There are these things in my tank...should they be there?

[hisc1ay]

Good morning! I was checking on my guppy this morning and looking for the snail I saw yesterday, and crawling on the back of my tank I found these two white wormy looking things. The longest one is probably 3/4cm long, and the other might me 1/2cm long. From what I can see, they have a roundish head and they slim down to a point as you go down their body. Oh...I just saw a third one about the same size.

I can't give you a picture right now, and if I don't get in the shower soon I'll be late for work...but I was just curious if any of you might know what I'm talking about. Should they be in there, or should I remove them yesterday? Maybe they're slugs? I have no idea. They seem too long to be slugs. If they had to be introduced into my tank, my guess is the plants. Thanks for your help, again!

-j

[hisc1ay]

Just a thought...when a dog has worms, you can see it in the feces. Is it possible that one of my fish had stomach worms, and these three got out from feces? That kinda makes sense to me, but I also feel bad for the fish, cuz his stomach can't be too big, and these three worms would have filled it up...

-j

I think it's more likely they came in on the plants, but I can't tell you what they might be, good bad, or indifferent. Sorry can't help more.

[Somethingfishy]

Well hisc1ay,

With out actually seeing what they look like it would be fairly hard to say, because I do know that you do get some 'good' worms, sort of like earthworms that airate the gravel, much like the trumpet snail.

Post a picture soon and may I could help some?

[hisc1ay]

Yeah, I plan on fetching my dad's digital camera this evening and seeing if I can get a shot of these guys. The problem is they were on the back wall this morning, and then they disappeared. I'm assuming the snail came with the plants as well. I'll try and get a shot of him too just for kicks. Check back tomorrow morning for some specimin shots.

Speaking of snails, do they reproduce asexually? I recall when my cousin gave me his 10 gallon last summer, he had the rocks in a bag, and everything else seemed spotless. I know he cleaned the rocks super well, cuz I know his mother and she wouldn't have it any other way. Two months later I had over 100 snails in my tank. I'd kill as many as I could knowing there were dozens more that I couldn't get to, and within 2 weeks I was overrun again. If they reproduce sexually, I'll leave this one alone. Unless they help the tank anyway...it's just keeping them under control that I found a problem!

-j

[targaboy78]

Hi hisc1ay,

Snails are tough customers when they start to over run your tank, except for Trapdoor Snails (they are livebreaders) and don't fill your tank with hundreds of eggs.

If you find yourself being overrun with snails....

Depending on your current livestock (quantity / bioload / tank size) I would suggest getting some Clown Loaches. They are really peaceful, they make great community tank additions AND they just love eating snails.

[Somethingfishy]

Clown loaches would be the best way to control a snail problem. Depends on the snail. My apple snails, www.applesnail.net, breed sexually. I also have some malaysian trumpet snails who seem to be breeding like it is going out of fashion, but also, getting myself into trouble here, they only make as many snails as there is food for them, indicating a dirty tank? The trumpets I like as they sift through the substrate and keep it airated, hopefully, preventing anerobic (sp?) pockets, bad air and bacteria?

[hisc1ay]

This guy is tiny right now, so I can't identify him yet, but I am going to try. I was talking to D9HP and he said I should get some clown loaches cuz they rock. I will be keeping that in mind.

-j

[Grant R]

Hi hisc1ay,

I can strongly recommend ClownLoaches. You'll need to buy a pair as they are generally happier in two's and are very sensitive fish. Unfortunately, they are also very susceptible to whitespot disease ( Ich ) and it killed off one of my loaches last week. The other one still has it now, but we're fighting it together and when / if () it eventually clears, I'll add another.

They are good fun to keep though and very amusing to watch.

I didn't know snails were so common in most peoples tanks ! Do they just enter from being unseen on plants in most cases ?

[hisc1ay]

I can keep them in a guppy tank, right?

-j

[Grant R]

They are compatible with guppy's, yes, but when you say ' guppy tank ' , what are the dimensions of the tank, or whats its capacity ?

[Somethingfishy]

Yup mostly on plants which is why it is a good idea to give your plants a good rinsing, some say in normal kitchen bleavh, prior to putting them in your tank.

My snails I put there delibratley as I thought they would help in my Q tank. I also put them in to keep my Clown loaches happy, gave them that little bit more

Clown Loaches would prefer to be in small groups of about 2-4, depending on how big your tank is.

[Somethingfishy]

Forgot to mention this previously,
The trumpet snails are live bearers, here is a link to them:
http://www.petresources.net/fish/plants/mel_tub.html

[hisc1ay]

The tank is a 10 gallon.

-j

[cricket]

Clown loaches would not be suitable for a 10 gal. They can grow up to 12', tho' may only grow to 6" in captivity I have heard. They also need alot of room to swim around, even when small, and should be kept in a group. They are really fun fish, try them when you get a tank of 55 or more gallons. Even 125 gallons is the size recommended for adult clowns.
Yo-yo's stay smaller and I have heard of them kept in 15 gal. tanks. But, I have some and they are extremely active, so really need more room than that. Even they grow over 4" within 2 yrs.

[Somethingfishy]

A way of catching the snails with out fish, is to maybe lay some lettuce or zucchini on the bottom for them to nibble on. Come the next morning the theroy is to just pick up the lettuce leaf or zucchini and what you do after that is....?

[hisc1ay]

Ok, I have a picture of the worms. This is the best I could get them. They're only a cm or so long at the most.

The snail seems cool for now. He has a gold shell, but he's still too small to get a pic.

-j

[Somethingfishy]

Does he look like this?
http://www.applesnail.net/

Sorry meant to ask your snail?

[hisc1ay]

Hmm...could be. The only difference at this point is the tentacles aren't as long as in the picture. I tried to get a shot of him, but he likes to hide. He's gotten much bigger since I posted about him though. I'd say he's doubled in size.

What about those worms...anyone got any ideas?

-j

[Somethingfishy]

Not sure but I will try and find out? First time ever I have seen one of those.