Odds of finding only one snail.

[HooKooDooKu]

I'm in the process of fishless cycling a 5 gallon planted tank. I've gotten plants from various sources, and I can only assume that one of those plants was the source of the 1/4" snail I found in the tank today.

So far, I don't see any other snails, but I've got two questions:

1. Is it possible that I only have one snail?
2. Since I'm still cycling the tank, what might be a good way to ensure the tank is free of snails (given that I'm going to be placing a few shrimp in the tank).

As far as the fishless cycling, I've got the ammonia eating bacteria well established. In 12 hours, I was able to go from about 5ppm of ammonia to ZERO. The nitrite bacteria are not doing as well. I obviously have some as my nitrate levels have sky rocketted along with my mitrite levels. But even doing HUGE water changes, I just can't seem to get the nitrite levels below 1ppm. I did an 80% PWC this morning, and right now the nitrite levels are still above 1.0, while the nitrate levels are over 10ppm.

 

[fort384]

Chances are, where there are 1, there are many. It may not be a problem - snails can be helpful for your tank. There is a product out there called had-a-snail that I have heard works... your tank could be a candidate since you have no other fish or animals in it as of yet.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I would try putting a piece of lettuce out after dark and check for him periodically throughout the night/week. Not guaranteed to work, but worth a shot.

 

[jsoong]

I would not use any chemical snail killers .... they might leave residues that will kill your shrimps later. you can hand pick the snails or try the lettuce trick. But if you don't have food in the tank <no uneaten food, remove all dead plant material>, the snails won't last long.

I have snails in my tank, and I don't see any population explosion since there is rarely any leftover food with the goldies around.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Well, I'm now up to two snails. Found the second on in the bucket that I've been using to place the plants in when I've been rearranging the tank.
On the notion of food... well I just added a small amount to help push the cycling process trying to get the nitrite levels down. It's already cycled to the point where it can process 5ppm of ammonia to 0pmm over night. There's obviously some nitrite bacteria in there because my nitrate levels are super high as well. It's just that I can't seem to get my nitrite levels below 1ppm unless I do a 100% water change (ok, not really 100%, but two 80% changes back to back).

I'm wondering since I don't have any live stock yet if perhaps I could supper dose the tank with ammonia... like get the levels up to 20ppm and try to keep them there for a day. Would something like that hurt the cycling of the tank... would it be enough to kill any snails or snail eggs that might be in the tank?

 

[kribensis12]

Dude, just stick a piece of lettuce in there at night. Check on it, and once you see snail(s) on it, take it out and throw it away. Try it the next night again ( incase you missed any).

 

[joy13]

What type of snail is it? If it is a ramhorn or common pond snail you can find eggs. If it is a Malaysian trumpet snail they have live young. There is even a snail called an assassin snail that actually kills other snails. MTS will actually burrow into the substrate and help with aerobic pockets that can form.

I have snail in my planted tanks and don't have a problem with them eating healthy plants just the dead and dieing ones.

jsoong is right any chemical that will kill a snail will kill your shrimp and most are very hard to get out of the tank without starting all over. I know some people use alum to soak their plants in to kill the snails and their eggs. I don't know what effect it would have on shrimp so you would have to be sure to rinse your plants very well before replanting them.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

What type of snail is it? If it is a ramhorn or common pond snail you can find eggs. If it is a Malaysian trumpet snail they have live young. There is even a snail called an assassin snail that actually kills other snails. MTS will actually burrow into the substrate and help with aerobic pockets that can form. ...

Based on some internet research I did earlier, my best guess is that they are common pond snails. I think they hitched a ride on some java moss I have sitting on my drift wood. One reason is because I found one of the snails on the drift wood. The other is that after my last PWC, I THINK I saw some eggs floating on the top of the water in the discharge bucket. It just so happened that the way I positioned the siphon, it was right under the java moss effectively sucking water somewhat through the java moss.

 

[miniflea84]

I actually also (just last night!) found a single snail in my tank- first time I've ever seen one in there. I picked it out by hand, and am actually really curious to see if I'm going to find more. It's been a bit over a week since I added some plants, I suppose that's where it came from.

 

[gzeiger]

Pond snail eggs are laid in batches of 10-40 encased in a jelly and tightly adherent to the glass or other surface. The case is usually about 1 cm in diameter and the eggs should be gold/yellow in color.

It still blows my mind that people want to get rid of their snails though. I go to so much work to stock them in my tanks, and the young never survive.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Found a third tiny one in the tank this morning. Boy I hope that Betta I'm getting to put in it tommorrow is a snail eater. Fortunately, the tank seems to have finished cycling over the weekend.

 

[joy13]

If it anything like my bettas it will eat snails and their eggs. It is fun watching them stalk a snail waiting for the right moment to grab it.

 

[Dano01]

I wish I could get snails.......My Clown and Zebra Loaches love them and knock them out as fas as I put them in.

 

[gzeiger]

I've just set up a separate 5 gallon tank now with a crushed coral substrate that I can breed snails in. Hoping it works. They do breed fast.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Found the fourth snail a few minutes ago. Interestingly enough, this one is dead, and I only found the shell of the snail a few hours AFTER the betta was introduced. Coincidence? Perhaps.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Found the fifth snail this morning... well actually just a shell. So perhaps there is something to bettas taking care of snails.

However, I'm not so sure the betta is eatting the snails... either that or doesn't totally realize they are food. The reason I say this is because as I was syphoning uneaten food pieces, I found what I think used to be in that empty shell.

while siphoning uneatten food. Again, this one was dead... actually I found only a shell.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Wait a minute... the count is now 6... and again, this time it's another empty shell.

 

[laxpatrick]

I almost always assume that there are going to be hitchhikers in the plants I bring home... If I see 'em, I'll pick 'em. Nothing personal, just not a big fan of the little common pond snails.

 

[joy13]

Sounds like your betta has decided he likes snails. He will probably eat the snail eggs too. If you have frozen peas defrost one and break it in 1/2 or 1/4 and see if he likes peas too. It will help him from getting constipated which can cause a lot of other health problems.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Well CARP!!! #7

Found a tiny snail crawling across the front glass of the tank today. He was so young/small/new that what there was of a shell was practically transparent.