Found A Snail In My Aquarium?!

[Sahira]

Hi all,
I was just looking at my tank and I noticed that their is a snail in there! I didnt buy it so I think it must of come from one of my live plants.. The snail is small, brownish colour and has a spiral type shell.. What should I do? Shall I take it out? Leave it? Will it harm my fish?.. If I see it again I will take a pic to show you.
Thanks.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Snails aren't harmful to fish, but they can breed out of control if there is sufficient food. My advice is to either remove it or squish it. The fish will thank you for the fresh meal.


If you leave it, there's no real harm to be done by it, but if you are overfeeding they will multiply. The good news is you are overfeeding is that they eat the excess food so that you don't have an ammonia spike. Whatever you do, DO NOT ADD CHEMICALS to kill them. First, its just a bad idea because of secondary issues regarding the killing agent and your fish's health. Second, killing all the snails at once and leaving them in the tank will lead to excess ammonia.


I have snails, but I vac some out every water change and I've never had an issue with their number. They also help to keep my glass clean from algae. It's a nice side benefit, actually.

 

[ZoddyZod]

sounds like a species of ramshorn snail. Probably wont get too large and therefore not a real threat to your plants.

 

[Sahira]

Snails aren't harmful to fish, but they can breed out of control if there is sufficient food. My advice is to either remove it or squish it. The fish will thank you for the fresh meal.


If you leave it, there's no real harm to be done by it, but if you are overfeeding they will multiply. The good news is you are overfeeding is that they eat the excess food so that you don't have an ammonia spike. Whatever you do, DO NOT ADD CHEMICALS to kill them. First, its just a bad idea because of secondary issues regarding the killing agent and your fish's health. Second, killing all the snails at once and leaving them in the tank will lead to excess ammonia.


I have snails, but I vac some out every water change and I've never had an issue with their number. They also help to keep my glass clean from algae. It's a nice side benefit, actually.

yhh.. I definitely wont be adding any chemicals!
I looked a little closer and I saw 3 snails... now i am thinking shall a wait till my next water change and take them out.. or just leave them and if they increase i will definitely take them out..

I took a picture.. so you can see what type of snail it is..

http/www.flickr.com/photos/58372321@N06/6390097853/

sounds like a species of ramshorn snail. Probably wont get too large and therefore not a real threat to your plants.

I took a picture of the snail... and I found (when i looked closer) that there are 3 of them.. one really tiny one and the two the same size as the one in the pic..

http/www.flickr.com/photos/58372321@N06/6390097853/

 

[Poseidons_daughter]

Yes, it could have stowed away on one of the plants. The same thing happened to us a few years ago. Be careful because just as what has already been stated, they have a tendency to multiply quite rapidly. Also, keep an eye on the health of your live plants because plants are a snail's meal of choice! Meanwhile, there are some benefits to having a snail or two (as long as you keep them in check and inhibit them from multiplying)within your home aquarium. In addition to eating plants, snails are scavengers that also eat algae and dead animals, which can help to keep your aquarium clean. Good luck!!

 

[Old Betta]

Yes, they will eat algea and surplus un eaten food, which are plus points.
However, from past experience I would remove all but one from the tank.
Easy to keep count & control of one snail...but never let them get out of control and avoid chemicals to control them...not good for fish or plants.

 

[HayzH]

pest snails... i had a few in one tank..they somehow managed to get into my other 2 tanks...i remove all i can see EVERY w/c..but i still cant keep up.

 

[Fishcakes]

pest snails... i had a few in one tank..they somehow managed to get into my other 2 tanks...i remove all i can see EVERY w/c..but i still cant keep up.

Same here. We wait until one has crawled to the top of the tank, then we strike - crush it and allow it to float to the bottom of the tank, and the fish will fight each other for it.

It all started with one snail which got quite big, and we liked, but then all of a sudden we can often see 6 at any one time, and we know there's more out there...

 

[Sahira]

pest snails... i had a few in one tank..they somehow managed to get into my other 2 tanks...i remove all i can see EVERY w/c..but i still cant keep up.

Same here. We wait until one has crawled to the top of the tank, then we strike - crush it and allow it to float to the bottom of the tank, and the fish will fight each other for it.

It all started with one snail which got quite big, and we liked, but then all of a sudden we can often see 6 at any one time, and we know there's more out there...

Yeah I spotted 3 of them, managed to take 2 out, and now i cant see the 3rd one! I will keep an eye out for it!

 

[Fishcakes]

pest snails... i had a few in one tank..they somehow managed to get into my other 2 tanks...i remove all i can see EVERY w/c..but i still cant keep up.

Same here. We wait until one has crawled to the top of the tank, then we strike - crush it and allow it to float to the bottom of the tank, and the fish will fight each other for it.

It all started with one snail which got quite big, and we liked, but then all of a sudden we can often see 6 at any one time, and we know there's more out there...

Yeah I spotted 3 of them, managed to take 2 out, and now i cant see the 3rd one! I will keep an eye out for it!

They're not that bad for your tank in small numbers, but I don't particularly want them as I already have my cleaning crew - some shrimps, which are known collectively as "the amigos".

 

[willowstwin]

I hated the pest snails I got on some plants from my lfs... luckily I managed to get most of the adults, and the babies/small ones my guppies actually sucked off the glass. My LFS had a serious problem with them, majority of the display tanks were over run with them. They even had to shut the plant tanks, strip them and fully clean them to get rid of all the snails. What a nightmare. A lady was in complaining that the only new thing in her tank was a plant from the LFS and in a week there were more snails on the glass than she could count

My advice would be to get rid of them and then get rid of any more you find as you find them, and look out for egg clusters. Your guppies (if like mine) should take care of any really small ones.