Where Has This Guy Come From?

[guineapigqueen]

Hello,
I was wondering where this snail has come from? Its quiet a decent size, I am not bothered about it being in there, I was just wondering what it is?
I have one live plant in the tank and last time I had a snail infestation they were small round shelled guys, well this guy has a long sprial shell, my partner said I should feed him to the clown loaches, but he doesnt seem to be bothering anyone. It also seems to be going to the Algae patches on the glass and sucking on them.

Pics of it, sorry they arent the best.....

Emma x

 

[shaz3271]

hi emma

you have there a malaysian trumpet snail

They grow no longer than an inch (Melanoides granifera slightly bigger) in length yet they rapidly become part of a formidable army of digging snails! These snails are livebearers and as such give birth to fully formed miniature replicas of the adult snail. All of the snails are female and are able to reproduce in this way without the need for fertilisation. Thus one snail rapidly becomes two and so on.

Their foraging habits can mainly be observed at dusk when the snails are most active. They will use their strong foot to push themselves deep into the substrate where they gorge themselves upon uneaten fish food and micro-organisms. Their digging habits have long been noted to help prevent the build up of toxic gases in the aquarium substrate. They will not eat aquarium plants, in fact they help to aerate plant roots reducing their compaction.

An excellent little scavenger for the freshwater aquarium and a prolific breeder



sharon

 

[guineapigqueen]

Thanks Sharon, Mrs. Snail seems to be going full speed around the tank now.
My Betta(rip) used to flare up at her and nudge her shell, but she knew what was best and hid most of the time from him.
I cant believe how fast she is, and agile.

Emma x

 

[~T~]

Yup they are the earthworms of the aquarium.I have them in all my tanks.I have seen people getting them in plague numbers but thats usually rare.It probably came in on plants.

 

[severum boy]

Im fairly sure that is a spiketailed trumpet snail,Melanoides granifera, as it seams too colourful for a normal MTS and her shell seams chunkier.

 

[three-fingers]

It's the same colour as my MTS, though the shell seems slightly different it could just be the pic, even if it is slightly different I'd still vote regular MTS.

 

[~T~]

Looks the same as my trumpets too.

 

[ChiefGourami]

Hello,
I was wondering where this snail has come from? Its quiet a decent size, I am not bothered about it being in there, I was just wondering what it is?
I have one live plant in the tank and last time I had a snail infestation they were small round shelled guys, well this guy has a long sprial shell, my partner said I should feed him to the clown loaches, but he doesnt seem to be bothering anyone. It also seems to be going to the Algae patches on the glass and sucking on them.

Pics of it, sorry they arent the best.....

Emma x

you normally get a couple of snails of off live plants. If your not careful they will breed and they'll be millions of them. Like you said, best way to keep the numbers down is to get a couple of loaches. Clown loaches especially will keep on top of it and keep the numbers down.

 

[Tommo]

I wouldnt worry about getting rid of it or getting loaches to eat the snail as they are harmless and help out in planted tanks by churning the substrate, also they dont eat plants but do eat algea so really you may as well keep her.

 

[guineapigqueen]

I wont feed her to the clown loaches, shes very interesting speeding around the tank and pulling that large shell around.
I had a small amount of algae growth on the glass, its opposite a window and she is mainly eatting that, until i cleaned it the other day but there is plenty on the gravel around the bottom of the glass.

Emma x

 

[nurglespuss]

LOL just for so9me more info: they can breed via parthenogenesis (splitting off) so don't need a partner to breed :>

Also loaches wond eat them, they can't as the shell is too thick, and the small spikes around the shell opening deter predators.

I have untold numbers of them in my catfish tank, which really help out.

 

[three-fingers]

LOL just for so9me more info: they can breed via parthenogenesis (splitting off) so don't need a partner to breed :>

Also loaches wond eat them, they can't as the shell is too thick, and the small spikes around the shell opening deter predators.

I have untold numbers of them in my catfish tank, which really help out.

They don't split off (that would be weird! ) , they give birth to live young like guppies do.
Those spikes aren't part of the shell either, notice when you pick them up they retract into the shell with the snail, they are soft and fleshy. Though i have no idea what they are for .