Pond snail reproduction

[tnfinfan]

I found one and only one. Well, technically, the kids spotted it and named it "tiny". Dang it. If I leave it, can a single reproduce? I don't want a bunch of pond snails munching on my plants but the kids are excited about the little slimer. We already have two nerites and a mystery snail so mass snail killers of any kind won't be acceptable if things get out of hand.

 

[Delapool]

It always starts as just one...

 

[Old Scales]

HI tnfin,
Good to talk to you again. Hope all is well.
I used a combination of 6 assassin snails and two Dwarf Chain Loaches to rid my 29g of hundreds of Pond and Malaysian Trumpet snails. They totally wiped them out. The loaches were the best at it and left my big Nerites completely alone. After the snails were gone the DCL's eat the same foods the same way my Corys do. They are great little fish to have because of there playful antics. They are about $12-15 each but are pretty hardy and well worth it IMO. Hope this helps. OS.

 

[abw0004]

The mystery snails are too big and the nerites should be fine for the assassin snails. Pond snails can reproduce asexually (which is the annoying part). Last week I found only one and did not kill it until the next day. A couple days later I found two, so now I am averaging killing two a day so I would kill it now before it is too late!

 

[threnjen]

They multiply exponentially. Kill it, don't wait!!

 

[Luananeko]

You have to be super aggressive about taking out the pond snails if you don't want them... Saying "I'll catch it/kill it tomorrow" is a one way ticket to having your tank coated in the buggers. Assassins, snail traps, and loaches all work well, as does the time consuming task of fishing them out by hand when you see them.

The one downside to assassin snails is that you end up substituting one snail explosion for another, but on the bright side most LFS' will buy back the assassins while pond snails they'll only take for free as feeders. Also, the assassins are cooler looking (imo) and less prolific than the ponds

 

[Khuligirl93]

I just got a single assassin for my 10g and he never completely eliminates the pond snails, but enough that I only ever see 2-3 small ones at a time. I don't have to worry about him reproducing and also he has never harmed my 3 nerites. So, if you catch the problem early enough, a single assassin might be able to keep them under control.

 

[phishiephishie]

In my experience, pond snails do not eat live plants. They will munch on a dead or dying leaf but not on a healthy leaf. I would say that they do more good than harm

 

[venymae]

I loved my pond snails and never had a population problem (goldfish will eat the small ones). I also had a single large amazon sword plant (potted) and they never munched the leaves. So, I like them

 

[Fresh2o]

I've had pond snails in the past and they actually kept my plastic plants "clean". That was years ago.

I did manage to find one in a plant order and placed it in one of the vases where you grow a peace lily partially submerged in water. That thing was an algae dump. Within a matter of weeks it became virtually algae free (with one big fat snail in it). Did not reproduce.

Ironically, I have a tank full of MTS in a planted tank. They just crawl around doing their thing (breeding). I did not see them as a problem. I have no bottom dwelling fish so I figure they are the keepers of the substrate.

 

[Luananeko]

I wouldn't mind pond snails so much (as other have said, they do help clean things) if they didn't completely explode in population... A few snails are fine, but too many and it gets unsightly as they cover everything with snails and eggs.

I prefer amano shrimp and nerite snails for my clean-up crew. Eat algae just as well, don't reproduce, and are cute to boot

 

[phishiephishie]

Pond snails are a good indication of whether or not you are overfeeding. If the population is consistently increasing, than you are most likely overfeeding the fish. Otherwise, the population wouldn't get too crazy

 

[Luananeko]

Pond snails are a good indication of whether or not you are overfeeding. If the population is consistently increasing, than you are most likely overfeeding the fish. Otherwise, the population wouldn't get too crazy

Due to having some shy bottom feeders plus frogs, that's a bit mandatory... Otherwise my more confident fish steal it all and the quieter fish & frogs starve. Simply telling people to not overfeed and enjoy the benefits of the snails doesn't always work I just make sure to overfiltrate and have a hefty water change schedule to compensate.