Snails are massing in my tank...

TheRainbowFish

TheRainbowFish

Small Fish
#1
Jul 23, 2009
27
0
0
#1
Hey everyone, been looking around lately and came across soemthing... in my tank.

I didn't buy snails but there are at least 10 of them running around my tank! Little brown thingies! They've been their for the past 2 weeks, at first I thought they were dead bugs but they kept moving! They just grew out of the ground! What are they? (other than snails) Where'd they come from? Are the good or evil... I mean they just came out of no where! Maybe their not real...Help!!
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#2
May 16, 2003
8,589
10
38
42
Colorado
#2
Snails have a tendency to hitchhike into your tank on plants or by accident with fish when they come from a tank that has a ton of snails.

Snails can be good, they keep things clean and are kind of neat imo...but unfortunately they have a habit of multiplying out of control. You can try to keep their numbers down by making sure that you don't overfeed. If you'd rather not have them at all you could just try to take them out whenever you see them...but you better get on it asap before there are more than you can count.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#6
May 16, 2003
8,589
10
38
42
Colorado
#6
have to be careful because puffers wont eat ALL kinds of snails :) Do some searching on the boards about MTS (malaysian trumpet snails not multiple tank syndrome lol) and look up what type of snails you have. Also, introducing non-native species of snails to a local pond could have disastrous results...I would never suggest taking something out of your tank and putting it in a local waterway.

Oscars also like to eat snails :D
 

tropicalcrazy

tropicalcrazy

Large Fish
#7
Nov 19, 2008
702
0
0
Des Moines, Iowa
#7
also another way to rid of them would be put a piece of say lettuce in a small plate bowl or something and drop it in your tank. it will attract snails then after they have multiplied on that piece take it out dispose of them and do it again until all snails are gone.

one thing also you say that you think they have surely cleaned your tank, do remember there are tons of other things that you cant see like broken down food and poop and all that other crap, this is why they multiply and sometimes can have hundreds and cover all the glass in your tank, yes they can get this bad. more food you feed your fish more snails will come about. if you also wish to control them, feed your fish once a day with a small portion. fish in the wild will go days without food so this will not hurt them. i feed my fish a small portion each day and sometimes i skip a day or 2. i also had a snail problem but have got it under control and do not have that many anymore. the only ones i still have are in my filters. but soon im going to either get zebra botia loaches or angelicus botia loaches, because they also like snails and will keep it under control.
 

tropicalcrazy

tropicalcrazy

Large Fish
#8
Nov 19, 2008
702
0
0
Des Moines, Iowa
#8
but like froggy said if want to do something with them do it quick before it gets bad, and also like froggy said dont introduce these to a local stream or whatever because for environmental reasons and very bad things could happen. this is why we see exotic animals all over the world in places they shouldve never been because someone let them go to the wild in a habitat that isnt what they should be in in the first place.
 

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