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[emeraldking]

I bought them from my LFS and the tanks they had the plants in had no snails. I bought the plants in 2 separate batches (4 and 4) so maybe there were some eggs. I don’t mind having the snails in the tank as they can help control algae growth and won’t both the fish, my only worry is that they will start to impact the bioload of the tank at once if a lot of them show up and causes my tank to crash.

They can become a real plague in a tank.

 

[sharkweek178]

@Stefan3289 You can take a pond snail back, but it is only the one you see. others will appear. Unless you treat arriving plants, they always come along, usually as eggs.

I don't mind the ramshorn snails @Bubble the Guppy has. They will tell you if you are overfeeding by reproducing madly, and are harmless. Pond snails are a different story. They eat fish eggs, which is a problem for me as a fish breeder. They can keep fry levels at zero, as they are very resourceful predators. They don't bother fish - just eggs .I put a net hard against the glass and squish them, so they fall into the net and don't add ammonia. In tight spaces, a turkey baster will remove crushed snails. It is one of my least favourite chores, but it works as long as you aren't grossed out and as long as you never give up. There are always survivors, but in time if you keep getting al the breeding age ones, you'll be ready for the next arrival.

Here I can't sound good, as a snail crushing know it all - but as an experienced aquarist, I only get "outbreaks" in heavily fed fry tanks. In regular tanks, I get a few ramshorns lurking in the background. Why? Becauae I don't overfeed. If you have a lot of snails, that's what you have to work on.

I read that if you try to starve out bladder snails, that they'll attack other snails like ramshorns and feed on them.
I have both right now. I'm going to buy a couple of assassins to clear them out because I'd rather have MTS. Overfeeding isn't my issue because I don't add any food to the tank right now. They're living off algae and dead plant matter.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I read that if you try to starve out bladder snails, that they'll attack other snails like ramshorns and feed on them.
I have both right now. I'm going to buy a couple of assassins to clear them out because I'd rather have MTS. Overfeeding isn't my issue because I don't add any food to the tank right now. They're living off algae and dead plant matter.

I'd send you some assassins if it weren't too cold to ship. I have a bazillion of them after they completely cleaned out my trumpet snails.

 

[sharkweek178]

I'd send you some assassins if it weren't too cold to ship. I have a bazillion of them after they completely cleaned out my trumpet snails.

Thanks. But this gives me an excuse to go to the fish store.
One of the fun things about this hobby is that sometimes you can blow peoples' minds. I was telling some coworkers that I have snails and that I was going to buy assassin snails. They were all like "WHAT?" lol. I explained to them that assassin snails are a real thing. One coworker suggested that I lettuce trap the snails and release them in a creek. And I explained why that's a terrible idea.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Thanks. But this gives me an excuse to go to the fish store.
One of the fun things about this hobby is that sometimes you can blow peoples' minds. I was telling some coworkers that I have snails and that I was going to buy assassin snails. They were all like "WHAT?" lol. I explained to them that assassin snails are a real thing. One coworker suggested that I lettuce trap the snails and release them in a creek. And I explained why that's a terrible idea.

Some people are very upset by the idea of any animal dying for any reason, not realizing that sometimes the alternative (releasing invasive snails into the local ecosystem) is usually going to ultimately cost more lives than the few snails they'd like to save.

Besides, predators gotta eat too!

 

[JuiceBox52]

Some people are very upset by the idea of any animal dying for any reason, not realizing that sometimes the alternative (releasing invasive snails into the local ecosystem) is usually going to ultimately cost more lives than the few snails they'd like to save.

Besides, predators gotta eat too!

We have so many invasive pond snails here. It’s awful

 

[Machli]

Yep, I concur--it came in on your plants. Some people hate them, but they are really harmless and, in my opinion, a valuable part of the aquatic ecosystem. I like having them in my tank.

Don't worry about buying him some friends...they'll probably be showing up soon.

Agreed. My one bladder snail laid eggs in October and keeps making more. My gouramis would eat the eggs sometimes, but now I've got like 40 of them. They're harmless and I like the cleaning job they do, so it all works out.

 

[Kyanite14]

Hello all,

I sat today next to my 29 gallon aquarium and noticed near the heater there is a strange intruder. I have never bought a snail, so I’m wondering how he got into my tank? My only guess is when I bought the plants for my aquarium he must have been in one of the pots. Can anyone possibly identify the little guy? If he is nice, I might buy him some friends. Sorry for the bad pictures he was behind the plants and heater my camera wouldn’t focus on him.
He has a dark gray shell and the end is more black, and it is like a cone shell that swirls at the point

Most snails can reproduce asexually, so even if it’s just one it can easily multiply into hundreds within the span of a few weeks. Remove it and either kill it or return it to LPS. In the future, carefully check new plants for snails and consider doing a peroxide dip for a couple of seconds before adding them. There are guides online on how to properly do this.

 

[Stefan3289]

Most snails can reproduce asexually, so even if it’s just one it can easily multiply into hundreds within the span of a few weeks. Remove it and either kill it or return it to LPS. In the future, carefully check new plants for snails and consider doing a peroxide dip for a couple of seconds before adding them. There are guides online on how to properly do this.

I cleaned my tank two days ago and I could not find him anywhere. I looked all around the tank, on the decor, in the plants, behind the heater and I couldn’t find him I haven’t seen him since the post. If I do find him, I will definitely return him. As for the asexual reproduction, doesn’t there have to be specific conditions for this to happen?

 

[Stefan3289]

They can become a real plague in a tank.

Is there anything I can add to the tank that would eat him or it’s eggs if it decides to reproduce asexually?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Is there anything I can add to the tank that would eat him or it’s eggs if it decides to reproduce asexually?

Assassin snails.

 

[emeraldking]

Is there anything I can add to the tank that would eat him or it’s eggs if it decides to reproduce asexually?

WhistlingBadger has already given one option. But puffers and botias also love snails.

 

[Stefan3289]

WhistlingBadger has already given one option. But puffers and botias also love snails.

Only issue with that is that the tank is only a 29g that has mollies and Cories. I was originally planning on keeping puffers but decided my tank is not big enough and will cause issues down the road. Assassin snails it is!

 

[Kyanite14]

I cleaned my tank two days ago and I could not find him anywhere. I looked all around the tank, on the decor, in the plants, behind the heater and I couldn’t find him I haven’t seen him since the post. If I do find him, I will definitely return him. As for the asexual reproduction, doesn’t there have to be specific conditions for this to happen?

Not always. Nerite snails need to be in brackish water, but most pest snails don’t need special requirements

 

[sharkweek178]

Some people are very upset by the idea of any animal dying for any reason, not realizing that sometimes the alternative (releasing invasive snails into the local ecosystem) is usually going to ultimately cost more lives than the few snails they'd like to save.

Besides, predators gotta eat too!

Here's the thing. Releasing animals into the wild will probably result in their deaths anyways. Since it's winter, the snails would probably freeze to death. They probably wouldn't starve but there's also a good chance that something eats them. So it's not that they wouldn't die. It's that it would be out of sight. So someone can fool themselves into thinking they weren't responsible for it dying. But freezing or starving isn't a particularly humane way to die. Releasing animals into the wild is irresponsible and it's taking the easy way out. And of course, there's an even worse case scenario of them becoming an invasive species. Which would result in other animals dying.