# Help meeee. It's the beginning of the snail-pocalypse.



## missblackglass (Dec 2, 2015)

My betta kept relapsing on his fin rot, so I went out today to buy him some plants to help keep the water parameters stable. 

Dumb me though did not ask the LFS worker how I should introduce the plant to my 10 gal tank. I did not quarantine the water wisteria and Monty carlo, or check for snail eggs. All I was thinking was that the plants might be dying because they were in the hot car for an hour and I should put them in the tank as quickly as possible. 

Then I noticed the little menaces. I turkey-bastered them out as much as I could, and there were even little buggers in there that did not look like snails. 

The snails that are in there are really small so far... I can't see the others but I know that they're there. What can I dooooo....? I have a small phobia of bugs 


Also, I'm gonna go to riverside soon for 2 months for work. I am bringing Empurata (my betta) in a 5 gallon. What will those shelled jerks do to my 10 gallon in the mean time?


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Snails aren't technically bugs. :lol: Anyway, you could get an Assassian snail. They eat the "pest" snails. :3

Good luck. I also have a slight fear of snails.  I still have one, though.

ETA: Oooooorrrr you could get an Indian Pea Puffer! They eat snails, too.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

Snails also make great pets, In my opinion a tank without snails is not as clean as it could be. all my tanks have live plants and snails.



> *Malaysian Trumpet Snail *​ _Melanoides tuberculata_​ ​ By: Ryan Wood​ The Malaysian Trumpet Snail is a great to have in any aquarium. There are some with different patterns, shapes, size, dark or light colored. It is a beautiful snail to see up close in person. In some forums as well as blogs the Malaysion Trumpet Snail is instead used as the acronym MTS.​ There is a lot of bad rep that all snails have received. A lot of hobbyists tend to think that having any type of snail in their aquarium is horrible and all must be removed immediately. There are even chemicals that are solely meant for killing snails in the aquarium. I highly recommend that you never use any chemical meant to kill snails in a tank with shrimp. Snails are not bad for your aquarium. Overfeeding your tank is what causes snail outbreaks. Most snails will actually leave your plants alone and instead eat the algae off of the leaves as well as glass. Do not think that a snail is a pest, they can be extremely useful in any aquarium.​ The Malaysian Trumpet Snail is actually a benefit to any aquarium for several reasons. It will not eat your plants at all. This snail also will not "muscle" your shrimp off of food meant for the shrimp. The Malaysian Trumpet Snail feeds on detritus and leftover food that is underneath the substrate. It actually burrows in the substrate and moves around throughout. You will rarely see this snail during the day. Occasionally it will emerge from the substrate. A cool thing is that sometimes you will see the substrate move and you will know that there is a Malaysian Trumpet Snail underneath doing its cleaning duties.​ The fact that this snail burrows and eats detritus is an excellent perk to having it. Another great perk is that while it is underneath the substrate moving it is at the same time aerating the substrate. Substrate aeration is a great benefit to planted aquariums as it promotes air exchange and root growth. They will not disturbed any plant roots or move wood/rocks around your aquarium.​ The Malaysian Trumpet Snail reproduces live young and does not lay eggs. They can reproduce rapidly however. Rapid reproduction is a sign that you either need to feed your inhabitants less or vacuum the gravel extensively. You do not want to rely on this snail to do all of the gravel cleaning. High temperatures can also result in rapid reproduction if coupled with overfeeding.​


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## missblackglass (Dec 2, 2015)

@Thatfishthough I had one puffer before and they were a delight. I totally considered dividing up my tank, and alternate my betta and the pea puffer so that the snails get eaten. Its def up there on one of my top solutions. 

Also I considered assassin snails too, but I'm a little freaked out by them. Maybe tho! If the pest snails get too much @[email protected]


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## missblackglass (Dec 2, 2015)

@NickAu You make a great point, but I'm just super nervous around bugs/invertabrates,,, I'd rather they go away, but if they're a permanent thing, how do you deal with them?


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

Do not overfeed, When I feed my Bettas I give them 1 pellet wait till they eat it, then a second wait till its eaten then a third, And thats it, There is no left over food to to sink to the bottom and without excess food the snail numbers will stabilize, And when you do see a snail or 5 remember they are doing your job for you. 

You can also make a snail trap. Just put some fish food in the trap and a rock put in tank overnight.


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## missblackglass (Dec 2, 2015)

Oh dear lord that picture @wQ. OK, I don't let my betta waste food anyway. Would they eat my plants though?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

ThatFishThough said:


> Snails aren't technically bugs. :lol: Anyway, you could get an Assassian snail. They eat the "pest" snails. :3
> 
> Good luck. I also have a slight fear of snails.  I still have one, though.
> 
> ETA: Oooooorrrr you could get an Indian Pea Puffer! They eat snails, too.


Please do not even kid about Puffers in a tank with a Betta. Someone could take you seriously.

Whether or not a snail will eat your plants depends on the type and whether they have another food source. I agree with NickAu...love 'em or hate 'em snails help maintain a healthy tank...I just prefer mine to be Assassin Snails. They keep pest snail away and eat left over food; they also do not reproduce like ~ well, pest snails.


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## missblackglass (Dec 2, 2015)

@Russeltheshihtzu So even with a divider it's not a good idea? And true with the assassin snails, but I don't have much of a food problem since I spot clean the tank and I have a weakness against culling. I tried crushing a trumpet snail because I couldn't siphon it up, and felt I horrid.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I wouldn't take a chance that the divider might fail.

Assassin Snails only reproduce when overfed. So if you get one by the time it removes the other snails you *might* have two. The other way is to put in a leaf of lettuce overnight and the snails should be on it by morning. Before I got the Assassins I threw the snails out in the yard for the birds and other critters to eat.


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

I don't know if it's a fluke or not, but my Pygmy cories devour pond and bladder snails. I went from having 20+ to zero in about a week once they got their first taste. The bottom of the tank is covered in tiny empty shells.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Russel, I didn't mean with the Betta. She talked about moving the Betta for the summer, and she could get a puffer for the 10.


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