OMG I found an apple snail in my tank!

[MrMashashin]

I found an apple snail in my 29g cichlid tank today! I thought it was like a big balled up poopy but i poked it with a pencil and it was a snail . lol it is really small. its like the size of this _ and no bigger.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

sorry guy
its no apple snail
its a "pest" snail
i'm not sure of their real names
they come in a variety of colour but most often brown
i remember my first snail
i was so excited and i even named him gilbert
but then the one snail turned into 10 snails,
then 20, then 100 and so on
they die and raise your nitrates like you wouldn't believe
and leave your tank out of wack
so in short
your little snail is an evil one
the dead snails will pollute you water faster then a billion of them can clean and they multiply like crazy
RUN!

 

[bunjiweb]

So how are u sure its an apple snail if its only that big?

And be wary of snails, the breed stupidly fast... Loaches is the best cure!

Ben

 

[toggle]

this may sound really stupid...but how the hell does One snail reproduce without mating?

 

[bunjiweb]

They are hermaphrodites, i.e. they can change sex if required as they dont have any "reproductive" organs as such........

Its like earth worms, they are male one end, and female the other.

Ben

 

[clutterydrawer]

if humans were like that it'd solve a lot of problems

 

[appleblossom]

I willingly accept all snail donations to feed to my puffers!

just in case anyone was thinking of de-snailing their tanks...

 

[toggle]

whoa i didnt know worms did that aswell!

So do snails lay eggs or what?!?!?!?! or does a baby kinda just pop out of its belly?

 

[Puffer_freak]

They lay eggs! Do they live in brackish? If not then I will never have a snail proble! Hee hee hee!

 

[Teelie]

That's not exactly true. Not all snails are hermaphrodites (though even hermaphrodites can't fertilize themselves). Some are distinctly male and female, others are asexual, which is what bunjiweb is thinking of.

And not all snails are pests, and not all "pest" snails are a pest for everyone depending on what's in the tank.

 

[David]

Some are hermaphrodites, which means they contain both the female and male reproductive organ. Others, like teelie said, are asexual or sexual.

 

[Tropjunky]

Get it out or keep the numbers down they will breed like mad they're wores than rabbits.
but they are snails they eat ur plants and ur algae and they are gonna produce waste

 

[littleme1969]

Apple snails are one of the snail family that needs both a male and female. Whats great is when they get to a certain size they eat other smails too
But I have seen my gourami and my tetras swimming round the tank with a snail in their mouth, the gourami sucks them out of their shells then they all fight over it. They seem to love em. Kind of grusome me thinks. So snail over population is not a problem in any of my tanks. I like them and think they add to the aquarium, as long as you have a way of keeping them in check. Ands there is always a friend with a hungry puffer around if you need one

 

[MrMashashin]

yea it looks like the snail in your sig little