Puffers eat snails

so do loaches and banjo cats.(my favorite for snail eaters due to them foraging below deep in the substrate.)

20 years ago yes.

now sure now. Lot less copper in pennys today.

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

What's a penny?

I use my puffer for snail control. I had a 55 that was overflowing with pond snails. The puffer has been in there almost a month and the snail population has gone down drastically. I think in another month the tank will be snail free.

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I just pretend I know what I'm doing

This topic is going just in the direction I'd like it to. I've just recently setup a 10g freshwater tank with a few different species of fern and plants. I planted them where I wanted and also added two ghost shrimp that I was planning on fattening up for the soon-to-be-arrival of some dwarf puffers. Well I just noticed within seconds of planting that I also had two nearly-microscopic black snails that had apparently hitched a ride on these plants. Should I wait until the snails fatten up so my puffer will eat them too? lol. Weird question, eh?

(And we so need a snail smiley. We have an F-18 smiley though? come on. hahaha.)

A lot of plant eating snails lay their eggs near the surface of the water or above the water (on the glass). What you can do is once or twice a day (and do this religiously) scrub the top one or two inches above and below the waterline. Sometimes, I rub my finger around the top of the aquarium.

It'll take a few weeks but it works. Btw, if you miss a day or two, don't worry, just start up when you have the time and hit it every day.

Btw, there's nothing wrong with a few snails, but if you want to eliminate all of them, it can be done.

Also, don't freak out if you think they're all gone and a month later you find some. Just start the process all over again. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds.

Okay, I tried the zucinni in the bottle, cleaning the top edge of glass at waterline, and individually picking them out and disposing of them, and haven't had a lot of luck decreasing the numbers. I had a loach, but he didn't do well in the water levels I have set for my other fish. I did find while I was picking them out that if I smashed the snail in my grabbers, my young Mollies went crazy eating them!! Then I saw that the swordtails and pleco were also snacking on the pieces. I hope this doesn't raise the ammonia level too much. I wonder if I try the copper in the tank, will it hurt the fish or plants??

its so great that this post was up today. this weekend me and my girlfriend came home to find a snail exactly like that one "walking" across the decorative bridge in my tank. I was worried at first, if there is one there could be more. I hope there are no eggs in my pants and this was just a stow away. I dont want to have to remove more snails, im letting this one stay as part of the cleaning crew but i dont plan on letting him have any mates.

If you have 1 pond snail in a little bit of time you will have 100 pond snails. Several species of snail will make babies with themselves. So be prepared to squish them out!

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I just pretend I know what I'm doing

Okay, I solved my snail problem!! I removed every piece of driftwood, scrubbed it good under running hot water to get all the snails and egg packs off, rinsed them in "good" water, and replaced them. Then I added 2 loaches, a Zebra and an Angelica. Within 2-3 days, I had a hard time finding any snails. Just their empty shells floating on the surface. I hope the loaches last, they're doing a Great Job!

Do assassin snails need brackish water to breed?