Snail Invasion and ID help plz

[Namar]

I changed my substrate a few weeks back and now I'm noticing a bunch of little snails all over my tank. I got the substrate used (eco complete) and I'm sure its where they came from as there are of bunch of tiny shells in the rocks. I tried catching them to remove but they're too tiny so I'm just crushing them now.

I would just get a group of assassin snails as I like snails but I already have 2 mystery snails in there. I'm now sure how to deal with this, should I just keep killing them?

I also noticed another snail nowhere near the size of mysteries but much larger than the small guys. Its brown and has a really nice shiny shell and its alone so I'm not worried except I've seen it attach itself to the mystery snails several times. Cleaning their shells or trying to kill them?




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[Fishey bricks]

The smaller snails look like rams horn snails, which are harmless. The larger snail looks kinda like a large pond snail. how big is it? If you get assassin snails they may gang up on the mystery snails, I have not kept those together before so on this part I am going what other people have experienced.

 

[Namar]

Maybe harmless but those little guys are reproducing like mad and I don't want it to get out of control.

 

[MICEY]

loachs love to eat small snails , but they may eat the ones you want also

 

[Fresh2o]

I've seen those small "sideways rams horn" snails in my pond and they made it into my two tank. Oddly enough, they died out over time even though I have lots of MTS and recently pond snails and no predatory fish.


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[Fishfur]

If this small spiral shelled snail always keeps the shell pretty much parallel to the surface it's on, rather than vertical, it's not a ramshorn, though both are planorbiformes. I used to know the species name but I can't remember it now. They rarely get past a quarter inch in diameter and do not appear to reproduce in anything like the numbers that bladder or other pond snails can, nor the common ramshorns.

I've never observed them to do any harm, they seem to be algae or biofilm eaters mainly. The ones I've seen have always been red, similar in colour to red ramshorns.

The other one is one of the common pond species and will certainly reproduce in large numbers. I've seen many snails feed on Mystery snail shells, which can accumulate both biofilm and algaes, even fungi, which smaller snails like to eat. Even smaller Mystery snails will feed sometimes on larger Mystery's shells. But it's only feeding, not eating the snail itself.

So far as I know, there are only two common species that eat snails, one of which is the Assassin, which is a FW whelk. The other is related to Mystery or Apple snails, the Asolene spixi snail. Unlike Assassins, Spixis don't drill into the shells, they have to grab their prey by the foot. So they are more likely to consume snails who do not have doors.. or operculums, but I have had a couple of Mystery snails who I guess were a bit slow to close their doors, be eaten by a Spixi.
Oddly, they don't often bother Nerite snails.. it maybe that Nerites are simply more difficult for them to get a hold on, due to the shape of their door and shell.

If you don't want Assassins, you might see if you can find some Spixis.. though there is no guarantee they won't damage or kill the Mysteries, they certainly prefer the smaller, softer shelled snails without doors. I don't think I've seen a Spixi eat MTS, though Assassins certainly do eat them, given time.

 

[Namar]

Thanks Fishfur, very informative. It is the smaller one that has its shell parallel to the surface it's on except the are multiplying and I even saw what looks like egg sacs on some leaves. I feel bad about it but I'm just gonna squish a bunch and take out the eggs, hopefully that works.

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[Fishfur]

Should help. Though you won't find all the eggs, so it may take a bit of time to deal with them all. I'm more of a live and let live type, so I don't do much about snails unless they start turning up in large numbers. Even then, I'll try to sell them if I can. People who keep puffers or loaches often need them for food. Shrimp like to eat dead things too, so if it's the odd one I'll crush it and leave it for the shrimp. Every living thing kills something else to survive, even if it's only a plant, so it's not something I get too bent about

 

[Namar]

Perfect I have Bamboo shrimp in there.