The Amazing Appearing Snails!!

[werebot]

Just a quick question.
I just recently put some live plants in my tank. The other day I noticed some debris that turned out to be a Snail, then another and another....etc...etc....
I've spotted half dozen anyway.
I am pretty sure I didn't purchase these fine fellows intentionally.
The bonus package with the plants I suppose.
My question is when should I worry about them?
I have heard or read from several people, some on this forum, that snails are great when they are keep in control.
Any thoughts would be helpful.
Tanks Alot!

 

[Gomer]

Yup...got my snails with plants. at first, I was looking at every way to get rid of them..their population was crazy....then I stopped over feeding and they are now just a "background" in the tank. They help keep food from rotting and they are pretty good at eating some of the algaes. Snails are welcome in my tank:-D

 

[BigCiX]

i'll pass on the snails....

 

[valdok]

i agree with gomer. i got my snails from plants i bought, and they're interesting buggers, in moderation. every now and then it's a good idea to take excess snails out before they become a real nusence.

 

[werebot]

I only feed twice a day.
I'll try to put less food in each time.
1/2 a pinch......maybe.

 

[CoNMaN]

I think they are good clean up crew

 

[werebot]

I was going to clean out my undergravel filter tubes this weekend, however my new tenants have done a bang up job with the tubes already.

 

[Guardian]

If the snails become too much if a nuisance, get a clown loach, he will keep the population under control.

 

[Scrumpy]

I got lazy cleaning a new java fern....and before I knew it I had a snail. Then I spotted 3. I was quite pleased with them as they were cleaning up the brown algae and the glass in my little 20l tank.
Then I came down in the night for a drink and saw about 20. I took them out.
Then a week later I started spotting babies. When I came back from a weeks holiday the glasse was peppered with about 100 babies all about 1-2 mm long.
I've taken to crushing them against the glass with a finger. I feel mean, but they breed like....well aquatic snails! They appear before your eyes!
I doubt I'm going to get rid of the critters altogether and I don't want to put a clown loach in with my Betta, so my policy is to kill/remove every single snail I lay eyes on.
I haven't seen any for a few days but you can bet your life they're in there. As long as they stay out of my way, eat the algae and stop making holes in my java fern I'll tolerate them....but I'll still kill any snail I see.
Really....be very afraid. The sort of snails that hitch a ride on plants are not at all nice.
I might yet transfer my Betta to a bowl while I poison the snails.

 

[Guardian]

I DO NOT, under any circumstances recommend poisoning the snails. You can never get out all of the poison and you don't know what other adverse effects it may cause, like damaging your java fern.

 

[werebot]

Escargot?
A little butter sauce?
Maybe.
I would need millions to make that worth while. Yikes!!

 

[revfred]

I'm a little cynical about snails after several bad experiences with the little rascals. I wouldn't poison them though. Loach-Control is a great way to get rid of them if you can't keep up with them.

With new plants, rinse them very well. The 10:1 or 19:1 bleach solution treatment is effective. Go over every leaf . . . snail eggs look like "snot" . . . sorry for being so graphic.

Anacharis is great for hiding very small snails that get to be big and breed.

 

[werebot]

I think I'll use the Clown Loach method when the time comes.
It sounds like it is only a matter of time before they get out of hand.
Maybe fish out a couple and put them in my pond.
Any thoughts?
Maybe they'll make it through the winter.....Maybe not.

 

[steve535]

snails have been in my tank for about a year. it got really bad!a clown loach is a good idea. also synodontis multipunctatus will work(not as good).clean your filters often. they will destroy the impeller.

 

[werebot]

When you say destroy the impeller.
I think it would be pretty difficult getting inside my filter.
I have a screen over the entrance tube.
Is there something I'm not getting?
Maybe eggs inside the filter?

 

[tetra girl]

I will never again add plants without treating them first as the snails that came with a couple of the plants i brought have diseased my tank. Snails can be carriers of many water diseases so unless you purpuse them from a tank that has healthy fish in them then I would say stay away from them. I cant use a clown loach either to get rid of them because then he would probably get sick and die too.

BTW I've tried the lettuce leaf and the boiled chicken idea with absolutly no sucess.

 

[steve535]

baby snails are very small.about the size of a grain of fine sand.and in your filter all they do is eat and reproduce.they can go freely through out your filter media.once thier shells get chewed up by your impeller that will eventually ruin the filter.posoin is not the answer.if you have a bad problem that could be over 500 snails. killing them all at once will turn your tank sour quickly.all those small dead snials have to be removed. i clean my media with a 5% bleach solution to kill the eggs.i run 3 canisters so i dont worry about loosing my bio.if your pre-fliter screen works great. mine didnt.lol steve
go to cichlidsickness.com under african rift.the thread outbreak will tell you how bad my snails got.