Mystery guest

[Arksave]

Got some new plants from local pet store last week and today saw this new guest. Any idea what is this? Should i keep it or try to remove from mu tank?

I have 20g fresh water tank.

 

[Arksave]

Another pic

 

[mistersprinkles]

They're called pond snails around here. It's a pest. You should get some assassin snails to wipe those pond snails out before they get out of control.

 

[Taiken5968]

Unless you have live plants I wouldn't worry about them. If you have too many, just feed less.

 

[Autumnsky]

They are often thought of as pests, but they are kinda pretty, and clean VERY well. Over feeding is a key for over population.

You can squish the "extras" and feed them to the fish.

 

[Arksave]

Thanks for your replies. This is first one i saw. Will get some assision snails if i see more..

 

[mistersprinkles]

Thanks for your replies. This is first one i saw. Will get some assision snails if i see more..

pest snails are like roaches. There's never just one.

 

[The Trooper]

There will be more, this is what puts me off live plants. I'd be getting some assassins immediately to deal with them, because it will turn into an infestation, they breed ridiculously quickly.

Don't look at it as a free invert in your tank, look at it as a pest.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I have pond snails in every single tank I own. No the are not a pest. If you have a massive population that means your tank is not clean enough. Too much plant matter, waste or food can cause the population to explode.

 

[mistersprinkles]

I have pond snails in every single tank I own. No the are not a pest. If you have a massive population that means your tank is not clean enough. Too much plant matter, waste or food can cause the population to explode.

I would define them as a pest. It is an unwanted animal that's in your fish's environment. It's the same way a cockroach would be an unwanted animal in your environment and you would consider the cockroach a pest. Same thing IMO.

 

[Fresh2o]

When I had plastic plants in my tank I found pond snails very useful in removing algae from them. They did not over populate; in fact they died out on their own. My understanding is that pond snails will eat dead and dying vegetation and will generally leave healthy live plants alone.

Given the right conditions, most things can over populate. I have lots of Malaysian trumpets snails. They are prolific breeders which scour the substrate. Which is good since I don't vacuum the gravel in my planted tank. I also have had populations of Copepods, detritus worms, seed shrimp, planaria, and hydra at one time or another. It's a zoo in there.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I would define them as a pest. It is an unwanted animal that's in your fish's environment. It's the same way a cockroach would be an unwanted animal in your environment and you would consider the cockroach a pest. Same thing IMO.

Well obviously what I posted is just my opinion but next time I'll make sure to state that. You define them as a pest, I do not. Opinions vary.

 

[wildroseofky]

I disagree with the cockroach analogy. Roaches serve no purpose in the home environment. They spread nastiness everywhere they go. Snails on the other hand, even the lowly pond snail, will help clean your tank and work for their supper. They can also help you see if you are over feeding. If you see way to many snails than you know you need to cut back on the food.

DEATH TO ALL ROACHES. But keep the snails. LOL

 

[Wiggles24]

I have pond snails in every single tank I own. No the are not a pest. If you have a massive population that means your tank is not clean enough. Too much plant matter, waste or food can cause the population to explode.

Absolutely right! I also have "pest" snails in my tanks and they do nothing but eat leftover food, dead plant matter and algae. No reason whatsoever to kill them. They DO NOT harm live plants. They only eat decaying plant matter!

 

[Nicnet]

I got a red ramshorn this way, and hence started my snail population. I'm so thankful I didn't toss it! I love those snails! They add a great character to my tank, and I never had them get too out of hand. You could always get assassin snails if they did. But I love them! Now my snail was a different type, and I know a friend if mine has some that are just awful, but they don't look like the one you have either. So from what I'm seeing, if you like it keep it. =)

 

[Batgirl]

I disagree with the cockroach analogy. Roaches serve no purpose in the home environment. They spread nastiness everywhere they go. Snails on the other hand, even the lowly pond snail, will help clean your tank and work for their supper. They can also help you see if you are over feeding. If you see way to many snails than you know you need to cut back on the food. DEATH TO ALL ROACHES. But keep the snails. LOL

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ROACHES! As long as there not in my house

 

[Autumnsky]

I disagree with the cockroach analogy. Roaches serve no purpose in the home environment. They spread nastiness everywhere they go. Snails on the other hand, even the lowly pond snail, will help clean your tank and work for their supper. They can also help you see if you are over feeding. If you see way to many snails than you know you need to cut back on the food.

DEATH TO ALL ROACHES. But keep the snails. LOL

Love your comment, mine never populated to a crazy number. We have kind of low pH 6.2-6.4 an I think that may have something to do with it. I have been known to overfeed...Also maybe different varieties breed more prolifically.

I had some gross driftwood that had been in my little outdoor pond used in my 72G when I set it up.

Was in a hurry to set up the tank and not realizing it was fuzzy and gross, since when I held it up out of the water it looked fine. In the race to get the tank put together, the pond snails that were on there cleaned it up in just a couple weeks.

It was the big wide DW 2/3 the way from the left in the pic below. See how clean and smooth it looked after?

Their cleaning ability was incredibly impressive!