The Puffer Forum

nehctik · Post by **nehctik** » Sun May 17, 2015 12:43 pm

I've read a couple of places mts have too hard shells for puffers but other places that they are fine, so with mixed answers i've been trying to get them out of my tank with a DIY snail trap made from a plastic bottle. I originally had them as the tank has shelldwellers in it which like to dig so a deeper sand bed seemed a good idea and the snails were to burrow and aerate the sand.
Since the figure eight im getting won't need deep sand i'll take some out and then the mts wouldn't be needed, I keep catching loads and disposing of them but still there seem to be tons in the tank.

The figure eight will come in fresh water from the store, but i'll be gradually raising the SG, will the adition of marine salt kill off any remaining mts.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for getting rid of this infestation, if infact I have to at all

eieio · Post by **eieio** » Sun May 17, 2015 1:02 pm

they are not safe as puffer food
some people have reported that some puffers will suck the snail out of it's shell, but they can injure themselves if they try to crush the shell (try it with a pair of pliers, it takes a LOT of force)
reducing their numbers as you have been is about all you can do
or start completely over with new sand, gravel, filter media, decorations, etc
the only fish I've seen keep their numbers in check were my clown loaches, who sucked the snails out of their shells
but they just keep multiplying................

nehctik · Post by **nehctik** » Sun May 17, 2015 1:28 pm

I thinking of trying a kitty litter scoop or something similar to get out the bigger ones as the trap only seems to get small ones. Would the rise of SG and salinity kill them or can they survive in brackish?

Iliveinazoo · Post by **Iliveinazoo** » Mon May 18, 2015 7:55 am

nehctik wrote:I thinking of trying a kitty litter scoop or something similar to get out the bigger ones as the trap only seems to get small ones. Would the rise of SG and salinity kill them or can they survive in brackish?

They will survive, as said above if you want rid then I reckon that you'll have to start again with everything.

scpion · Post by **scpion** » Mon May 18, 2015 9:50 am

+1 to above. If u have a proper filtration with sufficient bacterial in there, I would say dump the existing sand and start all over.

nehctik · Post by **nehctik** » Tue May 19, 2015 11:47 am

Ok new sand is most likely what i'll do then as soon as the cichlids are out. Any idea if a lighter or darker colour would make the figure eight look better or worse?

E.g would its colours work best with a lighter colour like this

Or darker like this

eieio · Post by **eieio** » Tue May 19, 2015 12:20 pm

nehctik wrote:Ok new sand is most likely what i'll do then as soon as the cichlids are out. Any idea if a lighter or darker colour would make the figure eight look better or worse?

keep in mind that leaving only one tiny baby snail behind can cause it to happen all over again
they don't need a pair to mate, and a single individual snail can repopulate a whole tank
http://www.planetinverts.com/malaysian_ ... snail.html

nehctik · Post by **nehctik** » Tue May 19, 2015 12:57 pm

Would rinsing the tank with hot water kill them off? Failing that is there any certain way to get rid of/kill them all?

Re the sand, the decor I plan on using is artifical mangrove roots and dragonstone (both because of its look and its details that the puffer can examine and investigate) most likely, actually would dragon stone be ok since it's not smooth and has lots of edges.

scpion · Post by **scpion** » Tue May 19, 2015 1:56 pm

I will go with lighter colour sand. They will adopt a brighter colouration.

eieio · Post by **eieio** » Tue May 19, 2015 3:22 pm

nehctik wrote:Would rinsing the tank with hot water kill them off? Failing that is there any certain way to get rid of/kill them all?

from my post above: "or start completely over with new sand, gravel, filter media, decorations, etc"

nehctik · Post by **nehctik** » Tue May 19, 2015 3:34 pm

eieio wrote:
nehctik wrote:Would rinsing the tank with hot water kill them off? Failing that is there any certain way to get rid of/kill them all?
from my post above: "or start completely over with new sand, gravel, filter media, decorations, etc"

I shall change the substrate and decor but if I change filter media i'd lose all bacteria wouldn't I?
RE the hot water thing I was thinking if any were to cling to the glass or such after emptying the contents, would rinsing the tank out with hot water kill any stragglers. If so I'll take the filter media out (incase hot water would affect the bacteria) and rinse the filter the same way.

eieio · Post by **eieio** » Tue May 19, 2015 4:52 pm

a thorough scrubbing and INSPECTION of the tank & filter as you go along should do
throw everything else out
my reading about these snails has shown that they are remarkably resistant to just about anything
when I do a snail reduction campaigns in my tanks, I'm very careful to dispose of them in a manner that will prevent them from getting into the local environment, as they can establish themselves in almost any body of water
even throwing them in the trash makes me uneasy
they are a plague as far as I'm concerned, and once you get them, you'll always have them without going to extraordinary measures
as I suggested before, if you really want to get rid of them, you have to be sure that there isn't even one little baby snail left behind
......not even one

nehctik · Post by **nehctik** » Tue May 19, 2015 5:22 pm

I had been collecting them until you said that they were unsafe as food, now I put them in a tupperware container with boiling water from the kettle. I can just imagine how invasive they could be.

Iliveinazoo · Post by **Iliveinazoo** » Thu May 21, 2015 8:13 am

nehctik wrote:
eieio wrote:
nehctik wrote:Would rinsing the tank with hot water kill them off? Failing that is there any certain way to get rid of/kill them all?
from my post above: "or start completely over with new sand, gravel, filter media, decorations, etc"
I shall change the substrate and decor but if I change filter media i'd lose all bacteria wouldn't I?
RE the hot water thing I was thinking if any were to cling to the glass or such after emptying the contents, would rinsing the tank out with hot water kill any stragglers. If so I'll take the filter media out (incase hot water would affect the bacteria) and rinse the filter the same way.

Unless you are going to completely change out everything in the tank, including filter media and then thoroughly clean and disinfect both the tank and filter then I wouldn't bother changing the substrate at all unless you want to do it for aesthetic reasons.

Anyway the chances are that if you ever buy a plant in the future for the tank an MTS will make its way in and multiply, so long as you don't overfeed they shouldn't become a problem.

nehctik · Post by **nehctik** » Thu May 21, 2015 8:05 pm

I just remembered this stuff from my shrimp keeping days http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/genchem ... -5606.html apparently it kills snails too but not harmful for fish or bacteria. If I were to do a substrate change and tank clean, then dose the new tank with this to kill off any stragglers the bioload of the possible amount of snails left shouldnt be too big or too much of an issue, should it?

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