What Is This Snail??

[hannah662parker]

Hey guys!

So this mystery snail popped up out of nowhere in my 20gal community tank??



I got this tank from Facebook marketplace, and it was empty except for some gravel in it. I don’t know how long it had been empty but it was pretty dirty so I’m guessing a while? I’ve had it for 3 months now and have never seen the snail, but I suddenly noticed it today.

I accidentally got a Malaysian trumpet snail from petsmart along with some ghost shrimp, but I thought it was a shell. But I know it came from petsmart. I never accidentally got a snail from there again, so I can’t figure out where this one would’ve come from. It also doesn’t look like a pest, it looks like a minI black nerite. It’s about the size of a pencil eraser. Any ideas of what it is or how it got there? Thanks!

 

[emilyladwig]

It looks like a black nerite snail to me that's good news because they clean up algae, so they're very helpful. However, if there are more than 15 in the tank that you notice, it might become an infestation because snails breed like crazy! It shouldn't be a problem though. Sometimes snails hitch a ride onto live aquarium plants sold in stores because snails like to lay their eggs on them. To prevent snails from getting into your tank, some people suggest cleaning plants before you put them in main tank, but in this case I don't think that you need to find a way to get rid of just one snail

 

[Frisbee]

The shell shape is way different then a nerite, look where the point of the shell is. It’s just a large bladder snail, common hitch hiker.

 

[emilyladwig]

The shell shape is way different then a nerite, look where the point of the shell is. Looks like a large bladder snail, common hitch hiker. How big is it?

O yeah, forgot about those she said it's as big as a pencil eraser, but it's still pretty young, so it will probably grow quite a bit

 

[dragonflyaquatics]

Looks like a pest snail to me

It looks like a black nerite snail to me that's good news because they clean up algae, so they're very helpful. However, if there are more than 15 in the tank that you notice, it might become an infestation because snails breed like crazy! It shouldn't be a problem though. Sometimes snails hitch a ride onto live aquarium plants sold in stores because snails like to lay their eggs on them. To prevent snails from getting into your tank, some people suggest cleaning plants before you put them in main tank, but in this case I don't think that you need to find a way to get rid of just one snail

It doesn't look like a nerite, they don't have a twisted end on their shell. And btw nerite snails can't breed in freshwater

 

[Frisbee]

O yeah, forgot about those she said it's as big as a pencil eraser, but it's still pretty young, so it will probably grow quite a bit

They don’t really get a whole lot bigger then that, maybe a couple millimeters.

 

[Amhall]

Pest snail. I got a few with plants from petsmart, I wanted them. They started off tiny, and grew to this size in a matter of about 2-3 weeks.

 

[hannah662parker]

I don’t mind him at all!! I like it and would like to keep him, but would I have to worry about him breeding??

 

[mattgirl]

I don’t mind him at all!! I like it and would like to keep him, but would I have to worry about him breeding??

If you've got one you will have more. These guys are super tiny to begin with so will be hard to see. Snails do have their place in our tanks. They are great at cleaning up but you do want to try to keep their numbers down to a manageable level by not over feeding the tank.

 

[hannah662parker]

If you've got one you will have more. These guys are super tiny to begin with so will be hard to see. Snails do have their place in our tanks. They are great at cleaning up but you do want to try to keep their numbers down to a manageable level by not over feeding the tank.

Thank you!! I’ll just keep an eye on the number then? I don’t mind free snails but I can have a million thanks!