snail question

[butterfly_koi]

So I bought some Java fern from my lfs the other day and noticed two snails in the plants. I've never has snails before, they never really interested me. Question is will they reproduce? If so how often? Should I take them out or leave them be? I ask because a friend of mine started with a few and now 7 months later she has over 60+

 

[paytertot]

It depends on what kind they are. The ones that hitch rides from my lfs are almost always Malaysian trumpet snails, sometimes mystery snails. If its either of those, yes they will probably reproduce but not much as long as you don't overfeed, as far as I know

 

[butterfly_koi]

I honestly couldn't tell you what kind it its, but thankfully I have a pic!


View attachment 102336

 

[emerald76]

I honestly couldn't tell you what kind it its, but thankfully I have a pic!

Ramshorn
Be prepared to remove lots of little snails
If you don't want any euthanize the one you have now
However you may still get a few

 

[butterfly_koi]

Well instead of euthanizing it I'll just throw them in my friends tank. She likes snails
Thanks for the answer!

 

[paytertot]

Ah ramshorn. Sorry I'm new with snails lol

 

[butterfly_koi]

Ah ramshorn. Sorry I'm new with snails lol

its ok, apparently so am I! Lol

 

[jetajockey]

The plants may have eggs attached to them also.

 

[butterfly_koi]

The plants may have eggs attached to them also.

Oh ok I did not know that, so what should I do?

 

[Convict2161]

Oh ok I did not know that, so what should I do?

I had a tropical community tank and I bought a bunch of plants from a mom and pop fish store. About a week or two later I had hundreds I snails. I ended up bringing the fish back and breaking the tank down. Like Jeta said, there could be eggs on the plants and when they all hatch look out!

 

[butterfly_koi]

I had a tropical community tank and I bought a bunch of plants from a mom and pop fish store. About a week or two later I had hundreds I snails. I ended up bringing the fish back and breaking the tank down. Like Jeta said, there could be eggs on the plants and when they all hatch look out!

Thanks convict that doesn't give me much hope.... I just redid my aquascape I don't want to have to break it down

 

[Convict2161]

Can you take that snail out? Maybe check your plants? You really don't want it to start because it's killer to try and stop it.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Can you take that snail out? Maybe check your plants? You really don't want it to start because it's killer to try and stop it.

I can take him out definitely, I've read something about using assassin snails to get rid of them. Thoughts?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

If it makes you feel better I have pond and ramshorn snails in pretty much all my tanks and have never experienced a population explosion. Don't be afraid they are going to take over your tank. Just make sure theres no excess food about. I like my snails

 

[butterfly_koi]

Well the whole reason I asked was because I was reading about the bioload of a large population explosion and they will eat all of my plants, if none of this true then I won't really worry about them.

 

[jetajockey]

I have snails in some of my planted tanks also, it's not a big deal, they actually help keep things clean and won't explode in population unless you are overfeeding.

Depending on your stock, something may eat them as well.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Even if you had a large population it won't happen over night. The snails will start off small with a small bioload growing and producing more waste. The BB will grow to accommodate the larger load. So there will be no spikes except maybe nitrate if the population is massive and even then I don't see it being a problem. As for eating live plants I can't say I've ever witnessed it. They prefer rotting food and decaying plant matter.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I have livebearers mostly, emperor tetras, an angelfish, a pleco that's about it. I guess I'll just have to wait it out and see what happens

 

[jetajockey]

My angels eat baby pest snails, so you may be in luck.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Even if you had a large population it won't happen over night. The snails will start off small with a small bioload growing and producing more waste. The BB will grow to accommodate the larger load. So there will be no spikes except maybe nitrate if the population is massive and even then I don't see it being a problem. As for eating live plants I can't say I've ever witnessed it. They prefer rotting food and decaying plant matter.

Alright, like I said I know nothing about snails so I'm taking your word for it. I've read some on them but I find better advice from people who have first hand experience with them. And Jeta as for my angelfish eating them, I'll have to wait until he's out of his driftwood trance first. There's a new piece of DW in my tank in his spot and he doesn't know what to think of it. Lol
I took out the two small snails and gave them to my friends tank. And if I end up with a whole bunch of them I'll just have to go from there, I'm not a snail person but maybe I'll grow to like them