Do snails need to be quarantined?

[sharkweek178]

Do snails need to be quarantined? Can they carry any pathogens that could harm fish or shrimps?

 

[Fishfaced]

I've never quarantined snails.. never had any issues.
Someone else may have more experience though.

 

[Essjay]

In theory, yes. If they have been kept in a tank with fish, they'll have water on the shell and inside the shell which potentially could have pathogens in it. But the amount of water involved is the same as when netting new fish out of the bag. So really it depends on how the snails have been kept - in a tank with fish, very slight risk; in a snail only tank, a lot less risk.

If it helps, I've never quarantined snails. With snails which have arrived in the post in a tub filled with damp paper etc, I fill a small tub with tank water, put the snail in that and float the container in the tank allowing the snail to climb out. Why? I want to make sure the snail is alive so I don't put a dead snail straight into the tank.

 

[GaryE]

Quarantined? They need to be isolated and crushed!

It hurts me deeply to have the same first name as Sponge Bob's pet snail .

 

[Back in the fold]

EVERYTHING ! Plants , snails , and fish must be quarantined before introduction to the aquarium that you have slaved over to be perfect . Better safe than sorry.

 

[Fishfaced]

Quarantined? They need to be isolated and crushed!

It hurts me deeply to have the same first name as Sponge Bob's pet snail .

If you get some that don't take over, like a nice horned nerite. They add to the tank, for maintenance and another spin on life.

 

[Colin_T]

Ideally you should quarantine snails but realistically, most people don't. The disease risk from snails is mostly in the water they are bagged up with. If there are diseases in the tank, they can be transferred into your tank via the water.

Some snails can carry parasitic worms and are part of a worm lifecycle. The snail gets eaten by a fish and the fish catch the worm. It's uncommon but does happen from time to time.

 

[Uberhoust]

You really have two choices for organisms like snails and plants. You can do the sterile method where all introductions are quarantined and or treated (bleach dip for plants). Or you can take the approach of introducing these types of critters into your tank without quarantine or treatment (don't introduce the outside water though). In one case you can have a successful aquarium that has limited or no other critters, thinking hydra and planaria for example. In the other case you might end up with a successful tank that has a whole assortment of critters, some are beneficial some not so much.

I currently have both types of systems in my tanks right now. I have always been taking the sterile approach but for my shrimp tank I have been taking the rinse only approach. The tank taking the latter approach is more interesting to me because I have a number of different critters I get to watch in the tank, including seed shrimp, a host of interesting protozoans, but I also have seen hydras (kind of OK with this because I find them fascinating), and lately aphids which I don't find so fascinating.

Overall I can say my more natural approach tank was a lot quicker in maturing, ie getting to the phase where there is well establish biofilm throughout the tank. On the other hand my sterile approach type tank does well with my angelfish tank. The angelfish tank took months to mature but the angels did not seem to mind, and I know they don't have parasites I have to worry about, as long as the nitrogen forms are dealt with the fish seemed happy.

In an established tank you risk a lot if you introduce new fish without quarantine, you risk less with snails and plants but it is not risk free.

 

[sharkweek178]

I have unleashed the MTS in my tank. It's kind of a game to see if they can reproduce faster than the assassin snails can eat them. I might overfeed a little for the next few feedings to give them a head start.

 

[sharkweek178]

I have unleashed the MTS in my tank. It's kind of a game to see if they can reproduce faster than the assassin snails can eat them. I might overfeed a little for the next few feedings to give them a head start.

Update: The assassin snails won.

 

[Colin_T]

YAYAYAYAYA FOR THE ASSASSINS

 

[Magnum Man]

My tilapia supplier warned not to add snails to tanks with edible fish... I did end up with a few pond snails, in my system, that likely came on the Giant Duckweed, I raise to supplement the pellets ( I picked them out, when ever I saw one ) but assuming they "can" carry disease that can infect fish, & possibly humans

 

[sharkweek178]

YAYAYAYAYA FOR THE ASSASSINS

I kind of wanted to have *some* snails. But I guess since I've cut back on overfeeding they didn't reproduce fast enough. I'm taking that as a good sign. I don't count on my livestock as a "clean up crew". I mostly wanted them to dig around in the substrate. But the assassins do that too. And my amano shrimp can do clean up in the little nooks and crannies that I miss.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I kind of wanted to have *some* snails. But I guess since I've cut back on overfeeding they didn't reproduce fast enough. I'm taking that as a good sign. I don't count on my livestock as a "clean up crew". I mostly wanted them to dig around in the substrate. But the assassins do that too. And my amano shrimp can do clean up in the little nooks and crannies that I miss.

Just out of curiosity, how many assassin snails did you have, and how many MTS did you add? I added five MTS to my tank for the same reasons you tried, and mine seemed to explode in population in no time at all. I didn't have any assassins though. The three I introduced to a tank with tons of pest ramshorns and bladder snails died pretty fast. I just found their shells within a few months, but the pest snails and the MTS I added long after the assassins had perished didn't seem to get knocked back at all. I might try getting some assassins again at some point, just see whether there can be a balance to have both in the little ecosystem.

 

[Colin_T]

My tilapia supplier warned not to add snails to tanks with edible fish... I did end up with a few pond snails, in my system, that likely came on the Giant Duckweed, I raise to supplement the pellets ( I picked them out, when ever I saw one ) but assuming they "can" carry disease that can infect fish, & possibly humans

Aquatic snails can carry parasitic worms that end up in the fish's intestine. As long as you remove the guts from the fish and cook the body, you won't catch anything from it. If you eat raw fish and in particular the organs and intestinal tract, then you can catch stuff from them. But cooking fish properly will kill anything in it.