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I have a tank with Pygmy corys and neons. And snail, don't forget the snails.

I was about to dose with the old standby Rid-a-snail, but seemed to recall reading somewhere that Pygmy corys could not stand copper based snail killers.

Was that correct?

Any suggestions?

Tom

Hi Tom,

I've never heard that, but it might be true. Have you tried using cucumber to attract the snails and then remove them?

Cheers, Eric

There are always assassin snails

To me, the main reason not to use chemicals to get rid of snails is, when it works, you are facing a tank with a lot of dead bodies - bad for your water.

Besides, in a growing out tank, you need to feed a lot, and not all is eaten. In fact, that could very well be the reason why you have so much snails in the first place.

So remouving them, by hand, and feeding a bit less would be my solution.

Hi all,

T_om wrote: ↑02 Jul 2020, 04:08I have a tank with Pygmy corys and neons. And snail, don't forget the snails. .........Any suggestions?

I'll be honest I'm a snail fan, so keep the snails?

I know they aren't to every-ones taste, but they perform a useful role in detritus removal. I definitely wouldn't go for a chemical solution, I agree with @Bas Pels, the result is likely to be worse than the problem. You can thin them out using baiting with a snail trap.

This is my Pygmy Cory tank (). Apologies for the quality of the photo. It has Malaysian Trumpet, Red Ramshorn and Tadpole snails.



If your water isn't too soft you could try @MissNoodle's predatory Assassin snail Clea helena, but they will probably eat any Corydoras eggs.

cheers Darrel

Thanks guys.

I have very soft RO water in that tank, keeping it soft for the neons primarily (they have spawned there). And I realize that a snail die-off would require very close attention to nitrate buildup, but I have lots of water available for drastic changes (80% twice a day or more) during the die-off so that isn't a problem.

My primary concern is copper.

Killing the snails is easy, changing the water is easy, I just don't want to kill those corys.

Tom

I think copper is more of a concern with scaleless fish. Copper dosing in FW should be half dose too. I don't like chemical treatments but prefer natural when possible. If you didn't have dwarf cories I would recommend a loach. Pea Puffers would work but can be nippy.

Hi all,

T_om wrote: ↑02 Jul 2020, 15:25I have very soft RO water in that tank, keeping it soft for the neons primarily (they have spawned there)........My primary concern is copper.......Killing the snails is easy, changing the water is easy, I just don't want to kill those corys.

Copper (Cu) is much toxic in soft water, because it remains in solution as cupric (Cu++) ions and doesn't form insoluble hydroxides etc.

I don't know how you re-mineralise your RO, but you could just reduce the amount of dKH? and that should tip the snails over the edge.

The tank in the photo is at ~4dKH and 120 microS conductivity and the Ramshorns begin to show shell attrition from a young age and never grow very large. If I went down to 60 microS, and added some tannins and humic acids, the tank wouldn't have enough dGH/dKH to support any snails.

cheers Darrel

Thanks Darrel.

I didn't realize copper was that much more effective in soft water.

Tom

Hi all,

T_om wrote: ↑02 Jul 2020, 22:09Thanks Darrel. I didn't realize copper was that much more effective in soft water.
Tom

Yes, it is one of the issues with <"acid rain">,the lower pH solubilises metals from spoil tips etc. <"Most copper compounds "> are insoluble in water, but many of these are soluble in weak acids etc.

cheers Darrel

You don't want RO or soft water in your house plumbing if you have copper pipes as they will be eaten away, IME especially my outdoor copper and bronze pipes and spigots have been destroyed after 5 years of exposure to water with TDS of roughy 50-200 ppm... even though the pH was 7-ish.

Hi all,

dw1305 wrote: ↑02 Jul 2020, 20:41The tank in the photo is at ~4dKH and 120 microS conductivity and the Ramshorns begin to show shell attrition from a young age and never grow very large.

I probably should have posted a picture of shell attrition, this is the <"top view of the tank above">. This is about as big as the Ramshorn Snails ever get. If I'd try to pick that one off the Magnolia leaf it would just have disintegrated.



cheers Darrel

I like the pea puffer or loach option. Clown loaches would probably be best as they are less aggressive than others. I have yoyo and I have moved them into there own con-specific tank as they were killing my other fish. The tank I moved them into was over run with snails and is devoid of them now. They are roughly 75-100mm.