Introduction
When I first developed my 75-gallon aquarium, I did not want to put snails in my tank because I did not know much abut them and I heard that they can take over a freshwater aquarium.
I was surprised about two months after I had stocked my tank I found a snail crawling up the side of the aquariums glass. I had been very careful to wash everything before I put anything in my aquarium including live plants.
Where My Snails Came From
I did some investigative work on tracing the source of my snails. Since the best source of my snails was from the live plants I placed in the tank, I started there. I bought most of my plants from a pet store that guarantees the plants were snail free. Plus I had always rinsed my plants.
I then remembered I did buy some plants from another store and when I was there I saw the little bastards in the tank where they kept the live plants they sell. But why did my rinsing of the plants before I put the them in the tank not prevent their introduction?
Preventing Snails
After some research I found that just rinsing the plants was not enough to keep the snails out of your tank. More than likely I introduced the eggs of the snail when I put the plants in.
What I needed to do to keep the snails and their eggs out was to soak the plants in a snail killing chemical and then rinse the plants with water. Potassium permanganate is a popular chemical sold in many pet stores that is used in the eradication of snails and snail eggs.
The directions are simple, soak the plant in this solution for at least 15 minutes and then ensure you thoroughly rinse your plant before placing it in the aquarium.
Removing Snails
There are chemicals you can place in the aquarium to remove the snails. But I did not want to jeopardize my fish. Then I found that Gourami like to eat the snails.
I have three Kissing Gourami and three Blue Gourami in my aquarium. So I decided to leave the snails in and allow my fish to have a different food source.
Plus when I find a snail climbing up the side of the aquarium, I will remove it from the tank. They are also removed when I clean my tank with my siphon vacuum cleaner
J.W. Chase is an amateur Aquarist who has successfully been keeping aquariums for over 35 years. Over 75% of people who start aquariums fail in the first month for lack of knowledge. If you want more information on how to keep an aquarium, go to his web site and download a free eBook on "15 Tips On Building And Maintaining An Aquarium" at http://www.squidoo.com/homefreshwateraquariums.
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