Getting rid of snails @ Not harming shrimp?

[JoshGuppy]

Has anyone tried a SUCCESSFUL way of getting rid of snails by not harming their shrimp? I have seen ways but they mostly say NOT FOR INVIRTEBRATES, shrimp are clearly invertebrates.
The snails keep finding their way onto the back glass of the tank, and dry up to their death, i find tons of dried snail shells all over the back of the tank for some reason. I wanna get rid of these things!

[Kenshin]

I used to have problems with snails taking over my tank (pond snails that is). All I did was just use a fish net or tweezer and scoop/pick them up. I kept on doing this for more than one week straight, and now I only have the snails I want in the tank such as Malaysian trumpet snails, and Tarebia granifera (purchased through Mustafa). Patience of eliminating the problem is the key to my success.

[badflash]

Trapping is pretty easy. Find something they like to eat, put it inside a small container with a hole big enough for them to get into but too small for the bait to float out of. Put it in a dark corner and come back after a few hours. The container will be packed with snails.

Dispose of them as you see fit, and repeat.

Most of the time if you have an explosion of snails you are overfeeding.

[GunmetalBlue]

Hi Josh, I, like Kenshin, manually remove them and agree that patience is key. My method is that I fortunately have a do-all 19 inch long straw that I got from a restaurant. This straw is long enough to reach most areas of my tanks, and also, is a little wider than regular straws. The only thing is, I have NO idea how one would come across one, unless they sell them at party stores?

When I first had snails, I removed them every day, using my finger to hold the top of the straw closed, aiming at a snail on the glass, then letting go the top of the straw to suck them right up. Now the snail population is so small that I only have to "weed" them once in a blue moon.

This straw is quite convenient and I use it to suck up any uneaten food, too.

Also, a common way snails enter an aquarium is when you buy plants. So always make sure to thoroughly rinse and shake new plants before adding to tank.

-GB

[Endacy]

I don't use it for removing snails, however it reckon this would work for small snails. It's a piece of normal clear tubing cable tied to an air rifle cleaning rod (any metal stick would do) with a syringe fitted to the end and cable tied to the loop on the end of the rod. It can reach all areas of my tank and can suck up stuff or deliver food just how I want. I generally use it to feed my frog worms and my shrimp little 'crab cuisine' pellets.

My shrimp knows it delivers food so generally jumps out, grabs it with his surprisingly powerful front legs (he's an african giant fan shrimp - or one similar) and tries to eat the whole tube or fans it trying to get bits off! Clever little thing...

[baz]

I've heard of people using a slice of cucumber in the tank overnight. In the morning its covered w/ snails and removed.

[Opopanax]

How about this issue:

I have 1 type of snail I want to keep (I forget the particular type but it's a type of Trumpet Snail, Malyasian I think), but recently aqquired a bunch of snails I would like to get rid of (They magically survived my bleach/water dip I put my live plants through to clean them of parasites).

So bait/traps don't work as well as they should since I'll trap the snails I want to keep as well as the ones I want to get rid of. not sure how many people here have tried to sort through snails, but it's not a fun activity:)

What I have been doing has been selective removal and/or smushing. If the snail is climbimg up the tank I smush it and scoop up the carcass. If I find a snail not in a smushable area (filter, heater, plant) I use my fish net under the snail and knock the thing off.

It works fairly well, but it is very slow and I'm not sure I can remove all the snails faster than they reproduce. Been at this for 2 months now:)

[badflash]

Since I aquired a bunch of ghost shrimp and apple snails, my snail population has dropped to almost nothing. In the tanks where I don't have these guys the grow explosively. I've seen the ghosts actively working over the snails and now I see lots of empty shells. The apple snails seem to eat the eggs. Between the two I don't have enough snails left to worry about.

I don't think they would be able to get the trumpet snails as easily as they burrow in the day if I've got this snail right. They also are live bearers I think, so no eggs to destroy.

[Shady]

Any idea if Red Cherry Shrimp EAT snail eggs? I got a few tiny ramshorn snails with my plants, and was wondering. I don't think ramshorn snails will harm my plants, but unchecked, they can get too numerous to be attractive.

[Mustafa]

Any idea if Red Cherry Shrimp EAT snail eggs? I got a few tiny ramshorn snails with my plants, and was wondering. I don't think ramshorn snails will harm my plants, but unchecked, they can get too numerous to be attractive.

They are not crazy about the eggs, but if you have tons of shrimp, and I am talking about hundreds of shrimp, and they are REALLY hungry, then they might try to pick at it. Don't count on it, though, since most of the time they just ignore them.