Why is there a snail in my 55 gallon tank???

[eah]

I have not added new fish or new plants to my 55 gallon tank for a long time. The only thing I added within the past 2 months or so besides processed fish food was some substrate that I had used months ago that had completely dried out from a tank that never had snails.

I do have some new fish and plants in a QT tank and I'm guessing there must have been some contamination that way. How can I identify the snail and find out if she/he is going to multiple and try to take over my tank, or if it's just a lone snail that I could leave in there? I tried really hard to take a picture and just couldn't get it to focus. The snail is small -- almost the size of a pencil eraser and has a mostly brown shell. Can anyone help point in the right direction so I can ID the sucker and decide how to proceed. Your help would be much appreciated!

 

[Jchillin]

You can try AppleSnail.net, check the "other snail" species link on the front page.

I'm guessing ramshorn or pond snail since those are the most frequent hitchhikers.

 

[eah]

You can try AppleSnail.net, check the "other snail" species link on the front page.

I'm guessing ramshorn or pond snail since those are the most frequent hitchhikers.

Thanks, I will definitely check out those sites. Do the ramshorn or pond snails need more than one to breed or am I looking at a potential snail infestation? 8O

 

[krap101]

pond snails breed by themselves, but i think you need 2 ramshorns

 

[eah]

Darn it -- after looking at some photos, I think it's a pond snail. Now I can't find it either! I think I'm going to have nightmares of snail infestations tonight.

 

[7Enigma]

OK, I've said this before but I'll say it again: SNAILS WILL NOT INFEST A PROPERLY MAINTAINED TANK.

It's that simple. If you do routinue maintainance and keep your substrate clean, don't overfeed, and keep plant detrius from building up, the snails will not multiply to large numbers.

I'm currently TRYING to breed snails in my 10gallon QT tank since I have so few in my main tank. Guess what I'm doing? Dosing calcium in the water for their shell development, and overfeeding a basically empty tank. I'm also turning on the tank lights when I get up and off when I go to sleep (about 18hours per day of light), hoping that I can get some algae to grow. I find this funny as that's exactly the opposite method I use in my main tank to keep it healthy (relatively algae free, good water conditions).

So don't worry, if your tank is in proper condition the snails might multiply so there are a handful, but should not take over your tank!!!!!!!!

 

[Mosaic]

I'm fairly certain that pond snails breed sexually. They lay little jelly-like egg clutches. But chances are if you have one, you have more. Just keep it clean and pull out snails if/when you see them. You'll be ok.

 

[Shubunkin01]

Apparently if you leave a piece of lettuce in there overnight (with the light off) then all of the snails flock to it. Don't know how true it is, but you could give it a go.

Hope it Helps
Shubunkin01

 

[7Enigma]

I'm fairly certain that pond snails breed sexually. They lay little jelly-like egg clutches. But chances are if you have one, you have more. Just keep it clean and pull out snails if/when you see them. You'll be ok.

Common pond snails are indeed sexual reproducers, however all are females (they are hemaphroditic) but have both organs. I am unsure of whether in times of ample food supply but no mate they can fertilize their own eggs....

 

[eah]

OK, I've said this before but I'll say it again: SNAILS WILL NOT INFEST A PROPERLY MAINTAINED TANK.

It's that simple. If you do routinue maintainance and keep your substrate clean, don't overfeed, and keep plant detrius from building up, the snails will not multiply to large numbers.

Whew, I feel better now. My tank is in great shape -- the only thing that's a little bothersome is the algae that's growing on my plants. But, I have three ottos in quarantine that should hopefully be able to take care of that when I add them to my tank. I do regular water changes/gravel vacs, don't overfeed, and have a nice little crew of peppered cories who catch any flakes the other fish miss. I will sleep better tonight!

 

[Jarred Darque]

Pond snails require two to breed, but tehy will both lay eggs. Same with msot ramshorns I believe as well. The one you REALLY need to watch out for are the MTSs. They breed on their own, and very very prolifically.

 

[Mosaic]

I'm fairly certain that pond snails breed sexually. They lay little jelly-like egg clutches. But chances are if you have one, you have more. Just keep it clean and pull out snails if/when you see them. You'll be ok.

Common pond snails are indeed sexual reproducers, however all are females (they are hemaphroditic) but have both organs. I am unsure of whether in times of ample food supply but no mate they can fertilize their own eggs....

Generally hermaphrodites can't fertilize themselves. But most of the time, if you've got one snail, you've got more, so it's not an issue (for them).

Pond snails require two to breed, but tehy will both lay eggs. Same with msot ramshorns I believe as well. The one you REALLY need to watch out for are the MTSs. They breed on their own, and very very prolifically.

Ramshorns are indeed the same. I have not had any issues with MTS breeding, despite trying really really hard to get them to do so. But if they ever get out of hand, people here want some, so it's no big deal if you get infested.

 

[Guest]

You should try and remove the ones you see, and try the lettuce IMO.

 

[7Enigma]

MTS can be a problem (again only in a tank with a lot of excess food present in the substrate) since they are livebearers. I think my pond snail population is so small in my main tank because my barbs munch on the eggs that the common's lay. The MTS don't need to worry about that issue, and as such unless there are predators around that will eat them, they can explode if the conditions are right.

EDIT:

Wanted to clarify that MTS are sexual reproducers like the common pond snail. They need another mate but as mentioned due to their substrate living can quickly rise in population.

EDIT #2:

Upon further research I have found conflicting data that say MTS can reproduce BOTH sexually and by parthenogenesis. If that is the case, then yes it takes only 1

 

[cabezon]

OK, I've said this before but I'll say it again: SNAILS WILL NOT INFEST A PROPERLY MAINTAINED TANK.

It's that simple. If you do routinue maintainance and keep your substrate clean, don't overfeed, and keep plant detrius from building up, the snails will not multiply to large numbers.

I'm currently TRYING to breed snails in my 10gallon QT tank since I have so few in my main tank. Guess what I'm doing? Dosing calcium in the water for their shell development, and overfeeding a basically empty tank. I'm also turning on the tank lights when I get up and off when I go to sleep (about 18hours per day of light), hoping that I can get some algae to grow. I find this funny as that's exactly the opposite method I use in my main tank to keep it healthy (relatively algae free, good water conditions).

So don't worry, if your tank is in proper condition the snails might multiply so there are a handful, but should not take over your tank!!!!!!!!

maybe we should swap tanks. I have a tank that is just full of snails. I pull lots of snails out every day. I've done the lettuce thing, adn I wipe the waters edge with tissue. I can see at least 10 wandering about now. good thing I only have 5 little fish in a 10 gallon tank.

 

[7Enigma]

Build up some more posts and head over to the barter/trade forum. You can start trading them for whatever you need!