Just found a pond snail!

I was just in the process of cleaning off the massive amounts of diatoms in my 10 gallon when I found 1 little pond snail. At least I think it's a pond snail. I just got some new anacharis plants, so I think that is where it came from. I've read many negative and positive things about them, but I have a couple questions.

1. Will they eat diatoms? I have it all over the glass and I will keep some snails if they will eat it.

2. Will this one snail reproduce asexually? If so, how fast will it reproduce?

3. If they become out of control, what do I do with them? I've read about the lettuce method to get them out, but what do I do then? Throw them in the creek?

Thanks!

 

the asexual part I can't comment on as I don't know.

as for diatoms, I don't think they really do, the best thing I have found for that as far as natural goes is OTO's or nerites

the snails will only grow to the level of available food in the aquarium, If you see a colony really growing it means you are over feeding a bit, and cutting back on the feedings will keep them in line.

Snails to me are no where near a pest unless they are the ones that eat all your live plants then there a problem lol They do a great job at some cleanup in the tank however they do also add bio load to the tank (ill admit its very minimal as far as pond snails go I do realize that the apple snails and such can have a very large load to the tank).

 

Does it have a pointy shell, or a 'flat' shell? Pond snails have pointed shells, Ramshorns, flat.

They'll eat anything really, both snails. They do reproduce asexually, and it depends on the amount of food, and it sounds like you have a lot. When they get out of control, you bait them (lettuce, algae wafer, what ever), and throw them out, or down the drain (that's what I do). Or you can crush them on the glass of another tank, and the fish'll eat them.

 

Ok. It has a pointed shell, so it must be a pond snail. I think i'm gonna keep it and see what happens. When/if I do get rid of some, i'm gonna try putting them in the creek, so at least they will have some chance of living. Theres not really a lot of different species in the creek, so they would add some nice biodiversity to it.

 

Its usually illegal to release "pets" into the wild. Even though you may not consider snails pets, they can still have a negative impact on the environment. They can over populate and out compete the native animals for food. I wouldn't release them.

 

Wow! I didn't know that. haha. Thanks for the heads up. BTW, good luck with the move tomorrow!

 

Thanks! I hope everyone takes well to the two days of travel, and the higher pH

 

Please do not release these into the wild. Actions like that can have HUGE effects on the eco system, just look at the problems in florida with the snakeheads. These were not native to the region and have taken over the area due to a complete lack of predators.

I would also say that if you have an overabundance of them you could always setup a small tank for a puffer and feed the snails to them.

 

if you just found A pondsnail, you will soon find 100 more

 

if you just found A pondsnail, you will soon find 100 more

Then 200.....

Then 300.....

 

Then 200.....

Then 300.....

and then you'd better get a crayfish so you can start feeding the snails to him

 

Please do not release these into the wild. Actions like that can have HUGE effects on the eco system, just look at the problems in florida with the snakeheads. These were not native to the region and have taken over the area due to a complete lack of predators.

I'm not even re-releasing some Killifish I caught from the river a month or so ago. Theres too much of a risk of introducing pathogens to the environment, and causing issues like disease out-breaks.

 

Here's a picture of the little guy!

 

Yep, a pond snail lol They are rather cute....

 

yep pond snail. Manual removal and as stated crushing the shells against the glass will allow the fish to have a nice snack.

 

once I read of a woman who would smash ramshorn against the glass....and ended up cutting her finger a bit. well she got a major infection. there were like, months and years of treatments, and I think maybe she had to have fingers or her hand removed. or her whole arm. I don't remember. but it was so horrible! so don't smash them with your hand! use a spoon or something.

 

Yikes! That sounds terrible!

 

I have those in my tank. I think they came from a seeded sponge filter I got. I kind of like them.

 

I've got them and I love them lol. They do all sorts of stuff for me. Idk if all bettas are snail munchers, but mine were. I'd just throw a few in their tank and they'd chow 'em.

 

Well nothing wrong with some nice, healthy, happy snails. I really doubt there's a way you can eradicate them completely without destroying everything alive in your tank, so just let them do their thing (prevent ammonia pockets from forming in the substrate, act as an early warning for nitrogen spikes, etc.).

Currently, I think the best biological counter to these snails are dwarf crayfish. The ones in my 55 gallon eliminated almost all the MTS, pond, and ramshorns in less than a week (to my utmost dismay), but I would strongly recommend against them considering your tank's stock.

 

Well I haven't seen him since I found him, but last night when I went to clean the algae off the front glass, there were little clean trails through it everywhere. And they were almost half an inch wide, so the snail must have grew!

 

either that or has cousins in the tank lol

If you can't see them all the better lol they work for real short pay haha