Otos. But if there is something in my tank that I didn’t intentionally put in there and don’t want in there, I will remove it whether it’s duckweed or invasive snails. I will be replacing them with Nerite snails.


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