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tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#1
Jan 29, 2006
460
2
0
34
USA
#1
So today, when i get home from school, i do my normal "watch-the-tank" for about 10-15 min. to see if everything is alright. My platies are happy, and i check on the lonely fry and feed him. but then i notice something wrong....the brown algae build-up (because i dont have a cleaning crew yet :( ) has a thin trail through it! i figured, oh no, not another snail infestation! that happened a year ago in my 10 gallon, and it was horrible. But now, after searching my tank for about 20 min, i find the little guy! he must have tagged along on the money wort when i got it about 3 weeks ago (last purchase/anything new added to the tank). Except, there is one problem: I dont know what kind of snail it is, or if it will eat my plants!

So thats where I need you guys. I tried to look online for similar snails just like it, but I can't come up with one. I'm hoping its an apple snail, cuz I was planning on getting one soon, so maybe he will save me a few bucks :D. I got a pretty clear pic, and he's really small:

 

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#3
Jan 29, 2006
460
2
0
34
USA
#3
hehe, awesome name, he will be called Gary now!

although its still a mystery on what kind of snail he is. but for now, im assuming hes a mystery snail
 

Shaunna

Shaunna

Large Fish
#5
Oct 6, 2005
845
0
0
42
Ohio
#5
Lol, sorry 'bout your luck, man, but that isa common pond snail! It will multiply like mad and eat your plants. Hate to burst your bubble. I got about 50 Garys in my 29! I am going to get some yoyos soon though, so I am letting them build up.
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#7
Jan 29, 2006
460
2
0
34
USA
#7
ugh, so they reproduce asexually? well, guess i better go get rid of him, any ideas how before i lose him and i have more evil Garys?
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#8
Jan 29, 2006
460
2
0
34
USA
#8
wait, when these snails are small, are they in a little like, protozoa stage, cuz i got about a hundred of these little protozoan things on the glass in the gravel. If they are baby evil garys, im gonna do one hell of a water change
 

Shaunna

Shaunna

Large Fish
#9
Oct 6, 2005
845
0
0
42
Ohio
#9
I have always just seen little clear egg sacks. To remove him all you have to do is just stick your hand in there and pull him out. Then you can throw him out or whatever. I do not know how big they are at producing maturity but I know it didn't take long for my tank to become infested. Also, you may think you just have one nut I saw some burrowing in my gravel the other day so who knows how many you truly have. Good news though, if it gets out of control you can just get a loach (yoyo kuhli or whatever) and they will have them gon in absolutely no time!!! Water changes do not rid you of them. Also, watch that you do not overfeed your fish and they shouldn't multiply too rapidly on you.
 

Platy_breeder

Platy_breeder

Medium Fish
#10
Feb 27, 2006
69
0
0
33
#10
Yuck...those snails had taken over my one 10g tank for a long time. I had to completely clean out the tank just to get rid of them. Hopefully I got rid of them for good; it's too soon to tell yet.
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#12
Jan 29, 2006
460
2
0
34
USA
#12
if the snail infestation does get out of control, i plan on getting maybe 3 kuhli loaches. but i also plan on getting a mystery snail to eat my algae. will that be a problem?
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#13
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
39
Cape Cod
#13
Just wanted to note the kuhli loaches WILL NOT eat snails. My 10g has tons in it. They will not eat adult snails, they will not eat baby snails, and they will not eat egg sacks. If you add one snail to a tank with 3 kuhli loaches, in a short time you will have many snails. Other types of loaches will eat snails, yoyos stay pretty small and are neat looking. They also like to be in groups. Not sure how they would do with a mystery snail. You could always try an oto for algae control with them though, they won't bother an oto.
 

jaglar

jaglar

Large Fish
#14
Sep 20, 2005
100
0
0
36
Victoria, BC
#14
The snails are pretty easy to spot/ pick out. + look for the eggs, a clear blob with dots in it around the size of a pencil eraser. The babies are just tiny snails :) cute aren't they lol. I happen to breed them for my puffers, but they do no visible damage to my plants. :p
My Kuhli loaches dont touch them, i've heard better things about the yoyos. but IMHO getting a new fish isn't the solution. Good luck!
ps if you squish 'em your fish will most likely eat 'em up.
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#15
Jan 29, 2006
460
2
0
34
USA
#15
ill look into the "squish 'em" tactic, as long as many other things.

thanks for all the information, its good to have this before the battle begins!
 

N

NiJ

New Fish
#16
Apr 5, 2006
4
0
0
#16
You could also go to your local pet store and buy a large feeder fish and toss him in there for a week or two. Cleared up my problem and then I became attached. Named him Hero cuss he saved my tank.
 

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