identify these snails

[Torrean]

I found these snails in a local pond can anyone tell what they are?

sorry I took a couple of pics that turned out better but apparently my card is full, so i'll have to delete some old ones and take a few better ones if you guys can't use these pics

EDIT: i removed the worse pictures since they were almost useless

 

[jflowers]

Start here...

http/www.applesnail.net/content/snails_various.php

I would bet on the common pond snail, though its difficult to see the shell shape on your pics.

Jon

 

[Torrean]

Better?

edit: even if you can't identify the little guy I would appreciate any info on what they eat.

 

[jflowers]

OK, looks like a common pond snail (not sure of the scientific name), they will eat anything and will become a pest. Thats a good pic BTW. Many people get these by accident on live plants and they can take over your tank. if you want to keep some, go ahead in a seperate tank and see how they get on. When I say they will eat anything, I mean it, fish flakes, veg, fish! [Edit: Dead fish, not fast enough to catch a live one ]

Jon

 

[Torrean]

So i should take them out of the tank? =( man they're the coolest thing in there. Will they really kill my fish and newts? I can't believe they could catch them

edit: I don't mind them multiplying I know a few tricks for removing excess snails

 

[jflowers]

I added the edit to my origional post as I saw it could be read that they could catch fish. No I would not take them out because of that, you are correct, they won't catch your fish.

Jon

 

[Torrean]

COOL!!!! that's great news. I was depressed. OH btw will they eat my live plants. If they do it's not a huge thing just curious. They haven't shown any interest in them yet but then again they are just starting to grow from bulbs

 

[jflowers]

They will eat algae mainly, but will eat plants if algae is not available, and won't eat some types of algae such as the black hair algae that sometimes covers live plant leaves.

Jon

 

[Torrean]

should i give them algae disks??? like a pleco

 

[gale]

They like veggies. Cucumber, lettuce...I have quite a few of those type of snails and so far they haven't eaten any of my plants. My nerites have recently removed ALL of the algae from my tanks so we'll see, but so far they have only cleaned algae off the plant leaves and eaten some dead leaves.

 

[Torrean]

cool, thanks for the info. BTW how quickly do they multiply and how big do they get??

 

[Dwarfs]

cool, thanks for the info. BTW how quickly do they multiply and how big do they get??

About a quarter of an inch IME, once you have one, you will notice small egg sacs on the glass, plants, or rocks in about a week. Then, they hatch in a few days, and you have more snails

 

[jflowers]

cool, thanks for the info. BTW how quickly do they multiply and how big do they get??

About a quarter of an inch IME, once you have one, you will notice small egg sacs on the glass, plants, or rocks in about a week. Then, they hatch in a few days, and you have more snails

Yep, bout a 1/4 inch, sometimes a little bigger if well fed.

The egg sacs dwarfs spoke of look like this...

Jon

 

[Torrean]

snails make there shells out of calcium right. If the snail dies and I leave the shells in there will it affect my ph? If i see the egg sacs can I pull them out. What is the effect on the bioload of teh tank when all those snails are added?

 

[jflowers]

snails make there shells out of calcium right. If the snail dies and I leave the shells in there will it affect my ph? If i see the egg sacs can I pull them out. What is the effect on the bioload of teh tank when all those snails are added?

A few shells will not hurt the hardness of your water (PH is a measure of acid-alkaline, not hardness, though hard water is usually alkaline and soft, acid). You can leave the empty shells in, just make sure that the shells are empty, dead snails will pollute the tank very quickly.

Egg sacs can be removed as and when you see them, but they will usually be well hidden.

The bioload is only slightly less than fish, so count a large snail as a medium-large fish. Fish waste can only be degraded so far by snails, in the end it will be ammonia that your filter needs to take care of.

Jon