Snaily problem i think

[jb14]

Sorry to be so vauge, and not sure it is an emergency as such, but here goes, I have set up my tropical fish tank several weeks ago, (it had been empty for some time) it was thoroghly cleaned etc, and we have added several fish and 2 newts, and plants about 10 fish in total and they are all doing great, yesterday i opened up the tank and went to feed them and there was all these weird tiny smail like looking things in there, brown, about 5mm long all over the glass on the inside, and roaming about on the gravel at the bottom, they don't seem to be botherhing the fish at all, but they freaked me out and i have taped up the tank to stop them escaping (dont know if they will) they look like they have some sort of shell but it looks soft, where would they have come from and it has been running with fish in for about 4 weeks now and this is the first time i have noticed them. I dont want to come home and find loads of snails all over my front room, I have had tropical tanks in the past years ago and have never had this happen before, also if you know what they are what can be done to get rid of them, sorry for being so dramatic but i got a bit paniked when i saw them.
thanks in advance for any help you can give

Joanne

 

[Chasing Puck]

Aquatic snails are just that--aquatic. They may skim the edge of the water line, but they will not go roaming outside of the tank, so rest easy.

As for where they came from--you mention having plants. Snails, and snail eggs, are common hitch hikers on plants, so this is likely how they were introduced.

In terms of dealing with them--snails reproduce like crazy when there is excess food available. Snails will lay a group of eggs--most common snails egg sacs look like a clear jelly bag, with lots of little individual round balls with a tiny dot inside--on plants, the glass, rocks, pretty much anywhere in the tank. The eggs hatch in a few days to weeks, depending on species, and the juvenile snails have a shell, but it is usually clear for the first week or so.

So--clean the tank more often, being sure to clean the substrate well. Do not overfeed, and remove any uneaten foods within 24 hours (other than veggies, these can stay in the tank for 2-3 says, and while the snails will benefit some, the fish will benefit even more). Make sure to clean any mechanical filtration very well--trapped wastes are snail snack bars.