Where did the snails come from???

[SnowLady]

OK - after my heater broke (stupid stupid mistake) and I'm close the end of my fishless cycle FINALLY!

Toward the beginning of my fishless cycle I bought some real plants at the LFS. They seem to be faring well. EXCEPT now I have TWO snails.

Are they the rabbits of the underwater world? How do I keep them in check? Can I give them back to the LFS? lol Or should I let them be?

 

[MAM]

they came in on the plants for starters.
yes, they are like rabbits. and they will mulitply. it only takes a few. don't know what size tank you have or what you plan to put in there, but loaches will eat them and there are some smaller loach varieties (don't get clowns unless you have a big tank), but you'll need to be able to have at least three loaches as they like to be in a group.
here's a good site about loaches:
http/www.loaches.com/


i'd take them off your hands if i lived nearby, as i'm setting up a tank for a dwarf puffer and they also eat them

when you get new plants, rinse them carefully and inspect them for small snails (these can be very small to begin with). when you do see snails in the tank, fish them out carefully. take care of them as soon as you see some if you don't want them, as thats the only way to stay on top of it. oh, and the person i got some of my equipemtn from, always had snail problems, and she warned that sometimes, snails do get out.............

 

[SnowLady]

Ewwwwwwwwwwwww they get out?! Oh no! I didn't even think of that! YIKES!

I've got a 29 gallon tank. A couple real plants. Some fun EXPENSIVE decor. Just waitin' for the cycle to complete so I can add the main attractions. lol

Not really into escargot you know. Ugh. SNAILS!

 

[MAM]

i have a feeling her got out because the water was to the absolute top of the tank and some plants poked out of the water. the snails died of course, but she'd find them stuck to the outside of the tank and on the light ballast. ick, i agree.
i bought some plants last night, and they were surprising snail free so i asked the gal at the lfs if i could have some that had overrun a guppy tank. she gave this look like "um are you nuts? sure, we'll be more than happy to let you have them all, you freak!!!!", but she scooped out about 10 of the little buggers for me. i'm sure she's never gotten that request before though, most people complain about the snails but my future little dwarf puffer will be so happy

what are you planning to put in the tank? you could definitely put three smaller loaches in there, like queen botias or yo-yos or chain loaches......