Mystery Snails

[OCCFan023]

Today when I was cleaning my tank after I refilled the tank and took a close look I noticed alot of small white dots covering the glass. They look like very small almost clear shells with a small head. It looks like the shell is almsot curved like a tiny bug curled up, but its the shell with a dark line in the middle. I have 3 types of snails in my tank astrea snails (7-8), bumbleebeesnails (2), and 1 turbo snail. If I had to take a guess Id say they look like small turbo snails, and Id also venture to say that they look nothing like the bumblee snails. But since I only have one turbo snail is it possible they are small turbo snails? I forgot the word for like animal that can reproduce by themselfs but are turbo snails able to do this, or am I just dealing with astrea snails?


Im sorry I cant get a picture they are just so small. Im hoping they arent turbos because I cant have this many turbos in my tank (and no fish to eat any of them). Im hoping there astrea snails so Im hoping I can maybe get a answer or Ill just wait till they get biggger and get a picture or I will be able to id them myself. Thanks for any news that can help.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

if those white dots are like mine, they're tiny little encrusting snails that don't really move or do something..just making your glass look dirty. Mine hitchhiked on bumble bees and got in my tank. They're not nasty, just not welcome.

 

[1979camaro]

sounds like that stuff ^ to me

 

[OCCFan023]

yea they do sound like that to me, mine havent moved at all they just sit there on the glass, Im just wondering why they didnt show there face ealier if they hitchhiked in because I havent added anything for like 3 weeks.

Did you just tkae yours out or did you leave them be?

 

[1979camaro]

i just left them on the back panel and overflow...used a straight razor to get them off the glass i look through. as for why you are seeing them now: there may have been something in the tank before which was munching on them that is now gone

 

[KahluaZzZ]

http://www.aquaticsbykr.com/images/maint/kent24scraperglass.html

something like that could help. My percula tries to eat them, but spit'em back and they fall on the substrate..so he's a good scraper too ;-)

 

[OCCFan023]

yea maybe my percs were eating them in the 16 Gallon, and when I switched over to the new 20 they got wipped out or atleast most of them and now there reappearing.


I think what Ill do is just leave them in there until my next water chnage (saturday or sunday) and then remove them with a algae pad? It wont matter if they die and are in the tank since there so small right?


I am eager to get some fish soon (as soon as I get my QT up) and the fish I am looking at seem like theyd be good "scratchers" of these little pests.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

if they die maybe your pods will like 'em ..i don't think it will create a detectable amount of ammonia. Those snails are so glued that i don't think any fish can remove them all..unless you take a FW pleco ( just kidding ).
Hey..maybe a sea star..well i don't have one but if anyone has noticed ..
Anyways the best way is manually and unless you put some poison in the tank, i don't think it's possible to kill 'em all..it seems that if they're introduced, they just can't go since they reproduce so fast and stick on everything, on every angle.

 

[OCCFan023]

yea there annoying little things, I can already notice more and I can easily see them from where Im sitting and thats not good. Ill get cracking on getting them out on saturday or sunday

 

[OCCFan023]

Well during my cleaning I just used a small fish net to scrap them off the glass and they would just fall to to the bottom. I noticed some on a patch of live rock but I didnt have the time to take the rock out and scrub it, so when I am cleaning out my powerheads next time I will take the tock out aswell. Theres still some on my glass that I will have to get next time but it should be ok to deal with until then.


Should I expect a resurgence of these things? Or will they just stay away.


O yea I think I found the source of there entry, I noticed one of my bumbleebee snails have them all over his shell so he must be the culprite.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

yep they seems to be my only snails to have some of those tiny snails on their shells.
You'll have those tiny snails again, unless you can clean holes in your live rock...pretty impossible