I found a mystery snail in my tank... need help/advice

[illuminum]

okay, well I planted my tank about two weeks ago and just today I noticed a tiny snail in my tank. I've never put snails in my tank so I'm assuming they were stowaways on my plants from the fish store. I'm surprised it took me this long to find it. Anyways, should I keep the snail in my tank or should I get rid of it? If I leave them in, will they multiply? Will they grow? Will they make a mess or create any sort of hazard to my fish? Will it eat/kill my plants? Any advice would help. It's a really tiny snail.

 

[e-cat]

KILL IT, it wont hurt your fish, but it might eat your plants and they breed worse then rabbits, i bet you there is more of them in there that you dont see yet, look for some eggs it looks like a clear jelly clump , take them out and squish it.

 

[illuminum]

Thanks. My plants don't look too good either, or at least some of them don't. Do you have any idea as to why? They get sunlight and I leave my light on alot.
There are four plants in my tank.

 

[e-cat]

im not sure why, but i think that your suposed too take them out of the little pots, some one correct me if i am wrong.

 

[Allivymar]

You can leave em in the pots actually; the roots will grow out of the wool they're in and into the substrate.

Lighting may be part of your prob tho; what KIND of lights do you have? And what sort of plants (I'm not good at telling what they are without a guide LOL). They may be high light need plants.

Also, they may not be getting enough nutrients. My planted tank has a laterite base under the sand; its a clay type product which provides for certain needs the plants have.

Lastly, get rid of any and all snails you see; they will chew your plants to shreds.

 

[e-cat]

iv heard that leaving them in the roots in the wool or in the foam will cause the roots too rot over time. :?

 

[illuminum]

Okay, I found out the wattage of my lamp (5000K 13W) and I have a feeling that it's not enough. I have four plants in my tank right now:

2 Anubias
1 Anubias Barteri
1 Anubias Nana

So, whaddya think? Do I need a more powerful lamp

 

[illuminum]

iv heard that leaving them in the roots in the wool or in the foam will cause the roots too rot over time. :?

Hmm, I've never heard that one before. I'm just fraid that if I plant them they will die. I only have standard gravel in my tank and I don't want them to die if I plant them in it.

 

[e-cat]

hopefully iv heard wrong and your plant florish.

 

[Allivymar]

Anubias' need moderate lighting levels; think 2-3 watts of light per gallon. I can't quite tell what size the tank is; I'm guessing 5 gallons? If so, you'll need around 10-15 watts of light, so 13 is fine.

 

[illuminum]

Anubias' need moderate lighting levels; think 2-3 watts of light per gallon. I can't quite tell what size the tank is; I'm guessing 5 gallons? If so, you'll need around 10-15 watts of light, so 13 is fine.

Actually it's a 12 gal tank

 

[Allivymar]

Ahh ok. You'll need to kick the lighting up then.

 

[Madame_X]

There is a retrofit kit that fits that Eclipse 12 (I considered doing it to mine).

Here's the info on it: http://www.customsealife.com/r_supernova.htm

There's no price there but I think I've seen it for around $60. I might eventually buy one and put some plants in my Eclipse but for now its up and running and stable. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!