EEEeek a SNAIL!!

[ickyfishywishy]

today i found a SMALL 8 millimeter long snail in my tank here are some photos.






can any1 tell me if these are good snails or bad snails? i have had many BAAAAD and i mean BAAD expiriences with snails and im realy freaked out!! so should i keep him in there? or should i scoop him out? he is the first time i see a snail in my tank since 2 months since i got my live plants, the plants are doing fine they are growing but one of the plants has red leaves and its not doing good ill remove it if it still hasent grown, but about the snail,,,, what should i do? i know apple snails are good, but what is this snail?

[amanichen]

It's a highly notorius Dnop Nommoc snail. Species of this sort are known for such activities as:

-forming rigid shells with intent for protection
-crawling around with intent to eat algae
-reproducing with intent to lay eggs

These snails are highly pervasive and are found in a variety of environments. Their specific adapations allow them to move from climate to climate with relative invincibility. Sightings of the Dnop Nommoc snail are said to bring alarming reactions from their witnesses.


















































































Ok, in all seriousness, this is just a common pond snail. It crawls around, eats algae, and reproduces. Other than the fact that they're prolific breeders, there's nothing harmful about them.

Some people go nuts when they see them, because they fear some sort of population explosion. However, they only can reproduce as quickly as their food supply allows them to. So if you DO see a population explosion, then they're obviously eating something -- either algae, or uneaten food in the tank. People who go nuts over this type of snail are generally new to the hobby and many of them also tend to overfeed, and/or accidentally turn their tanks into algae farms.

[ickyfishywishy]

^^^ wuts with the big space up there? ^^^

LOOL ur talking about meee arent u lool yeah obviosly im new but iv gotten my algae problem down to a crystal clear aquarium and no sign of it at all with no chemicals too! and i have controled my urge to think my poor fish are starving and only feeding them 3 times a day VERRY little bits till i see them eat it all up, plus iv been cleaning the tank every week since after my algae or pea soup hapend ,,, so all it could be is either algae or extra food bits? so should i leave him there as they help clean algae?? or take him out cuz he be nothing but trouble?? i only have 4 plants in my tank i read its ok to have those snails in a heavily planted tank? oh and do they grow big? i read somewhere they get to 5cm im not sure of the kind of snail though? by the way im panaking cuz its the same kind of snail i got in my old tank and there was a plague! thanx for the info!!!

[amanichen]

ickyfishywishy said:

LOOL ur talking about meee arent u

I'd have people come in to the store I worked at and make sure I got every last snail off plants because, according to them "last time we had an infestation."

To which I say: "Well that's great, stop feeding them and they won't reproduce."

You might be new at fishkeeping, but you don't get snotty with me when you have a problem...some people came to me to complain about things they didn't understand, rather than seek help in preventing problems. So no, I'm not talking about you

so should i leave him there as they help clean algae?? or take him out cuz he be nothing but trouble?? i only have 4 plants in my tank i read its ok to have those snails in a heavily planted tank? oh and do they grow big? i read somewhere they get to 5cm im not sure of the kind of snail though? by the way im panaking cuz its the same kind of snail i got in my old tank and there was a plague! thanx for the info!!!

Sure, why not. It won't cause any trouble, but you might see more in a couple of weeks. Snails are ok in a planted tank...ones this small aren't large enough to eat plants, but larger snails are. These guys get about no larger than 1cm in length. You shouldn't panic. If you want to control the population don't overfeed your tank, and keep the algae growth down. Also, remove adults and scrape egg cases off of the glass. It's simple realy, and unless your tank is grossly over-nutriented, you won't get a plague of them.

[ickyfishywishy]

thanx so much brian!!! i feel A LOT better now ;D i watched him for a while it seems he got picked up by my gorami and then droped at some plants he then went straight for the rocks i have in there and started eating the algae on the rocks, they are the only things i leave with algae on them cuz my platy loves eating the stuff! but thats ok right? i clean the glass every week so no algae there i just did it now, so is a little algae ok? if so GREAT! its too hard to scrub those rocks, big ones, thanx so much i realy apreciate the help

oh yeah i read somewhere that clown loaches are good for eating snails and they can crush them is that a good idea to control it just incase i DO get a family of snails?

[amanichen]

ickyfishywishy said:

thanx so much brian!!! i feel A LOT better now ;D i watched him for a while it seems he got picked up by my gorami and then droped at some plants he then went straight for the rocks i have in there and started eating the algae on the rocks, they are the only things i leave with algae on them cuz my platy loves eating the stuff! but thats ok right? i clean the glass every week so no algae there i just did it now, so is a little algae ok? if so GREAT! its too hard to scrub those rocks, big ones, thanx so much i realy apreciate the help

Well, being that there's a whole industry based around the merciless slaughter of innocent algae for use in such things as fish food, and sushi wrappings, I'd...wait...nevermind =)

No, a little bit of algae isn't bad. In fact, algae (not diatoms, and not cyanobacteria) is beneficial for water quality, it's just people tend to like plants better than they like algae.

[ickyfishywishy]

lol one last Q ;D
i read somewhere that clown loaches are good for eating snails and they can crush them is that a good idea to control it just incase i DO get a family of snails? thanx brian!!!!!

[amanichen]

ickyfishywishy said:

lol one last Q ;D
i read somewhere that clown loaches are good for eating snails and they can crush them is that a good idea to control it just incase i DO get a family of snails? thanx brian!!!!!

Yes, clown loaches will eat snails, among other meaty foods =)

You could get a clown loach, but then you'd have to get four, as they live in groups. They're also more sensitive to water quality and nutrition thatn other fish are. If you're up to it, go ahead and get some, but don't get one, and don't get it just to eat snails (unless you have a separate tank that's used to farm snails as food.)

I should note that many types of carnivorous fish learn to eat snails...even bettas tend to suck them out of their shells. Mine would even slam them against the tank walls.

[ickyfishywishy]

wow cool! so if i get an infestation of snails they will be like treats for my bettas yeah i was planning on clown loaches ever since i got the tank but like u said i knew they were sensitive to water conditions thats why im waiting, but i guess nows a good time since evrything is finaly stable thank god! so thanx for the help!

[amanichen]

Bettas will eventually get curious of what's around them...and many will learn how to eat those snails. I've kept bettas 3 to a 10 gallon, and after a few months, there weren't any snails left in any of the sections.

For the clown loaches, you'll need a sustainable source of snails in addition to other meaty foods like small shrimp, and worms. This can be within the tank, or snails brought over from a growing tank.

[ickyfishywishy]

thanx so much

[Jenova]

Hey, that looks like Mr. Snail

By betta still hasn't eaten him, and he's doing really well. He's fun to watch too, and I didn't even have to pay for him

[ickyfishywishy]

yeah mine just poped out of nowhere i cant see mine any more lool