Copper piping to rid snails?

C8lyn

C8lyn

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Aug 3, 2010
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Toowoomba, Qld
I was talking to my new friend at Pet Barn the other day and asked if they had any snail traps (which they didn't..) but he did tell me another way to control them.
He said to go to the hardware store, buy a couple of little pieces of copper corner piping and put them in my filter. Apparently it kills all invertebrates in the tank... I would have to find my lonesome shrimp and take him out if I considered this method..
Has anyone ever heard of this kind of treatment before? The snails are those pesky little MTS. My gravel is crawling with them.
 
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dbosman

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Dec 5, 2010
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Copper in solution will kill invertebrates.
I'd have to see it happen using copper pipe to believe that though.
It might work, but trapping a batch of snails on zucchini or courgette every day for a week or so would seem easier to me.
 
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Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
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I don't know if its worth the risk. Catfish and copper don't get on too well. I would go with what dbosman suggests.
 
C8lyn

C8lyn

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Aug 3, 2010
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Toowoomba, Qld
Thanks guys.
I was a bit skeptical when I was first told about it. I guess I'll try the zucchini idea, but I haven't seen them really take to the pod before, but I guess I gotta try.
 
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Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
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An empty jar and a pleco wafer or two might work better. Any plecs or fish that go in there will soon shift when you move it. I see far more snails homing in on wafers and tabs than veg.
 
Charlie_Kilo

Charlie_Kilo

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May 1, 2010
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Worming your tank with discus wormer will get rid of your snails. Just make sure you do daily water changes for a while afterwards because the dead snails will rot and affect the water
 
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Doodles

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Apr 8, 2009
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C8lyn said:
I've never even seen an assassin snail. Sounds like an easy solution though. Are they a danger to anything else like shrimp?
Click to expand...
Ive read that they can be a danger to shrimp and could also be a danger to plec eggs.
Also Im pretty sure assassin snails aren't permitted in AUS
 
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zeebo

Member
Jun 11, 2010
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ct ,usa
just a thought but isn't the med ,malachite green copper- based and harmful to plecs?
Did the dude who gave you that advice know you keep plecs?

The others members here who suggested food in a bottle worked for me, snails came in on a plant , snails gone now, if ya got patience, it works and everyone else is safe.

georgie
 
bigbird

bigbird

Pleco Profiles Moderator - RIP FRIEND
Sep 9, 2010
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all I do when I see is snail is crush it and the Ls love to munch on them. the other option is indeed vegies or wafers in a jar and then you slowly get rid of them. Or if you now your LFS hire a loach for a couple of days and voila all gone, but they are a bugger to catch :lol:....stay away from chemicals and copper not worth the unknown risk. cheers jk :thumbup:
 
C8lyn

C8lyn

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Aug 3, 2010
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Toowoomba, Qld
I'm not going anywhere near the copper. I just thought I'd ask in case someone had tried it before and it was some sort of miracle solution to snail problems. Lol
I crushed a heap of them the other night. I was watching a movie and had the tank lights off with a couple of glow sticks sitting on the tank. Then I looked over and they were everywhere on the glass near the top of the tank. CRuSh CRUSH CRUSH!! I used to have a Pakistani loach but it was giving me problems with my bn eggs so I gave it to my brother.
 
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