Found A Snail In My Tank

[orangefish]

I've had my tank for about 3 weeks now, and today I found a baby snail sliding up the side of my tank! I presume that it's hatched out from a plant I've bought, as I haven't seen it yet. Will it harm my fish? What does it do/eat? I heard that they carry diseases, but if they hatch out in my tank will they not have a disease? Thanks!

 

[aly_starh]

hiya!

Yes, the snail is more than likely a pest snail that came in with live plants.

Well, normally we dont feed pest snails as they multiply rapidly if they are feed. They can eat anything thb, from fish food to dead plants.

If you do start feeding it, you will see more within the week IMHE!

As far as im aware of they dont carry disease's.

HTH

edit: spelling error

 

[orangefish]

hiya!

Yes, the snail is more than likely a pest snail that came in with live plants.

Well, normally we dont feed pest snails as they multiply rapidly if they are feed. They can eat anything thb, from fish food to dead plants.

If you do start feeding it, you will see more within the week IMHE!

As far as im aware of they dont carry disease's.

HTH

edit: spelling error

Do you think I could put it in my pond?

 

[aly_starh]

yes

 

[Nauplii]

I think it would die in the pond =P but i agree with aly_starh that they don't carry diseases. They aren't generally a problem orangeshark and if you don't want them there then just take them out

Vixen
x

 

[orangefish]

I think it would die in the pond =P but i agree with aly_starh that they don't carry diseases. They aren't generally a problem orangeshark and if you don't want them there then just take them out

Vixen
x

Thanks, I think it's quite cute, but I'm scared it's gonna breed like hell!

 

[crazychris]

I think it would die in the pond =P but i agree with aly_starh that they don't carry diseases. They aren't generally a problem orangeshark and if you don't want them there then just take them out

Vixen
x

Thanks, I think it's quite cute, but I'm scared it's gonna breed like hell!

It will and probably already has. Bet you've a lot more in the gravel as they come out at night.

 

[orangefish]

I think it would die in the pond =P but i agree with aly_starh that they don't carry diseases. They aren't generally a problem orangeshark and if you don't want them there then just take them out

Vixen
x

Thanks, I think it's quite cute, but I'm scared it's gonna breed like hell!

It will and probably already has. Bet you've a lot more in the gravel as they come out at night.

Oh dear! And it's so small I've lost it in the gravel too, so I can't get it out!

 

[sic0198]

Get a loach or two, they'll have a snack. These are a nuisance, they multiply very quickly.

 

[waterdrop]

Would the loaches grow a little big for a 50L?

I agree, snails are harmless to fish and to the tank environment and depending on species, they are sometimes kept out of interest. However in most cases with the more common varieties, they can become a major nuisance!

It helps to adopt the attitude that you will use a variety of methods to remove snails and just consider it a maintenance thing: You can crush the smaller ones with your fingers and feed them to your fish (be careful though of cutting your skin as they get bigger.) You can remove them, but avoid the indoor trash as they will crawl out and move about your room! You can sink a teacup saucer with lettuce or similar veggie overnight and in the morning slowly lift it out (the saucer is to catch the snails as they drop off the leaf) if they have moved to eat the lettuce, as they usually do.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

Snails in general are a no-brainer. I do not care for "pest snails" so I try to control them. If I see a snail egg clutch I remove it and let it dry out. If the population of pest snails gets too high, I resort to using standard methods to control them such as using the baby snails as fish food by crushing them on the tank walls. Another way that does work is to limit the food available to the newly hatched snails by reducing the feeding of the tank to the absolute minimum that will support the fish. This will cause many of the baby snails to starve to death. Beware that even one large feeding will give the baby snails an opportunity to survive and reproduce. It takes some very careful feeding to use this technique to reduce the survival rate of snails.