In hospital, then tank changes!

[gmac]

I've been in hospital for the last 3 days after my lung collapsed so I've been away from my fish! I hope no one has to go through that as it's very unpleasant having a tube through your chest to remove air from your lung cavity! On the mend now though and feeling better...

To my surprise when I came back, mum and little brother told me that a few snails had appeared in the tank! They are very tiny, few millimetres only... and today they have vanished after crawling on air tubes and leaves last night. I can only assume they have came in on the thin plants I bought and put in a couple of weeks ago (I threw them out 4 days ago as I didn't like them and I had never saw snails on them) and they have lay dormant till now. How have they done this? Will there be a large nest of eggs or something? I'm not sure what kind they are either, how can I tell what they are? Will they harm my plants - I have a lot of bad Hair Algae at the moment... or will my tank mates eat them?

Also to my surprise, my Sailfin Plecostomus seems to have doubled in size since I've been in hospital too... and I've recently heard they can get to 18"! 8O A minor oversight by myself upon purchase, he's bigger than my biggest black molly who was largest thing in the tank alongside my betta... he now sits about 3-4", he looks cool. As he gets bigger will he start to become boss of the tank? Will he attack any of my fish? Thanks.

 

[oldshell4481]

snails seem like an epedemic from what ive heard, maybe the plants had snail eggs on them and they hatched.

 

[Guest]

thats what happend to me i never had snails, i tossed in java fern and BAM 50 snails i removed all of them from everywhere and now i have about 10 more! good god i hate snails!!! and i highly doubt that a pleco will become dominant they are peaceful fish all they do is eat algae and thats it

i want to get some clown loaches to eat my snails are clown loaches peaceful any info would be greatly appreciated(sorry for taking the thread)

 

[RoK]

Plecos do not only eat just algae, they are omnivores and will eat just about anything that is edible. They can't live on just algae, they will get skinnier and skinnier then die. There is a possibility the pleco could become a little aggressive. I don't think he will hurt anyone maybe just push them away from when they get near his hiding place or food.

 

[severum mama]

I have a 7-8 inch sailfin pleco in my 55 gallon tank and he pretty much just leaves my other fish alone. Unless, that is, my cichlids are butting in on his algae wafer action! He just pushes them away though, never attacks them or anything. Your biggest worry, just like mine, will be when you need a bigger tank for your monster pleco! They seem to grow slowly though, you have time.

Your fish may eat the snails. I have a snail problem that I haven't been able to kick in my 20 gallon, and when things get out of control I net them out, put them in my 55 gallon tank, and let my female convict have a go at them.

Glad you are out of the hospital and doing better. What a crappy week you've had! 8O

 

[Fluff]

I agree the plants probably had snail eggs on them when you got them. Those small snails will hide in the substrate and consume leftovers til they are big enough to come out. I have them too. As for your pleco, it's a toss up. Each individual is different. While they don't usually get aggressive, they can be territorial. As long as he has his space, there shouldn't be any problems.

 

[Blucat]

Depending on your male betta's preferences, your snails population may not get too bad. My bettas, male and female love those tiny snails. Get Better gmac