Snails

[Shaunna]

Well, as some of you know I am in the process of planting my 10 gallon tank. Things were going pretty well and I was getting a lot of good growth and stuff but lately things have kinda slowed down. I have a pretty bad case of hair algae I believe. I am planning on getting an algae eater and some more plants when I get some money. I brogut some snails in with my plants (didn't know how to properly clean them) and I didn't think too much about it. Well I have a couple that have just gotten huge compared to what they were. I also have noticed baby ones and now I have seen eggs on the glass and on some of my plants!! I know snails are a good thing in moderation but upon further study I believe they are pond snails. I am going to try the cucumber trick. If that doesn't work then I will hopefully be able to get a clown loach and then just put him over in the 29 gallon. Pond snails are bad to live plants correct? Also, I think that the one may be an apple snail. Do pond snails get black? I would really like to keep him cause he is so cool looking but I have recently read that apple snails can be just as bad on plants as pond snails.

As a recap.... Pond snails bad? Pond snails get black? Black Mystery Snails (apple snail) bad for plants, too?

Thanks!!!!!!

edit... I really don't see how they have multiplied like this to begin with. I have 3 minnows in that tank and I feed them a couple of flakes every other day! I don't see how that could be overfeeding.

[Pure]

Pond snails are the scourge of the planted tank. Ugh I hate them! Yes they eat plants if there is nothing else. The BIG apple snails do eat plants but the smaller mystery snails leave them alone.

[Shaunna]

Will the cucumber thing work on the babies? I mean these things are tiny. I haven't even seen them move!!! Will they go to the cucumber? I have decided that I am just going to take the large one that O like so well and move him into the tank with the betta. He has more of a twisted body that is why I think he is a mystery snail. Not for sure though. Plus he is getting black. I do not know if pond snails get black or not.

[Pure]

Pond snails range in color, but most commonly are black. I have a few that are brown with black specs on them. Your welcome to come and get them any time.

Apple/mystery snails shells are very round. Pond snails are shaped more like a football. If it isn't round squish it.

[Shaunna]

Ok, well I don't know then. All of the snails are brown, round with black specs on them. The one snail that I really like is all black and he is spirally. His shell ends at a point. He is the only one like that I have seen. He is the one that I saw when Iw as first setting the tank up and I just threw him in there. The other ones that are multiplying like mad are just plain ol' looking snails.

[Shaunna]

Well, they are definitely the "bad" snails. I only have the one pond snail though. He is the one I really like. I will move him to the 5.5 with my betta. the others I believe are ramshorn. They aren't as circled like that in the center yet but maybe they have to be larger. They are patterned and colored like that though exactly. I may take one of the larger ones of them and thrown in the 5.5 for now as well. They are both fairly small at the moment. Would like to know what they look like when they are bigger. Here is the site I found them at.

http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/snails.html