Cone Shell Snail?

[sangah10]

I found a little critter in my tank today! I recently got some new java fern and he could have possibly come from that?

The size is about 1cm long, and ive seen him crawling on plants.

I noticed he also has antennas or something as well, any idea what he is and if hes harmful ?

 

[OldMan47]

MTS are fairly long thin cone shaped snails and have a reputation for helping keep the substrate stirred up to avoid anaerobic pockets developing. Typical pond snails have a somewhat conical shape but much shorter than the MTS. Any snail that you don't want in your tank is a pest but that is up to you to decide.

 

[sangah10]

I actually dont mind, btw i just found another one, and do they eat algae? if so gogogog, i have so much premature algae swinging on my glass atm.

 

[OldMan47]

Most snails will eat some algae but you certainly do not want enough of them to control all the algae in your tank. It would make it hard to see the fish.

 

[sangah10]

Hmm, I think I might remove them after doing some research, do they lay eggs above water or in water? If its in water, im so screwed as i cant find them lol

 

[Zachary1941]

Hmm, I think I might remove them after doing some research, do they lay eggs above water or in water? If its in water, im so screwed as i cant find them lol

Hi,
If they are MTS then they do not lay eggs but are live bearers...Also they do not need a mate in order to breed.. Get one in your tank and in a very short time you will have hundreds. and almost impossible to rid the tank of them...Theyt will certainly keep your Gravel etc well maintained.. .. You probably wont see them during the day, but shine a torch on the tank when its night and you wil see loads climbing uo the glass of the tank..i had a few in some gravel from the lfs and was allways picking about 10 to 15 out each night.. In the end the only real true method to rid your self of them is to strip the tank .. I had to do this and replace the gravel and even the filter sponges.. When i started again i bought 5 assassin snails.. just in case a few were left.. have not seen one now for 6 months .. so hopefully all gone..(The Assassin snails only lay one egg a month and that is normally eaten by the fish .. so no fear of being over run with them fella"s...) No disrespect to you snail keepers but i dont like them Trumpet Snails and if i never see another will suit me fine Regards Zac

 

[craig855s]

I have MTS in my tank,on purpose. Can only see one now but at night i imagine there are loads and loads of em. I bough 13 about 2 weeks ago

 

[Zachary1941]

I have MTS in my tank,on purpose. Can only see one now but at night i imagine there are loads and loads of em. I bough 13 about 2 weeks ago

Hi Craig,
Yep.loads of folks put MTS snails in their tanks on purpose, as they certainly keep the substrate clean and well aerated....they do a great job of that...With having bought 13 of them Craig in time those 13 will be 1300 .lol...If you decide at a later date to crush a few in order to try and reduce numbers .. be very careful as their shells are very tough and can quite easily cut you ..Their are a few videos on the Tube showing MTS snails ( One in particular was horrible... thousands of them in fact just about covered the bottom of the tank. ...Personally, not for me.....Regards Zac

 

[craig855s]

if they do overrun the tank ill sell em on via ebay. Thats how i bought em so i reckon there would be a market for them. Only need a tiny package to send 10-15 of them away.

 

[sangah10]

okay now im really scared lol

are those assassin snails hard to find and are they expensive ?

 

[betta fish]

If you can take a pic it will help us loads in identifying your little critter! also don't be so quick to decide to destroy it, not all snails are pests in tanks and some can be beneficial too so don't panic! sounds like you have an algae problem so let the snail sort this out for you, mts will only overun a tank if there is an excess of food available for them so as long as you keep up with tank maintenance there should not be a problem, I personally think they benefit a tank more than not, how big is you tank?

 

[Zachary1941]

okay now im really scared lol

are those assassin snails hard to find and are they expensive ?

Hi Sangah,
Did not mean to sound so scary.. But MTS do breed at a alarming rate..Assassin snails i paid if i remember correctly £2.oo each .. Google them and you will see who sells them...Of course you may not have MTS , but will still need to keep numbers down with most snails..Its a personal thing with me Just dont want snails all over my tank..... There are several other methods of ridding your tank of too many snails Lettice traps, etc and chemical but using the chemical method i believe is rather dangerous to fish and the filter bacteria (Sure someone will correct that if wrong) But assassins are a nice looking wee snail (Like a bumble Bee striped) .. Wish you well Regards Zac

 

[OldMan47]

Chemical snail controls are usually based on some kind of copper compound. It is hard on fish but usually won't kill any outright. What it will do is make it impossible to keep any shrimp or similar invertebrates in the tank for some time to come. Even multiple water changes will not make the tank safe for shrimp.