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RE: Parasites, snails

> "Daniel Wiznia" <danielwiznia at hotmail_com> wrote:
	> Hi, I am working on my schools tanks, and am finding that the
teacher 
> > that is leading the project is not that knowledgable.  
> 
[snip, fish parasite, salt bath treatment, success]

> >      One of the biggest problems is that the guy in charge, decided
> to 
> > buy elodea or anarchis, not that I do not like the plant, but on the
> 
> > plant there were a few snails.  I warned him to take them off, but
> he 
> > did not listen.  Now the tank is infested. 
> 
[snip, kill off tank or get snail-eating fish]

Hi, Daniel--

You no doubt are about to get a ton of email suggesting you get some
Botia maracanthus, 
or "Clown Loach" (some call the "Tiger Loach").  What kind of snails do
you have?  It's
one of the best snail-eating fish, but it does prefer some snails over
others.  Puffer fish
(Tetraodontidae sp.) like them too, if you have the salinity.

I rather like snails myself.  ;-)  I usually keep the Malaysian Trumpet
Snails (MTS) or
"spire snail" (long and fluted, point at the end), Ramshorn snails (more
round, no point), 
and pond snails (left or right spiral, point on the side).  Of course,
the pond snail is 
the least welcome (I don't intentionally introduce it).  Because the
snail population 
thrives on leftover food and waste, a population boom means there's a
lot in your tank.
I run light fish loads and light feedings, and rarely have a problem.
In fact, more snails
means I should feed less (I use them as an indicator).

I'll also add some novelty snails, like a Mystery snail (a little
larger) or an Apple snail
(Ampullaria sp., baseball size) every now and then.  I'm currently
curious to see if the
apple snail will work in my fry tanks.

If you want to eradicate them, mechanical control (grab them by the
handful) will help
but not get them all (it's always adequate for me).  I agree with you,
add the Botia
maracanthus, and you'll probably see snail shells everywhere in a few
days (especially
if it's the pond snail... it seems to like that the best).  If you pull
out your heavy artillery
and go for a chemical control, understand that all that biomass (dead
snail bodies)
converts to an awful lot of protein in the water... do your water
changes.  Further, 
don't treat the tank with conditioners when you treat for snails because
it will neutralize
the metal salts in the snail control chemicals.

I've been gone a long time, and don't recognize most of the names on the
list anymore.
Wow.  I guess it's back to lurking for me.  ;-))

If anyone wants some Vallisneria gigantea, I have several cubic feet for
free or trade.
I promise they will come snail-free.  ;-))))

--charley
charleyb at cytomation_com