# How to get rid of Ramshorn snails?



## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Is it possible to get rid of Ramshorn snails?

My fry/shrimp tank is slowly getting taken over with tons of the miniture things. I know feed less will help reduce it.. how ever that is hard to do when im trying to grow out a a bunch of fry.. any suggestions other then tweezing a batch every few days


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## cantsay39 (Jun 10, 2011)

feed less does help lower the numbers, if u wanna be more aggressive use assassin snails..


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Would assassin snails hurt the shrimp or fry at all?


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

shift said:


> Would assassin snails hurt the shrimp or fry at all?


Assassin is safe with shrimps. Start using feeding disk.


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

get ready for plenty of "oh I love ramshorns they are part of a healthy ecosystem peace and love"

you'll never get them all without using assassin snails. You can always put a saucer in the tank with an algae pellet, come back in an hour and pull out all the snails that congregate.


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## shinycard255 (Sep 15, 2011)

CookieM said:


> Assassin is safe with shrimps. Start using feeding disk.


A feeding dish is a good investment. Put food in the dish and then take the dish out 2-4 hours later. This will give the shrimp more than enough time to eat.

Also, assassins are safe with shrimp, but they may start to eat baby shrimp if they aren't quick enough. I've seen them chow down a few babies of mine. I have so many shrimp that it isn't a big deal, but figured I would let you know ahead of time


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Ramshorn Snails*



shift said:


> Is it possible to get rid of Ramshorn snails?
> 
> My fry/shrimp tank is slowly getting taken over with tons of the miniture things. I know feed less will help reduce it.. how ever that is hard to do when im trying to grow out a a bunch of fry.. any suggestions other then tweezing a batch every few days


Hello shift...

Ramshorn snails thrive in water high in phosphates. Phosphates are one of the main ingredients in most flaked fish food. If you're like 99 percent of fishkeepers, you feed your fish too much. So, you create the perfect environment for the snails.

Gradually cut back on the amount you feed. Start feeding more frozen foods, these have little or no phosphates, just the frozen animal and water.

Stay up on your weekly water changes and add some floating Waterweed (Anacharis), this plant is a "nutrient hog" and will use up some of the extra dissolved phosphates in the water.

Reduce the amount of dissolved food in the water and the snails will slow their reproduction rate accordingly.

Just a couple of suggestions.

B


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Good to know.. is one assassin enough or should i get a few?


Or just not worry about the snails..


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

shift said:


> Good to know.. is one assassin enough or should i get a few?
> 
> 
> Or just not worry about the snails..


Depending on your tank size and number of ramshorn.

Example: Mine is a 5 gallon. I would get 5 assassin snail for about 30-40 ramshorn infestation. Assassin snail eat slow so more is better to control the ramshorn population.


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## assasin6547 (Feb 6, 2013)

*Shivers* I hope I never have to do with pests like snails scuds and planaria... But it's probably gonna happen sooner or later. :icon_evil


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

assasin6547 said:


> *Shivers* I hope I never have to do with pests like snails scuds and planaria... But it's probably gonna happen sooner or later. :icon_evil


Why not snail they're great for tank. Especially nerite and malaysian trumpet.

Ever since I bought Nerite, I never have to deal with algae growing on glass anymore. They also clean my soil and plants. I should have gotten them years earlier.


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## assasin6547 (Feb 6, 2013)

I got a nerite but it died. :icon_sad: First invert death ever.


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## syzygy9 (Aug 9, 2010)

shift said:


> Good to know.. is one assassin enough or should i get a few?


It depends on the assasins and depends on how fertile your enviroment is for the ramshorn reproduction. I had well over 100 ramshorn and pond snails mixed and 2 assasins erradicated them in about a month. Another month later, though, I found that I now had about 8 assasin snails.

The good news there is that my LFS offers a generous credit for the assasins...win/win.

I've since decided I like the ramshorns (MTS too) and dislike the substrate being littered with 100's of empty snail shells. Every few weeks I cull them down a bit using a slice of zuchini that I toss after 24 hours (snails and all).


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

I have a nerite in my main tank. they are great.. I dont mind pond snails but the ramhorns seem to be replicating like crazy. Plus i read they can possibly kill your plants (eat them..hopefully its only the dead ones)


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## CherokeeNative (Dec 3, 2012)

How about a couple assassin snails? Worked in my community tank.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

It was predicted that someone would come here and say this, and I'm here now. 

Snails are an awesome part of every ecosystem. I've had the same strain of snails breeding for years on end. 

They've never been out of control. I feel snails are an essential marker of how much you feed. Feed too much? Prepare for babies. Too little? Population shrinkage. 

The great thing is it only takes a few weeks to grow up and a few months to die. 

They keep things neat, and help feed your shrimp. 

Quintessential, I'd say. And I know many others who would agree.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Don't ramhorns kill plants? I don't mind pond snails but was under the impression that ramhorns were distructive


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

No rams horns don't eat plants. They will however eat dead plant tissue.


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

MABJ said:


> It was predicted that someone would come here and say this, and I'm here now.
> 
> Snails are an awesome part of every ecosystem. I've had the same strain of snails breeding for years on end.
> 
> ...


How do they help feed your shrimp?


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

PuddlesAqua said:


> How do they help feed your shrimp?


Have you ever seen the translucent, faint and small trail the snails leave as they scoot along?

That is a feast for tiny organisms which gather and grow there. In turn, shrimp feed off it.


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

MABJ said:


> Have you ever seen the translucent, faint and small trail the snails leave as they scoot along?
> 
> That is a feast for tiny organisms which gather and grow there. In turn, shrimp feed off it.


I assume the same is true of Nerites and mystery snails as well?


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

PuddlesAqua said:


> I assume the same is true of Nerites and mystery snails as well?


Absolutely


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

So you may as well just use snails that don't breed like rabbits but do all the same positive things, such as a nerite.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

PuddlesAqua said:


> So you may as well just use snails that don't breed like rabbits but do all the same positive things, such as a nerite.


I already touched on that. 

They breed based on available food. 

If they over reproduce, that is your fault. And it is something you can control; keep it that way or easily fix it. 

There is no might as well do this or that. It comes down to preference. I like all snails. I can't keep pond snails alive, but I keep varieties of MTS, Nerites and lots of Ramshorns. 

My recommendation to everybody is learn to control the snails you have. You'll eventually fall in love with them and their goofy antics. Ramshorns have unique personalities MTS, Nerites don't have. 

I do not keep pets for utility. I keep snails because they please me visually and I know they are happy in their environment. 

I'd similarly never recommend an assassin snail just to contain a snail populace. I'd recommend one as a pet, as I think they're neat as heck. 

Same with nerites. The root of algae should be addressed ahead of buying a creature to satisfy a problem which will manifest itself in other ways.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

I'm one of those hippy snail lovers too.

Yes, they will reproduce in proportion to the food supply. And if you _have_ to overfeed, for example to make sure fry or whatever gets enough food, then you will have a lot of snails - more than you probably want.

But speaking pragmatically, I believe they're still performing a useful function.

They eat, digest, and poop out that excess food in a form that is easily converted by the biofilter, or absorbed by plants. Now I don't know for sure, but that seems better than the food simply rotting.

And not all of what they eat is pooped out. Some is retained to fuel growth, and the production of new snails. So it seems like they work as a form of nutrient export, too.

Though if they were actually _competing_ for food - for example covering sinking food pellets to the point where the intended recipients can no longer reach them - then I'd have no qualms over decimating them, snail lover or not.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

DarkCobra said:


> Though if they were actually _competing_ for food - for example covering sinking food pellets to the point where the intended recipients can no longer reach them - then I'd have no qualms over decimating them, snail lover or not.


Cheers hippy mon!

Really, I like the way you put it. I've never seen them in competition. They just always are eating up stuff I don't see.


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## jester56 (Oct 28, 2012)

I got 'em eating my Java Fern and I've eliminated quite a few. I'd love to know how to eradicate them. They get no credit for all the work I did. ;-)


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