Feeding snails to fish?

[TMaier]

Last spring 2015 I waged war on ramshorn snails breeding like rats in my tank. Out of sentiment and admiration for the pretty pink snails and beautiful she'll shape I tossed a few in a tank outside. I recently cleaned that tank and they are surviving even though they are never fed.

I was considering crushing some to feed to my fish. What do you think? Good or bad idea?



I have Betta's, neons, Denison barbs, ADF, khuli's that are always hungry and will probably eat these without issue.


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[Andy Sager]

If they were outside, I wouldn't feed. May diseases use animals like snails as intermediate hosts for their eggs so if you feed the snails to your fish, you've help complete the "bug's" lifecycle.
There is a long tedious process to help eliminate any possibility of the snails transmitting diseases but it's generally not worth the effort or risk.

Hope this helps.

 

[TMaier]

If they were outside, I wouldn't feed. May diseases use animals like snails as intermediate hosts for their eggs so if you feed the snails to your fish, you've help complete the "bug's" lifecycle.
There is a long tedious process to help eliminate any possibility of the snails transmitting diseases but it's generally not worth the effort or risk.

Hope this helps.

Even if they were in a closed tank? The top was screened to keep bugs /mosquitos / raccoons from playing in it.


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[Andy Sager]

Even if they were in a closed tank? The top was screened to keep bugs /mosquitos / raccoons from playing in it.


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Screens do not keep out bacteria or eggs that can be found in bird droppings which is where many "bugs" are transported so NO, if it wasn't a totally sealed tank where no air or water from the outside could get in, I wouldn't chance it.

 

[TMaier]

It's on a covered patio. No birds or rain.


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[Andy Sager]

I've given you the best reason not to do it. If you insist on doing it, just be aware that something can go wrong that was totally preventable. Your choice.

 

[TMaier]

I've given you the best reason not to do it. If you insist on doing it, just be aware that something can go wrong that was totally preventable. Your choice.

I believe you! I'm just trying to figure out how the snails could pick up nasty little beasties. I had no idea.


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[stevenht]

If you want your snails gone

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[stevenht]

Get a puffer. I had way too many and 1 teenage puffer cleaned the tank out in a day. That or assassin snails. Make sure you get the biggest assassin snail you can. They have a hard time killing anything the same size as them

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[TMaier]

The ramshorn are not in my main tank. But was just wondering about using them as a natural food source.

I kept a few out of sentimental reasons after removing them from my tank and am very impressed at their ability to survive and reproduce in a closed 5 gallon tank with a little algae in it and nothing else.

I remember my stepmom crushing pond snails that had shown up in her angle fish tank back in the 70's and the fish feasting on them.




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[Andy Sager]

There were less contaminated things back in the 70s so you shouldn't compare now to then. I was doing fish back then as I am now and know there is a difference. Today, there are all kinds of diseases my fish never even heard of back in the 60s and 70s and even the 80s. Today's fish are a sad state of affairs by comparison.