Are all the snails good?

[purrfect]

I'm just cycling the brand new tank. Then I found a tiny snail moving along the wall! Must have come from Petsmart with the only plant that's in there. At least he is surviving the high ammonia and nitrite levels. Do I need to name him/her? Are they all beneficial to the aquarium?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I'm not sure what type of snail it is but we have 4 Apple Snails and they are my favorite "fish" to watch. You never know, you might enjoy them.

 

[Frank_the_Tank]

I second that, my apple snails are my favorite part of my tank

 

[Lance M.]

Apple snails are really cool snails the watch and keep, but if you don't feed them they will most likely devastate any live plants you have in your tank. Mystery, Ivory, and Ramshorn snails will all do this. On some occasions you will have a snail tht won't eat the plants and there are also plants that snails will not eat.

The snail you describe sounds like a regular pond snail which won't eat plants, but will reproduce fairly quickly, but are good cleaners. MTS are also very good snails- they help aerate substate (great for sand tanks) and eat any food particles trapped in gravel. Both of these are hermaphrodites and will most likely reproduce quickly.

Trapdoor snails won't eat plants and are live bearers so they won't reproduce as quickly and the other snails mentioned. Trapdoor snails also look very cool with orange/tan and black stripes wrapped around the shell.

 

[TankGirl]

I agree completely with Lance M., and my advice is that if you don't want a whole lotta snails in the tank eventually, I'd go ahead and pick him out of there.

He will survive the cycle no problem, though if you want to just leave him in there. I have a largish ramshorn that I love and he resides in my 5.5gal heavily planted tank without any apparent damage to the plants, so maybe I have plants that he does not care for - there is plenty of algae on the driftwood that he seems to be working on most of the time, though.

 

[benji-star]

i love my snails
they take care of all the little bits of food that make it down to the substrate

 

[Lance M.]

I agree completely with Lance M., and my advice is that if you don't want a whole lotta snails in the tank eventually, I'd go ahead and pick him out of there.

Yay! Someone agrees with me.

 

[purrfect]

Hi,
The size of the snail is about quarter of an inch. It is dark with yellowish spots. When I see it, it goes fast along the walls. Most of the time it is hidden. Could it be apple snail?

 

[benji-star]

anything is possible how ever if you got it on your plants my guess would be that it is not. it is much likley to be mts or other common pest snail.

can you put up a pic i am sure fruitbat or tortis will identify it for you!

 

[Lance M.]

MTS has the spiral shell. It sounds like a common pond snail, if it came with the plants.