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skylar
Guest
I was doing a gravel vacuum and a water change today, and i noticed a tiny yellowish snail in the tank, although i've never had snails before. Possible that it came on a plant from the lfs?
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jinny
Guest
Most likely; probably a physidae or planorbidae species. On www.applesnail.net there is a page under "various," and then "other freshwater snails" that will help you ID it. Snails often hitchhike. The annoying thing is when you get eggs. Then they're everywhere.
(Message edited by j4782 on February 03, 2006)
(Message edited by j4782 on February 03, 2006)
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alex
Guest
its happened to me before when i bought a plant from the lfs.
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skylar
Guest
I think it might have laid eggs - at least, i don't know what else what i found in the tank could have been. It looked like about 100 TINY eggs all in a big thing of clear jelly like stuff.
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airwen
Guest
Yup, the clear jelly-mass with dots in it would be pest snail eggs. Unless you really want a bunch of plant-eating snails, try to get them and the snails out of the tank asap.
Is the shell more conical or more roundish?
Is the shell more conical or more roundish?
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skylar
Guest
It appears to be a physidae species
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skylar
Guest
I threw the eggs out, and also took the snail out. I hope i don't have more in the tank - I know some people use them for algae but as I don't have an algae problem snails could only make my tank more crowded with more biomass, with no benefits.
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skylar
Guest
Also, its more conical than round.
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airwen
Guest
Yes, conical usually signifies a "pest" snail.
Most snails actually don't like algae. They only eat it when they are provided with nothing else to eat, out of desperation. They're much happier when given a carrot, cucumber, etc.
Right now the best thing you can do is pick out any snails or eggs that you find, and make sure to check all new plants thoroughly. Sometimes I take my new plant, put it in a tub, and place a nice soft piece of snail food in one corner. The hope is that the snails will gravitate toward the food instead of the plant.
I've got a list of snail food going here:
http://www.freewebs.com/airwens/snailfood.htm
Most snails actually don't like algae. They only eat it when they are provided with nothing else to eat, out of desperation. They're much happier when given a carrot, cucumber, etc.
Right now the best thing you can do is pick out any snails or eggs that you find, and make sure to check all new plants thoroughly. Sometimes I take my new plant, put it in a tub, and place a nice soft piece of snail food in one corner. The hope is that the snails will gravitate toward the food instead of the plant.
I've got a list of snail food going here:
http://www.freewebs.com/airwens/snailfood.htm
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skylar
Guest
I do check the plants, but maybe the snail somehow got into the foamy stuff thats in the pot of the plant
or maybe i just missed it. Found 2 more snails. Is it worth putting some cucumber in the tank and then waiting a day to see how many are on it?
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airwen
Guest
You could try. I don't see why not. They like slightly rotten food too, so don't run out and buy anything just for them. It's best if it's soft, so try boiling a piece of whatever you choose for a while, then plopping it in the tank.
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skylar
Guest
Thanks for the info about the food
. As i almost never eat vegetables, probably all the ones in the fridge are on the rather "ripe" side, lol. I'll see if i have a cucumber to put in. Its definately worth it if it gets rid of snails, they are annoying and breed like rabbits.
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stipe
Guest
While you guys are on the subject of feeding snails, i have 2 Huge fully grown mystery snails and bout 20-30 babies. They munch happily away at what appears to be nothing on the glass. I see the adults and somtimes babies on the leaves but they hardly touch them. THey like the taste of leaves that have rotted away at the bottom i think. If i drop in a carrot or cucumber, how will it affect the water and also how long can i leave it in there for?
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skylar
Guest
I don't think it would affect the water much, especially if you have a big tank. Might make it a tiny bit acidic as carrots and cucumbers are both around pH 5-6. I'd say leave it in for a max of 4 days?
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sharn
Guest
remove anything un-eaten after 24 hours. boiling the vegies first will help them sink otherwise you can get a plastic 'chip clip' or i just get one of my pieces of slate and attach it with a rubber band.
i doubt you will ever get rid of them completly now, just try to keep the population under control, a mass of snails can create alot of waste. i hate the snails in my community tank, i get at least 10-20 every night out and i can still see a good 100 or so on the gravel/plants but i cant be bothered attempting to pick them all out
i doubt you will ever get rid of them completly now, just try to keep the population under control, a mass of snails can create alot of waste. i hate the snails in my community tank, i get at least 10-20 every night out and i can still see a good 100 or so on the gravel/plants but i cant be bothered attempting to pick them all out
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skylar
Guest
wow thats a lot of snails! now i really really hope i didn't miss any.. my tank is already too crowded (2 axies in a 2' tank - getting a 4' next weekend though)
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sharn
Guest
my community is a 4 foot though so enough room for them to all hide and escape my evil snail picking fingers lol. most of them are very small babies though, anything big enough to pick out on the glass ill get. if you would like me to put you onto a tank maker i can, i got my 180L four footer for $90, custom made by a dude in auckland. PM me if you like and ill get ya his details.
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skylar
Guest
All the snails i have found (3) are all under about 3/5 of a cm long - is this big enough to lay the eggs that i found? I'm hoping yes, because I've read quite a few posts about them eating plants, etc..
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airwen
Guest
Stipe - if you have that many snails, they'll probably eat it pretty quickly so you won't have to worry about how long to leave it in for. They are nocturnal, so just drop a piece of food into the tank when you go to bed, and if it's still there in the morning, take it out.
Pest snails stay very small their entire lives so yes, it's possible that these could be the snails that are laying the eggs.
If your snails are in fact Physids, then they will be hermaphrodites. They of course prefer to reproduce with another snail, but that is why you will have to get all of them out of the tank. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
Pest snails stay very small their entire lives so yes, it's possible that these could be the snails that are laying the eggs.
If your snails are in fact Physids, then they will be hermaphrodites. They of course prefer to reproduce with another snail, but that is why you will have to get all of them out of the tank. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
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skylar
Guest
Well I put a piece of slightly rotting cucumber in my tank, and in the morning there were no snails and no bits taken out of the slice of cucumber.