Tons Of Baby Snails - Help!

I had a bit of a brown algae problem so it was suggested to me to get a couple of snails. At the same time I bought a couple of live plants as only had plastic before. I think the snails were Nerite so we're told breeding wouldn't be an issue in a freshwater tank. But I have suddenly started gettin tons of baby snails appear. I'm not sure if they've gone in on the plants (although the plants from the shop were in their own tank) or if my snails are managing to breed. Any ideas on how I can deal with this? If I get rid of one of my large snails will this stop it? Thanks

Do you need a male and female to breed?

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

Can you post a pic of these baby snails? Nerites can lay eggs in freshwater but the eggs won't hatch. It's possible that eggs from a different species of snail were on the plants.

 

Most likely you are seeing pond snails or ramshorns. You can pick them out or crush and feed to fish. Over feeding will allow their population to flourish. If you keep feeding in check, and pull them when you see them, you shouldn't have a problem. They also shouldn't eat your plants. Oh and their eggs look like clear jelly sacs ... super hard to see even if you know what to look for!

 

I will try and get a pic although some are teeny tiny and some are bigger. Which makes me think did they come in on the plants because wouldn't they all have hatched by now and be of similar size. I think the big Bertie's I got are a zebra and a red spot

This is the biggest baby I can see at the moment as the others are too small to photograph.


Ne that's not right! Lol just got to figure out how to do it




Yes I did it! Lol

So do you think they would've come on the plants?

 

Snail or snail eggs frequently are hitchhikers on plants, so it's likely the pest snails were introduced to your aquarium on your new plants.

 

Is the stripy snail one of the baby invaders? I don't know for sure, but he sort of looks like a zebra nerite snail . - apparently they can breed and lay eggs in fresh water, but the eggs need brackish water to hatch. Are you adding salt to your aquarium (I'm not suggesting this, I'm just asking because maybe if you ARE adding salt, it might be allowing the eggs to hatch?). Couple bits of good news: From what I've read, they're supposed to be super algae eaters, and they tend to limit themselves population-wise... if the population gets to dense, they stop making babies (theoretically - I'm not sure if these little guys really practice birth control or not). I have some sort of tiny ramshorn-looking snails in my tank that just come out onto the glass at night, and hide in the substrate (I always end up sucking out a bunch during gravel vacs) - I figure they're extra janitors... good luck to you!

 

In the small picture the big stripey snail is an adult nerite while the tiny snail on the black plastic appears to be a bladder snail.

 

Aha! I totally missed the little guy!

 

Yes the big snail is my adult zebra Nerite but the little one is a newby which I didn't think I'd get in my freshwater from nerites as I know they need brackish water. So not sure how I'm getting lots of new baby snails

 

Probably like some of the others said - I suspect they traveled in on the plants. Not a big deal, they can become part of your clean-up crew, or you can catch them as suggested by other FishLore-ites.

 

Yep. The eggs are almost impossible to see because they're clear, jellylike blobs and very tiny.

 

If you remove the nerites you could get an assassin snail.

 

If you remove the nerites you could get an assassin snail.

But that could then turn to an explosion of assassins ... couldn't it? Same problem, different snail.

 

My preference is for ghost shrimp. Mine always had a taste for the eggs and kept the population under control that way

 

My preference is for ghost shrimp. Mine always had a taste for the eggs and kept the population under control that way

Maybe I should add a couple ghosts. But I've heard they can be mean. Are they ok with other shrimp?

 

Maybe I should add a couple ghosts. But I've heard they can be mean. Are they ok with other shrimp?

Haven't had problems keeping RCS with ghosties, They will eat shrimplets if they can catch them though, I guess that can be considered a problem.

Maybe you're thinking of whisker shrimp? They're pretty aggressive and are easily mistaken for a ghost shrimp.

 

Haven't had problems keeping RCS with ghosties, They will eat shrimplets if they can catch them though, I guess that can be considered a problem.

Maybe you're thinking of whisker shrimp? They're pretty aggressive and are easily mistaken for a ghost shrimp.

I did inquire about whiskers a while back so maybe that's what I was thinking!

 

But I thought nerites weren't supposed to breed in freshwater.

 

But I thought nerites weren't supposed to breed in freshwater.

They do breed, but the eggs can't hatch in fresh water. But pest snail eggs certainly can!

 

That's good to hear about the ghost shrimp eating the snail eggs. I like the snails I have, but I don't really want more of them. Even these snails were hitchchikers from something else, and I learned to be glad for them in the tank, rather than tossing them right away!

I figure it's good to learn about the snails, too, so I keep them around.

 

Byes I knew that. So these must have come in on the plants then!

 

My tank has pond snails and they are starting to explode.

Purchased and assassin snail - never see him assassinating anything.


Heard I can throw some lettuce or celery in tank and the next morning a ton of snails should be feasting on it. Then I can throw them all out and repeat.

Also heard that there is a solution to put in the tank that kills them?? But I am skeptical of this.

My concern is that they are putting additional bioload on the tank. There are currently 30 or so in the 20 gallon long.

 

My tank has pond snails and they are starting to explode.

Purchased and assassin snail - never see him assassinating anything.


Heard I can throw some lettuce or celery in tank and the next morning a ton of snails should be feasting on it. Then I can throw them all out and repeat.

Also heard that there is a solution to put in the tank that kills them?? But I am skeptical of this.

My concern is that they are putting additional bioload on the tank. There are currently 30 or so in the 20 gallon long.

HI dub86, welcome to the forum!

A pond snail explosion can be brought on by overfeeding your fish. If they have plenty of spare stuff to eat they'll multiply like crazy! What do you have in the tank besides the pest snails and the asassins? One assassin won't make much of a difference in a short time period. How long have you had the assassin? I prefer ghost shrimp for pest snail control. They eat most of the eggs and I have seldom had a problem since. I'm also very careful about feeding though. All that's left is for you to remove the adult snails when you find them.

 

Heard I can throw some lettuce or celery in tank and the next morning a ton of snails should be feasting on it. Then I can throw them all out and repeat.

Also heard that there is a solution to put in the tank that kills them?? But I am skeptical of this.

My concern is that they are putting additional bioload on the tank. There are currently 30 or so in the 20 gallon long.

I would not recommend snail poison. Live snails won't cause too much a problem to your bioload, but a bunch of dead snails will almost definitely cause an ammonia spike. Fishing them out with lettuce is a good idea, and won't cause any spikes. Cutting back on the food you give your fish will leave less leftovers for the snails, and the problem will eventually sort itself out.

 

HI @, welcome to the forum!

A pond snail explosion can be brought on by overfeeding your fish. If they have plenty of spare stuff to eat they'll multiply like crazy! What do you have in the tank besides the pest snails and the asassins? One assassin won't make much of a difference in a short time period. How long have you had the assassin? I prefer ghost shrimp for pest snail control. They eat most of the eggs and I have seldom had a problem since. I'm also very careful about feeding though. All that's left is for you to remove the adult snails when you find them.

Had the Assassin Snail for a couple of weeks now. Also have 4 cory catfish and a frog.

Probably overfeeding but only feeding the Corys once a day really. Interchanging between 4-5 pellets and then 1/4 of an algae wafer. But I DO leave them in the tank to soften up.
How am I supposed to fish the remainder food out?

Lettuce: Check
No snail poison: Check
Get ghost shrimp: Check

Edit: Would spinach work instead of lettuce? I know we have some spinach - or would any type of vegetable work?

 

If you're spot cleaning a clean turkey baster can't be beat

I would also recommend getting at least a couple more of your cories. For one thing they're a shoaling species and like to be in larger groups, for another they'll eat more food;D

 

So 6 cories?? I was planning to add some other fish though like 6-7 bloodfin tetras and maybe a dwarf gourami - ?

Nice call with the turkey baster. Got one to feed the frog but he will only eat from chopsticks.

 

Should be fine. Cories are bottom dwellers while tetras swim higher up. Shouldn't be any conflicts