Elisabeth83
Fish Herder
My title says it all. I want to know if snails can carry fish diseases? If so what do you do to make sure they are safe to put in your tank?
Can Snails Carry Fish Diseases?
- Thread starter Elisabeth83
- Start date
morgan
Fish Herder
Hi, I have just looked on google and it does not say. I have had two Golden Apple Snails and I didn't quarantine them. I have never had any disease in the tank (not apparent anyway) so in my experience the answer is no. Hope that helps. You might get a better answer in the invertebrates section. 
Snails brought in from a pond/outdoor environment can carry nematodes that can attach to fish causing black spot disease.
Snails bred in home aquariums arent a threat but can still carry diseases from infected tanks so must be quarantined for a couple of weeks to make sure they arent carrying anything.
Snails bred in home aquariums arent a threat but can still carry diseases from infected tanks so must be quarantined for a couple of weeks to make sure they arent carrying anything.
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Elisabeth83
Fish Herder
Ok well I have some snails in a tank that had fish in it with internal parasites. The snails have been in there since they were young and are pretty large now. Would it be safe to say that they probably are alright considering they are alive and growing well?
If not it would be pretty hard to tell if a snail had internal parasites since they are in a shell
) I'm looking to strip down the tank and steralize everything so I want to move the snails to another tank but I don't want to risk my other healthy fish.
What should I do?
If not it would be pretty hard to tell if a snail had internal parasites since they are in a shell
) I'm looking to strip down the tank and steralize everything so I want to move the snails to another tank but I don't want to risk my other healthy fish. What should I do?
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Elisabeth83
Fish Herder
Thats a great article Wilder but there's no mention of snails in it 
So I still don't know if snails can carry the kind of internal parasites that fish get.
So I still don't know if snails can carry the kind of internal parasites that fish get.
I would get them a little quarantine tank for now, i will try and find some info for you.
Not the writer o0f this information below.
Parasites
There are several parasites that have snails as an intermediate host. However, apple snails are relatively resistant to many of these parasites, which are often host specific and do not regenerate in other hosts like apple snails.
However, at least one parasite (Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a nematode, also know as the rat lungworm), uses the apple snail as an intermediate host. This parasite has the rat as its main host, but humans can be infected when raw snails are consumed. In rare cases this infection can cause eosinophilic meningonencephalitis resulting in severe neurological disorders and even death.
But don't worry if you got your snail from a pet shop, the only way the snail can be infected is by living in water were infected rodents (rats or mice) live. And even then, you have to drink the water or eat the snail or your water-plants (on which the parasites attach themselves after finishing their life cycle in the snails and wait there for being eaten by their main-host).
If you suspect your snail from being infected, just keep them away from their main host. This breaks the life cycle of the parasite, and you will get lost of them. Beware that it can take a long time, because many parasites are able to have several generations in their intermediate host. Better thing to do is waiting until the snail has laid their eggs and go on with the young, uninfected snails.
More detailed info on Angiostrongylus cantonensis can be found at: http/www.cdfound.to.it/HTML/ang.HTM.
Not the writer o0f this information below.
Parasites
There are several parasites that have snails as an intermediate host. However, apple snails are relatively resistant to many of these parasites, which are often host specific and do not regenerate in other hosts like apple snails.
However, at least one parasite (Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a nematode, also know as the rat lungworm), uses the apple snail as an intermediate host. This parasite has the rat as its main host, but humans can be infected when raw snails are consumed. In rare cases this infection can cause eosinophilic meningonencephalitis resulting in severe neurological disorders and even death.
But don't worry if you got your snail from a pet shop, the only way the snail can be infected is by living in water were infected rodents (rats or mice) live. And even then, you have to drink the water or eat the snail or your water-plants (on which the parasites attach themselves after finishing their life cycle in the snails and wait there for being eaten by their main-host).
If you suspect your snail from being infected, just keep them away from their main host. This breaks the life cycle of the parasite, and you will get lost of them. Beware that it can take a long time, because many parasites are able to have several generations in their intermediate host. Better thing to do is waiting until the snail has laid their eggs and go on with the young, uninfected snails.
More detailed info on Angiostrongylus cantonensis can be found at: http
/www.cdfound.to.it/HTML/ang.HTM.
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Elisabeth83
Fish Herder
Thanks Wilder! I've been looking on google myself but haven't really found anything. I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone knew.
The article you posted I think is talking about larvae, copepods and tubificid worms as the Invertebrate that can bring in the parasites but like I said before I didn't see anything about snails.
Black angel you said something about snails bringing in nematodes that causes black spot disease in fish but are those nematodes the same ones as the one in the article Wilder posted?
The article you posted I think is talking about larvae, copepods and tubificid worms as the Invertebrate that can bring in the parasites but like I said before I didn't see anything about snails.
Black angel you said something about snails bringing in nematodes that causes black spot disease in fish but are those nematodes the same ones as the one in the article Wilder posted?
Not the writer of this information
Black Spot
Symptoms:
Your fish will have small black spots measuring about 2 millimeters in diameter. These can be found anywhere on the fish’s body and fins. Cysts may be found in the internal organs. It is typical for African Cichlids, however, to constantly have little black spots, especially around their mouths. These black spots should not be mistaken for "Black Spot." These are scabs, which have resulted from digging in the gravel or from fighting.
Cause:
Larvae of parasitic digenetic flukes, Cercaria and Metacercaria. The spots seen contain larval stages of digenetic flukes. The life cycle of these parasitic flukes begins when fish-eating birds and other animals ingest fish infected with the parasites. Once ingested the parasites mature in the intestines of the host animal where they produce eggs. The eggs are then deposited into the water where they hatch and infect the livers of aquatic snails. The parasites then develop into a second and then third larval stage before leaving the snail to seek out a fish host. This type of parasitic infestation is most common in wild caught fish and pond fish.
Treatment:
Remove all snails from the aquarium or pond to end the cycle of infection. Treatment is rarely necessary and can be difficult if not impossible. Minor infestations may clear without treatment as the larvae will eventually die and be absorbed by the host's immune responses. Copper Sulfate may be helpful in severe cases.
http/www.otocinclus.com/articles/snails.html
Black Spot
Symptoms:
Your fish will have small black spots measuring about 2 millimeters in diameter. These can be found anywhere on the fish’s body and fins. Cysts may be found in the internal organs. It is typical for African Cichlids, however, to constantly have little black spots, especially around their mouths. These black spots should not be mistaken for "Black Spot." These are scabs, which have resulted from digging in the gravel or from fighting.
Cause:
Larvae of parasitic digenetic flukes, Cercaria and Metacercaria. The spots seen contain larval stages of digenetic flukes. The life cycle of these parasitic flukes begins when fish-eating birds and other animals ingest fish infected with the parasites. Once ingested the parasites mature in the intestines of the host animal where they produce eggs. The eggs are then deposited into the water where they hatch and infect the livers of aquatic snails. The parasites then develop into a second and then third larval stage before leaving the snail to seek out a fish host. This type of parasitic infestation is most common in wild caught fish and pond fish.
Treatment:
Remove all snails from the aquarium or pond to end the cycle of infection. Treatment is rarely necessary and can be difficult if not impossible. Minor infestations may clear without treatment as the larvae will eventually die and be absorbed by the host's immune responses. Copper Sulfate may be helpful in severe cases.
http
/www.otocinclus.com/articles/snails.html
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Elisabeth83
Fish Herder
I just found this:
"4. Q: Do snails carry parasites that threaten the health of my fish?
A: Yes, most any animal carries parasites of various types. The good news is that most parasites are specific to their hosts. Most snail parasites only effect snails. Snail parasites rarely kill their host snail either. There are some parasites (certain protozoans and digenetic flukes) that use snails as an intermediate and that can effect fish but they are not that common and not something about which the average person needs to worry. According to Page 141 of The Manual of Fish Health by Dr. Chris Andrews, Adrian Exell, and Dr. Neville Carrington, Tetra Press, 1988, "...snails can act as the intermediate hosts of a number of fish parasites. However, within the simplified conditions of an aquarium or pond, all the hosts necessary for the completion of such life cycles are seldom present. Do not, however, that some snails from tropical regions may harbour a range of parasites that can infect fish and humans, and so be sure to handle newly imported material very carefully." "
But I'm still uncertain if I should move my snails.
"4. Q: Do snails carry parasites that threaten the health of my fish?
A: Yes, most any animal carries parasites of various types. The good news is that most parasites are specific to their hosts. Most snail parasites only effect snails. Snail parasites rarely kill their host snail either. There are some parasites (certain protozoans and digenetic flukes) that use snails as an intermediate and that can effect fish but they are not that common and not something about which the average person needs to worry. According to Page 141 of The Manual of Fish Health by Dr. Chris Andrews, Adrian Exell, and Dr. Neville Carrington, Tetra Press, 1988, "...snails can act as the intermediate hosts of a number of fish parasites. However, within the simplified conditions of an aquarium or pond, all the hosts necessary for the completion of such life cycles are seldom present. Do not, however, that some snails from tropical regions may harbour a range of parasites that can infect fish and humans, and so be sure to handle newly imported material very carefully." "
But I'm still uncertain if I should move my snails.
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Elisabeth83
Fish Herder
Alright I'll do that. How long do you think.. a couple weeks or maybe a month? I was reading that snails are intermediate hosts so without a fish present as the main host the parasites will die. I just don't know how long it takes for them to die..I'm not even sure if the snails have these parasites or not.
Snails don't need a filter do they? Just a bucket with a heater can work as quarantine for them right?
Snails don't need a filter do they? Just a bucket with a heater can work as quarantine for them right?
TheSilentPerogy
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I'm currently enrolled in a university-level parasitology course (Principles of Parasitism). Black Angel is right - unless you got them from a wild source, odds are that they're free of any worm-type parasites. Quarantining for a couple weeks is a good idea to ensure they don't bring anything else along with them.
Here's the long, quasi-academic explanation:
There are five general phylums of parasitic worms - Monogenic Trematodes, Digenic Trematodes, Acanthocephalids, Nematodes and Cestodes.
Digenic trematodes are the ones usually associated with snail intermediate hosts. They usually infect fish internally, either in the gut or in other organs (liver or brain, for example).
Infection occurs first by a fish having the worms inside of it. They lay eggs that go into the intestinal tract and get released into the water. The eggs develop into the next stage (name varies based on the order of the worm) and proceed to infect a host snail. They feed on and develop in the snail to their next stage, usually releasing further matured worm intermediate stages into the water (and rarely affecting the snail). They can release more worm intermediates for a few days or for the lifetime of the snail. Some, however, don't release anything and instead stay inside of the snail and wait for it to get eaten to begin their next life stage. Next they enter the fish and develop into adults in their organ of preference and, thus, the cycle is complete.
Now are your snails potentially infectious? Probably not. Here's why:
Digenic trematodes require VERY specific snail hosts. Not all snails are hosts to these worms. So the odds of your species being one that is able to host a parasite infectious to fish is probably unlikely. If you got them from a wild source, the odds are increased slightly, but are maybe slightly less likely that the snail's parasite is infectious to YOU (yep, some of these buggers go after humans and not fish, some even both). But if they were tank-bred specimens, odds are slim-to-none that they have a digenic trematode life stage in them.
Putting them into a tank with fish who are infected with internal parasites is unlikely to do much to the snails. It's highly doubtful that this parasite is a digenic trematode because, usually, the worm parasites found in aquariums are transferrable to other fish without intermediate hosts. Even if it is digenic it's pretty unlikely you have the exact species of snail required to complete the trematode's life cycle.
Nonetheless, a quarantine is a good idea, just in case. Better to be careful even in the face of unlikelihood.
Finally, as far as I know, a filter isn't needed except for larger snails (Apple Snails in particular make a huge amount of waste), but it wouldn't hurt if you have one. People who grow snails as puffer-food don't always use a filter, but those are smaller pond snails most of the time.
Hope this was helpful! (And thanks for aiding me in studying!)
Here's the long, quasi-academic explanation:
There are five general phylums of parasitic worms - Monogenic Trematodes, Digenic Trematodes, Acanthocephalids, Nematodes and Cestodes.
Digenic trematodes are the ones usually associated with snail intermediate hosts. They usually infect fish internally, either in the gut or in other organs (liver or brain, for example).
Infection occurs first by a fish having the worms inside of it. They lay eggs that go into the intestinal tract and get released into the water. The eggs develop into the next stage (name varies based on the order of the worm) and proceed to infect a host snail. They feed on and develop in the snail to their next stage, usually releasing further matured worm intermediate stages into the water (and rarely affecting the snail). They can release more worm intermediates for a few days or for the lifetime of the snail. Some, however, don't release anything and instead stay inside of the snail and wait for it to get eaten to begin their next life stage. Next they enter the fish and develop into adults in their organ of preference and, thus, the cycle is complete.
Now are your snails potentially infectious? Probably not. Here's why:
Digenic trematodes require VERY specific snail hosts. Not all snails are hosts to these worms. So the odds of your species being one that is able to host a parasite infectious to fish is probably unlikely. If you got them from a wild source, the odds are increased slightly, but are maybe slightly less likely that the snail's parasite is infectious to YOU (yep, some of these buggers go after humans and not fish, some even both). But if they were tank-bred specimens, odds are slim-to-none that they have a digenic trematode life stage in them.
Putting them into a tank with fish who are infected with internal parasites is unlikely to do much to the snails. It's highly doubtful that this parasite is a digenic trematode because, usually, the worm parasites found in aquariums are transferrable to other fish without intermediate hosts. Even if it is digenic it's pretty unlikely you have the exact species of snail required to complete the trematode's life cycle.
Nonetheless, a quarantine is a good idea, just in case. Better to be careful even in the face of unlikelihood.
Finally, as far as I know, a filter isn't needed except for larger snails (Apple Snails in particular make a huge amount of waste), but it wouldn't hurt if you have one. People who grow snails as puffer-food don't always use a filter, but those are smaller pond snails most of the time.
Hope this was helpful! (And thanks for aiding me in studying!)
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