How do I dispose of a snail infestation ?

[ldysamsara2003]

I have a snail infestation in an empty tank. Long story, my Betta must have eaten some of the snails and he has died. I don't want to torture these snails (they are the size of a pinhead at the biggest) but don't know how to clean out the tank short of just rinsing everything off, with them going down the drain. I do not want to keep them, I have no housing for them.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you!

[amanichen]

There's tons of ways to get rid of snails, either by removal, or killing them:

If you're looking to simply keep the population very low, then diligent snail searching, or putting bits of food in the tank to attract the adults will work. However, simply removing all the adults may or may not help, due to egg sacs lingering around, as well as newly hatched snails.

If you want to ensure they're gone completely then drying the tank out is about as simple and effective as you can get. You can also use copper based medications used to kill ich and other parasites, but have to deal with removing the medication from the water afterwards.

However, if you're looking for a way not to "torture" the snails, you really won't find one. Any method you use that doesn't involving transfering the snails to another habitat ends up killing them one way or another.

[tagMAN]

im kinna having the same problem i just take them out of the tank when ever i see one on the walls and rinse it down the sink

[ahhthatsbetta]

if the snails are young, could you get a clown loach or two for your tank ? ... I hear they clean up snails quite fast (and it won't hurt the Loach). If you don't want harm to come to the snails, you may have to hand pick them out of your tank, and find them omes ... I am kind of fond of the idea of the cycle of life, the food chain working out the problem you have.

Good luck!

[amanichen]

Clown loaches aren't for every tank though: they're quite sensitive, need to be in groups, and can get large.

If your tank is appropriate for a clown loach, then you shouldn't get just one