where did this snail come from (pictures)

[tmdavies]

hello i just bought a 63 gallon tank, iv had it less than a week. currently i am fishless cycling it but today i found a snail in my tank.
its about as big as my small finger nail, how did i not notice it before?
where could it have come from and why havnt i seen it all week.
i was wondering why my tank had an abundance of poo when i didnt have any fish lol thought it was debre from the sand.
is this a problem could it of laid eggs or whatever snails do to reproduce could i have more and not realise, on closer inspection my tank is full of crap. although it is pretty much empty only has a couple of ornaments in.

 

[xfactor6699]

Its a pond snail do u have any live plants in there

 

[tmdavies]

no but i am using seeding deco from my other tank which has one live plant in, im always looking at my other tank and watching my fish and iv never seen any snails

 

[xfactor6699]

That's where it came from they are great at hiding and if u dont over feed their numbers will stay down

 

[tmdavies]

will i have snails in my aquarium for ever it still has no fish and has only been cycling for a few days couldnt i just empty the water and start over? iv only got this snail but my tank is full of poo its everywhere maybe there could be more

 

[xfactor6699]

If there is others dumping the water will do nothing u have multi options what size tank and what are u wanting to put in it we will start with that first then go through options

 

[tmdavies]

its is coldwater i have 3 goldfish that are going in it.
could i dump a load of salt in, i read they cant tolerate high salt levels. i could keep it really salty for a few weeks then change the water?

 

[tmdavies]

63 gal / 240 litres

 

[xfactor6699]

If u are putting gold fish in ur in luck gold fish luv to eat those little guys they will take care of it for u i would wry about ur cycle

 

[tmdavies]

well it must have come from my goldfish tank and they didnt kill it :S i dont want this snail problem for ever isnt there a way i can sort it out now before i put fish in it? what do you think about the salt idea?

 

[xfactor6699]

Yeah that would work

 

[tmdavies]

thanks. how long do you think i should have my aquarium salt in?

 

[xfactor6699]

I would put it in for 24-48 hours then start taking it out alittle at a time and u should be good by the time u are cycled alittle salt at the end will be ok for gold fish

 

[tmdavies]

can a lot of salt kill the bacteria?

 

[xfactor6699]

Not sure about that sry

 

[tmdavies]

well im going to take everything out of my tank add salt then start cycling all over i really dont want snails. only problem is i cant use seeding material from my other tank because it could potentialy carry snails.
do snails live in the filter media or could there be snail eggs in the media of my old tank? i was hoping to use the media for seeding material or is it not worth the risk

 

[Mr. Limpet]

its is coldwater i have 3 goldfish that are going in it.
could i dump a load of salt in, i read they cant tolerate high salt levels. i could keep it really salty for a few weeks then change the water?

I had pond snails galore in my BW tank (SG 1.003), within 24hrs my puffers ate every single one of them. I'd say they do pretty good is salty water, given they numbered over 100 in about a 2 month time period.

 

[tmdavies]

ok heres the plan im going to pour the whole box of salt into the aquarium tonight and tommorow i will take out all deco and give a very good scrub and leave out of the tank for a few days to make sure its sterile. then after a few days i will do a 100% water change. hopefully this will kill all the snails, looks like my fishless cycle will have to wait a week before i can start it