What do I do with unwanted snails?

[23578]

I just got some fish from a neighbor who was neglecting them and they were just in a bucket along with a bunch of snails (I want to say 100-200 snails in a 1 gallon bucket). I don't want to keep the snails so I want some advice about what to do. Could I put them outside or something? I really am not sure because I've never had snails before. For now, until I figured something out, I'm just going to keep them in the bucket. Please let me know if you have any ideas on what to do with them. Thanks.

 

[ADsnail]

Do you know what type of snails they are? Hitchhikers like pond snails, or did a mystery snail have children, or--?

 

[23578]

I'm not sure what type of snail they are. They are really small - like half a centimeter if that could help identify them.

 

[Colin_T]

Can you post a picture of the snails?

Some snails are a pest and when they get into an aquarium, you can't get rid of them short of stripping the tank down and starting again. Other snails are fine and not a problem. If there is a lot of them, they are probably pest snails and you can chuck them in the garden so they dry out and die.

 

[23578]

Here is a picture of the snails. Some of them are climbing out of the water so maybe they aren't even fully aquatic. Hopefully this will help you identify them. Thanks

 

[Colin_T]

I can't tell what species they are from the picture. Any chance you can put 1 or 2 in the tank and photograph them, then take the snails back out?

 

[ColdKoi]

If they’re all relatively small I’d venture a guess they are pond snails or bladder snails. They’re the typical hitchhiker when buying live plants.


I would suggest not releasing them to the wild without checking to make sure they aren’t an invasive/pest species in your area or you could cause a whole world of trouble for yourself! Even if they aren’t on the list I still would suggest not releasing them into an area they aren’t already habituating

 

[Joe_D]

They are just a tiny nuisance life form so, do what you normally do with tiny nuisance life forms

 

[Autumnsky]

One should definitely not release them to nature, they could infect natural species with a disease which they might not have immunity to. Or infest the natural area and could end up an invasive species.

Many people with certain fish which love to eat snails would likely be very happy to have the snails for a fish's treat. You could advertise them for free. I know Pea Puffers and Loaches love them. There are a couple people who will call me when it's time to pic up excess snails for my Loaches.

A couple ways to help reduce the population is manual removal to start of which seems you have done. They go to the top of the water line to get oxygen.

Very likely you are over feeding the fish, providing a plentiful food source for their prolific breeding. If you might try feeding the fish appx. half the amount of food you normally feed, and do a morning and evening feeding of that half portion, so 2x per day, one quarter of the food each time.

That idea is also depending upon what the individual needs of fish, like baby fish needing to eat more often. Or other types of fish might have different needs which would need to be met.

In those cases, increasing water changings and vacuuming the substrate to pic up the excess food as well.

You might also clean the filter more often to remove excess foods. A prefilter sponge can be rinsed several times per week. Make sure you have a good filtration system to help circulate and move out the particles and capture them so they can be removed.

Hope those things help.

 

[Jacky12]

I hate the pest snails most likely picked up from eggs on plants at the local fish store. Sad to say, they go down the garbage disposal or into the trash can, almost everyday. I tried hiring assassins, but they were greatly outnumbered

 

[Colin_T]

I hate the pest snails most likely picked up from eggs on plants at the local fish store. Sad to say, they go down the garbage disposal or into the trash can, almost everyday. I tried hiring assassins, but they were greatly outnumbered

You want to avoid putting dead fish or things from the aquarium into the garbage disposal in the sink because fish diseases can enter the sewer and then natural water ways and affect native fish stocks. The best place for unwanted snails, dead fish or aquarium water, is on the lawn or garden outside. You can also put them in the rubbish so they end up at a rubbish tip where they eventually get buried underground.

 

[Jacky12]

I have to question that. Our city has a complex multistep sophisticated sewage process. Maybe I’ll ask them someday. But I’ve heard not much, if anything, escapes their process. Ie when they detect human disease causing pathogens, it’s sections of DNA, nothing that can replicate & cause harm.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I have to question that. Our city has a complex multistep sophisticated sewage process. Maybe I’ll ask them someday. But I’ve heard not much, if anything, escapes their process. Ie when they detect human disease causing pathogens, it’s sections of DNA, nothing that can replicate & cause harm.

Not everywhere has good sewage system. Even here in the UK where we do have robust sewage processing, at times during periods of high rainfall water companies are allowed to dump raw sewage into rivers, lakes and the sea. And of course illegal sewage disposal happens also.

Its been quite an issue recently, government relaxing rules so their friends in industry can save a few £s. This was just last week at what is normally a pristine beach.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1586712041905348608

 

[Jacky12]

Very interesting. I do most often toss these undesirables over the back deck, but the few in my 5 G betta tank are above the sink. I will def run this past the disposal & sewage dept.

 

[Joe_D]

Yeah, we all have garbage containers in our residences So, use them.