How to combat snails?

[jclements]

Hi all,

I have way too many snails in the pond. It's starting to have a serious impact on some of my plants. Any advice for controlling snails without hurting fish or plants?

Thanks in advance,

[Kat]

You might want to look into getting some assassin snails for summer pond snail control.  I know you don't want problems with a goldfish overpopulation, but I've found they keep the snails under control. 

[Lynne22]

Well, I use clown loaches, but I have no other fish. They have worked beautifully. I think the tropical fish will all eat the snails, but not so much with the others, apparently. I know how you feel though. I hate them. Nothing works, they just come right back, without a fish that will eat them. I had heard of another larger fish that would eat them, but can't remember which one....sorry!

[jclements]

Kat, have been thinking that additional goldfish might be a good thing. Still have some extras?

[Kat]

Yes, I do have more goldfish but not sure how to sex them.  If you end up with a boy & girl .... you know how that goes, LOL     Although I just remembered you've got lots of mosquito fish which really cuts down on eggs hatching.   Sent me a PM if you have time this weekend to get some fish.

[jclements]

Maybe just a few larger ones to keep Goldie company. I have a 1 pm appointment at legacy and coit today - would 2:30-3 pm be ok?

[Kat]

I should be home around then. 

[jclements]

New goldfish are happy in their new neighborhood! I'll get some photos and do a blog post tomorrow.

Thanks again!!

[jclements]

Just got a new blog post up. Kat, I forgot about one other smaller lily that just bloomed. You probably have it, but if not, are you interested in Walter Pagels?

[karen J]

YO YO LOACH. It looks strange (looks like the stripes say "yo yo" on the side, hence the name), and hides whenever you come by, but it eats ALL the snails.  We had an infestation (hundreds) in our aquarium and that little fish ate every single one.

It's just a Wiki article, but it is pretty accurate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoyo_loach
Mine hides a lot, but completely eliminated our snails.

[Kittyzee]

Explain to me about the snail over population please.  I have some (I don't know what kind) and I also have goldfish.  I've never had an over population of them, but maybe it's because the fish eat them.  Do they eat the live snails, or the eggs that the snails lay on the undersides of water lilies?  This winter I thought all of my snails died, but I saw one or two large ones, now I have seen a couple of baby snails with the snail eggs on the plants.  Do snails eat plants?  I am ignorant about this and need to learn!!   

[Kat]

Loaches do great to reduce the snail population but I don't think Jessica wants to drain her huge pond to catch any tropical fish at fall so they don't die from winter cold.

Jessica, glad your new goldfish are doing so well.  Goldie certainly makes the others look tiny but they'll grow fast now that they've got a huge home to live in.

I don't know if goldfish eat the snails when they are smaller or eat the eggs but I notice I have less snails in ponds with goldfish as compared to a pond that doesn't have goldfish.

[jclements]

We used to keep loaches in an aquarium, they're really fun fish. But like Kat said, it would be tough to get them out of a 6000 gallon pond as the water temp drops in the fall. Well, maybe not too much cause they'd probably end up being like 12" long by the end of a summer!! We'll try the goldfish for now....

We have tons of snails in our pond probably because the haven't had many or any predators. They certainly came from plants or just showed up on their own. I find huge ones on the bottoms of lily pads and lily pad stems all the time, plus the skimmer basket and a pre-pump basket. There are way too many. I assume fish will eat the eggs - perhaps a real snail guru can chime in and educate all of us!