Snails?

[katykaye]

Hi guys

I appear to have what looks like tiny, and I mean minute, snails in my tank!!! lots of them!!

So my question is, where did they come from? might they be something other than snails? they are slim and elongtaed (although they are curled up) and appear to have tiny antena and they are attached to the sides of my tank.

The tank is planted with real plants (which have been in the tank for a while)

the tank contains (all relatively new to the tank)

5 Cardinal Tetras
2 Danios
2 Golden sucking loach

can anyone shed light on this for me please - and what, if anything, I might need to do about them

Many thanks

Kaye

 

[xxBarneyxx]

They would have come in on your plants Depending on the snails and if you like seeing snails in the tank or not you can just leave them. I have hundreds on snails in my tank, they do have a nibble on some of my plants but considering the mass of snails in there they dont do too much damage and do a brilliant job of cleaning up dead leaves and left over fish food.

If you dont like them you are pretty much stuck with them unfortunetly. Depend on the size of your tank and what fish you have then you can get some fish that will snack on these. Most loaches for example will eat snails but some of the most common ones (clown loaches for example) need very large tanks (research before you buy any).

You can try putting a lettuce leaf in overnight as well. By the morning you will find a lot of snails on it. Then just remove the leaf with the snails on and repeat until the snail population has dropped down. You will most likely find you have to do this at least once a month to keep the snail levels really low.

Personally I just let them be

 

[fall-apart-dave]

I used baby clowns to control my population. I've gone from hundreds of them to about 50 big-ish ones. The out competed my apple snails who died off, and the baby clowns eat the baby snails, leaving the adults to clean up. Works well! Unfortunately, when the clowns start to grow up (and they are growing fast!) I'll have to trade them in... For more baby clowns!!! I'll trade them for the same number of babies plus whatever I need at the time. Everyones a winner then!

 

[katykaye]

Thanks for the replies

How big do they grow? and what sort of snails are they?

 

[ShoC]

Flubenol a treatment or Discus wormer / will kill them off
it is not copper based and totally harmless

Underwurlde is the man for good information on this product

 

[jennybugs]

I wouldn't go down the Flubenol route unless you really have to even though it is harmless, you can get it via Plymouth Discus...I use it for my Dwarf Puffs.

Cucumber does the same job as lettuce. If the snail shells are elongated they sound like trumpet snails and these guys can reproduce on their own. If they're tiny curled up shells (round) they're rmshorns. Any other shape and they're prob common pond snails. Just pick them out when you see them or put the cucumbe/lettuce in overnight and remove in the morning, repeating as necessary. The eggs come in on plants so it's always a good idea to clean your plants as much as you can before adding to your tank.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

... Or just leave them!

 

[ShoC]

IM NOT EVIL (honest)

I would love to leave snails in my tank BUT they are to damn ugly
Trumpet snails I would welcome with open arms for my sand

but these at the very top of this link

Are the most repulsive hideous reproducing little buggers I have ever encountered
I'll have upto 30 on the front of my tank at once.

I have a planted tank so they find alot to eat

 

[jennybugs]

IM NOT EVIL (honest)

I would love to leave snails in my tank BUT they are to damn ugly
Trumpet snails I would welcome with open arms for my sand

but these at the very top of this link

Are the most repulsive hideous reproducing little buggers I have ever encountered
I'll have upto 30 on the front of my tank at once.

I have a planted tank so they find alot to eat

Ah, hence the Flubenol I see?

 

[katykaye]

Ohh mine look like minature versions of the 2nd one down on that link! Ramshorn snails?

 

[jennybugs]

Yes that's them. I have squillions in my hot house and the occasional one pops up elsewhere. I cross contaminated at some time with my siphon I recon.

I pick them all out either by hand, after cleaning in the dirty water bucket or via the cucumber method and then put most in my snail nursery and give them to my puffs all the time

 

[ShoC]

IM NOT EVIL (honest)

I would love to leave snails in my tank BUT they are to damn ugly
Trumpet snails I would welcome with open arms for my sand

but these at the very top of this link

Are the most repulsive hideous reproducing little buggers I have ever encountered
I'll have upto 30 on the front of my tank at once.

I have a planted tank so they find alot to eat

Ah, hence the Flubenol I see?

Yeah the Top snails are pointless not nice to look at

 

[CrashingWaves]

I'm basically just saying what has already been said, but I'm responding in spite of that.

The snails came in on the plants which is an extremely common thing to happen. When I was in my second year of fish keeping the same thing happened to me and I ended up with literally hundreds of small snails in my tank. On one level, it was quite amusing to say the least. Thankfully I had a pretty decent community tank and was able to purchase a clown loach who was about 3 inches long. I put the loach into the tank in the afternoon and by the next morning, I wasn't able to find any snails. I honestly don't know how he was able to pull that one off, but it's the truth.

Generally any botia loach will take care of a snail problem. Speaking from experience though I can say that some of them don't exactly do a very good job. The most reliable loach to take care of snails is by far the clown loach from my experience.

God Bless,
Joshua

 

[jennybugs]

I put the loach into the tank in the afternoon and by the next morning, I wasn't able to find any snails. I honestly don't know how he was able to pull that one off, but it's the truth.

I bet you had one very round loach after that feast Joshua

 

[CrashingWaves]

I put the loach into the tank in the afternoon and by the next morning, I wasn't able to find any snails. I honestly don't know how he was able to pull that one off, but it's the truth.

I bet you had one very round loach after that feast Joshua

He was pretty plump to say the least. In hindsight I realize I should've gotten a total of three clown loaches anyway. In doing so it also would've spread out the amount of food to go around. But, what can I say, I was young and new to fish keeping. Who honestly would've thought he would devastate the snail community overnight?

God Bless,
Joshua