Wright also has a point about some of the commercial snail remedies. There
can be a problem with a chemical quick fix. What is toxic to a pest may not
be the safest for other creatures. For instance, several years ago FAMA ran
a series on algacides. One of the ingredients was tested at strong strengths
with fish and a correlation with birth defective cichlids suggested.
A question about the loaches though. Is there a loach from OZ that would do
the trick? When local or exotic loaches have eliminated the snails, would
they go grubbing after rainbow eggs? Would they bother fry?
Would it be, in a small pond, that the old lettuce on a string trick or a
bowl left out for a while with something appetizing for the snails would be
effective enough at lowering snail populations that those other measures
would be unnecessary.?
All the best,
Scott