Snails introduced with plants

[klc43]

So I ordered some plants online, and didn't have any of the chemicals to sterilize them on hand, so I put them in my quarantine tank. I now have at least four little snails crawling around. I am a relative Newby, hoping for some advice.

1. I never wanted snails, they are kinda gross to me. But I am hearing they can be good for your tank. Convince me to keep 1 or 2?

2. Can you help me identify them? Are they going to reproduce like crazy?

3. Can I release them in a local waterway rather than kill them? Will they survive? Are they invasive?

TYIA!

 

[Sunnyspots]

So I ordered some plants online, and didn't have any of the chemicals to sterilize them on hand, so I put them in my quarantine tank. I now have at least four little snails crawling around. I am a relative Newby, hoping for some advice.

1. I never wanted snails, they are kinda gross to me. But I am hearing they can be good for your tank. Convince me to keep 1 or 2?

2. Can you help me identify them? Are they going to reproduce like crazy?

3. Can I release them in a local waterway rather than kill them? Will they survive? Are they invasive?

TYIA!

I have no idea what they are, but definitely don't release them to the wild. Who knows what diseases they might be carrying, quite apart from the risk of being invasive.

 

[klc43]

PS My tank is 20 gal. 2 honey gourami, 3 corydora habrosus. Planning to get more cories and some small algae eaters. My PH is out of whack (high), but all other water parameters are good.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Looks like a bladder snail, to me...yes, they reproduce like mad...you can try removing and disposing of the ones you see, but more than likely, there's ones you don't see yet, and there's eggs ready to hatch.

Snails can be beneficial to a tank, but many people consider them pests, once their numbers reach into the dozens...

 

[klc43]

Looks like a bladder snail, to me...yes, they reproduce like mad...you can try removing and disposing of the ones you see, but more than likely, there's ones you don't see yet, and there's eggs ready to hatch.

Snails can be beneficial to a tank, but many people consider them pests, once their numbers reach into the dozens...

@Slaphppy7 Thanks for help with the identification! They do seem to match pictures of bladder snails online.

After reading a bit, sounds like my only real options are kill them by treating the plants, or accept an uncontrollable number in my tank. I really hate to kill them, but I don't want hundreds of snails. I'm not going to introduce another fish type to eat them. My main tank is too small.

 

[Sunnyspots]

@Slaphppy7 Thanks for help with the identification! They do seem to match pictures of bladder snails online.

After reading a bit, sounds like my only real options are kill them by treating the plants, or accept an uncontrollable number in my tank. I really hate to kill them, but I don't want hundreds of snails. I'm not going to introduce another fish type to eat them. My main tank is too small.

If you'd like to have them controlled in the tank then you can get assassin snails which hunt and kill them.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Assassin snails are an option, but the OP stated they didn't want to go that route...assassins WILL breed to, just not as quickly or prolifically

My only advise then is to pick out and remove them as you see them...euthanize and dispose of in the trash

 

[Essjay]

It looks like one of the Physid snails or possibly a Limnaeid. The difference is the direction the shell curls. Look at the first two snails in this thread to see which yours is

Freshwater Snail Species In The Hobby

(Thread rework in progress - please pardon our dust!) Freshwater Snail Species In The Hobby (Two Clea helena assassin snails and a Planorbid ramshorn - photo by CassCats) Index Basic Terminology for Identification Physidae: Bladder Snails and Tadpole Snails Lymnaeidae: Pond Snails...

www.fishforums.net

The easiest way to keep their numbers under control is to not over feed the fish. They will eat any left over food and food = baby snails.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Removing them by hand is probably your best option.
If you put a weight around a piece of cucumber, courgette or carrot and leave it in the tank overnight, you'll find loads of snails on it after a few hours.
I hear you not wanting to kill them, but most fish would enjoy a crushed snail treat and, as has already been said, DO NOT release them into the wild. That is just irresponsible and dangerous to already beleaguered ecosystems.

You could also make a snail trap, using a clear water bottle;
Remove the lid.
Cut off the top 1/4 of the bottle, invert it and place it in the rest of the bottle.
Place some vegetable bait inside and leave it in the tank overnight.

The quickest way to kill snails would be to put them in a small pan and pour boiling water onto them.

 

[NannaLou]

1. I never wanted snails, they are kinda gross to me. But I am hearing they can be good for your tank. Convince me to keep 1 or 2?

you’ll never keep them to 1 or 2, but they only reproduce to the amount of food available for them to eat (or so I’ve been told)

 

[klc43]

Thanks everyone! Definitely looks like bladder snails. It's amazing how fast they have grown in a couple of days.

So it sounds like no one is going to try to convince me to keep them.

 

[Essjay]

I will

I have these snails, and those little red ramshorns and Malaysian trumpet snails and nerite snails in my tanks. The pest snails have not taken over because I don't overfeed the fish.

 

[NannaLou]

I’ve got them too…rams horns and Malaysian trumpets upstairs and bladder snails downstairs… I did have a cull of the bladder snail on one occasion but all ok for now

 

[Byron]

I welcome these snails, they are beneficial. I have very soft water and never thought the pond or bladder snails would survive, but they have, and I welcome them. They eat organics which includes primarily fish excrement, plus any dead plant (or fish) matter; the benefit here is that this breaks the organics down faster so the bacteria can deal with it, or plants will use the nutrients. So the snails eat what is in the tank anyway, and they will reproduce according to the food availability. The more fish, or the more you feed them, the more snails. They do not eat healthy plants, nor live fish/fry. They will likely eat fish eggs.

If you do want to kill any, crush them so you are certain they are dead. Assassin snails are not recommended, as they can get into the local ecosystem and wipe out native snail species, causing incredible harm. Same holds for allowing these pond or bladder snails to get into the ecosystem.

 

[Colin_T]

I will

I have these snails, and those little red ramshorns and Malaysian trumpet snails and nerite snails in my tanks. The pest snails have not taken over because I don't overfeed the fish.

they are pest snails

death to snails