Where did the snails come from???

[Barday]

Hi all,

I've recently cycled my tank (about a month now) I've stocked it up with fish and live plants, which are all doing fine, but where the heck did my snail come from??? I just got home and to my amazement i found a snail the size of a pea munching on one of my plants! I think i also found an egg? it is a tiny pinkish thing clinging to the glass. Are these ok in my tank? Should i take them out or let them be? Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks
Barday

 

[Shizat]

it came from your plants

 

[Punkfish]

Yep, it hitch hiked in on your plants. And theres probably more, you just haven't seen them yet!

Having a few snails is fine (I quite like them), but the population needs controlling so they don't cover the whole tank.

 

[Barday]

Thanks for the response guys.
How go I control the population? Is is just a simple case of taking them out and chucking them out the window or what?

 

[Adrinal]

hehe you wish
I don't know how to "fix" the problem... but from what I have heard... It would be easier to remove all your skin then get rid of snails..

GL

 

[billy61788]

i use HAD-A-SNAIL, which is drops you add to your tank. the snails go away but every now and then one appears so you just have to add a few more drops but i would reccomend it. it says its safe for fish use

 

[Barday]

Thanks for the advice all, i'll go and get some HAD-A-SNAIL over the weekend, i'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks
Barday

 

[Mako]

You could get a few clown loaches. I had a huge snail problem, and they sorted it.

 

[Shizat]

If you dont like chemicals like I do just throw a big piece of lettuce in there and you might have to weight it down but the snails should swarm on it within a couple of hours and just pick it up and hose it off and repeat the process.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Those chemicals are fine now but here is a warning to people in general:

If you have a serious snail outbreak in your tank DO NOT use those chemicals. You will end up with a tank full of dead, rotting snails, and a huge water quality problem.

The lettuce Idea is a great way to catch adults, and many loaches, yo-yo in particular, will take care of things, but none of these methods will completely wipe out the colony, as there will always be babies that are not found.

If you can keep them under control snails are very beneficial to an aquarium.