# snail rid



## jerrym (Apr 29, 2009)

my 20 gall. got some snails in it mts i didnt know till it was to late got a betta in there and 7 cardinals was getting ready to put rcs in there i had the heat turned up do to ich they breed like rabbits how do you know when its safe to inverts in the tank after treating it not putting inverts till i control the snail thing i dont want them in that tank


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Depends on what you use to get rid of the snails. If you use a copper based product like snail be gone. You won't be able to put shrimp in the tank at all. Best to just pick them out or squish them in the tank.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Put a leaf of lettuce in the tank and when the snails go to the lettuce just throw it out. You may have to repeat this a few times but eventually they will all be gone. this method is a no chemical way to do it and will not hurt your fish or plants. The "Had a Snail" product not only kills the snails but is hard on your fish and will kill your plants.

The copper products are dangerous to a lot of fish as it burns them seriously and is painful to them. If you don't want to go the lettuce route, then the route that Susan recommends is the best option.

Rose


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## jerrym (Apr 29, 2009)

thank you to the both of you ive been putting lettuce down they have been covered for three nights now, thought about the copper stuff but didnt know much about it thought to ask before i do something stupid


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

It is only safe to put inverts in the tank when you don't use the chemicals. I just woke up to the second part of the post. Sorry about that. When you do get rid of the "undesirables" without using the chemicals, the inverts will not be affected at all and you can put them in at once. But one word of caution about adding inverts in the form of shrimp with a betta if that is what you have in mind.

As long as shrimp have their shells on they will just be harrassed by Mr/Ms. Betta as shrimp is their first food. But the time will come when they will need to shed their shell to grow a new one as the old one will get too small and the day they leave the protection of their shell chances are the betta will have a larger than normal meal. You will have nothing but a shell. Snails do not have that problem so if people want inverts with their betta I generally suggest a Mystery Snail or Apple snail, only one though as they do not bother plants and will not reproduce if there is only one in the tank where some types can reproduce prolificly even if you only have one and the tank can be overrun.

The only other snail control method that I know of is to get a group of Yo-yo loaches but then you are not able to have any type of inverts as they are all fair game and you need a fairly good sized tank for them.

Rose


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