Random seashell formation

[mavfan]

My girlfriend and I have a 10gallon tank. It's been fully cycled for about 6 months. We have 10 small fish total. 4 danios, 4 neon tetra, 1 angel, and 1 glowlight. And a snail

Here's my question:
About 4 days ago I was looking in to see how things were going, and I was bored. Anyway I noticed a tiny little seashell on the bottom of the tank. I know for a fact it wasn't there before. We do regular water changes, and it hasn't ever been there. I took it out to look at it. It almost looks like there is a snail inside.

Note that we only have 1 snail. So where in the world did this thing come from???

 

[Purrbox]

Depending on the type of snail, from one snail can come many. Many snails can reproduce asexually. What type of snail do you have? Can you get picture of your snail and the "seashell"?

 

[mavfan]

REALLY?!? Wow, news to me.
I'm not sure what kind of snail it is. It was 25cents, so we got it. I will get a picture when I get home.

EDIT: I did a little searching, and found this. Evidently we have an Apple Snail it closely resemble this:

The seashell is a lot different looking. It is "cone" shaped

I will post the pictures of our actual snail later.

 

[bra_van_drakh]

your's isnt weird enough .. .mine popped out of no where without any 'first snails'. ..
i bet u got lots of, atleast some plants goin inside the tank, rite ??? i was told before by another activist here that the might come from those plants in eggs.. . and after a while it hatched. ..be cautious, because mine at indonesia had multiplied to 50 in 2 months. . ..do they make any damage to your water plants [if u have any plants] ???

 

[mavfan]

We have plants, but they are fake. They were bran new when we put them in. We don't have anything organic, but the fish and the snail. Oh and the algea. So I doubt it "came" with anything. As for damage, it really doesn't do much. I'm actually questioning if it's still alive. I'm giving it a couple more days to develope. If nothing happens it's outa there. I don't need that screwing up the bioload on our healthy tank.

 

[mavfan]

Sorry for the delay, I had some computer issues. Heres our snail, and the mystery "baby" I've been keeping an eye on it to make sure it's alive, and sure enough the thing is moving around,

 

[bra_van_drakh]

it looks like the shape of a malaysian trumpet, but the colour is different though. ..

 

[Alshain]

Sorry for the delay, I had some computer issues. Heres our snail, and the mystery "baby" I've been keeping an eye on it to make sure it's alive, and sure enough the thing is moving around,

Left: Ramshorn
Right: Malaysian Trumpet

Both are asexual. They tend to migrate off plants and fish from stores and into your tank, after that they are near permanent residents. You can control their population by manual removal, this is usually the best option. Loaches and Puffers will snack on them.

it looks like the shape of a malaysian trumpet, but the colour is different though. ..

Shell colors have nothing to do will snail identification in most species. The color always varies. Exceptions include things like Zebra Nerites.

 

[mavfan]

So the new one isn't an off spring of the other? Hmm I wonder what we put in there that it "came" with. The most recent addition to out tank were the neons. That was about a month ago. Guess I'll just keep an eye on it, and see if it survives

Will it get bigger?

 

[JustOneMore20]

I agree with the ID made by Alshain.

I just wanted to add that your Angel fish will need atleast a 29g tank in the near future. You are going to stunt it by keeping it in a 10g. They can get around 7 inches tall and 5 inches long (or more with finnage). Get it a bigger tank very soon or give it to your LFS.

 

[Purrbox]

Both of those snails can easily get upto about 1" in length/diameter. The Ramshorns tend to burrow in your substrate during the day and come out at night. They're both considered beneficial snails as the the Ramshorns munch on algae while the Malaysian Trumpets keep your substrate aerated and clean. They're also both plant friendly and perfectly safe with live plants.

 

[An t-iasg]

I agree with JustOneMore20 about the angelfish.

Snail eggs may have been in the water that your neons came in from the lfs. One time after adding a new fish to a new tank, I saw one snail four months later.

 

[bra_van_drakh]

the MTS will grow a bit more, approx of 1.5 cms. ..

 

[mavfan]

Thank you everyone for your input and help. The new snail you refer to as a Malaysian Trumpet is doing exactly what you have said. I can't usually find it anywhere. Must be under the gravel. At least it's doing it's job

As for the Angel Fush. We were aware of the fact that it would outgrow the tank. The place we buy our fish said they would buy it back when it got too bi, or just exchange it for a different smaller one. I would love to upgrade to a larger tank, but don't really have the coin at the moment. Porr college student.

Thanks again!!