bladder snails... scourge of the hobby...

[Magnum Man]

I'm drinking my caffeine this morning, and I noticed 2 huge bladder snails, in my hillstream tank, where there were none previously.... nothing new added to that tank for a long time... my main group of tanks are all butted up against each other, and all the tanks in this group are open topped... this tank had no pest snails previously, but 2 tanks away I have a tank I can't clear of them... the tank in between has no snails I can see... they must go "walk about" every once in a while, and scooted along the top edge of the tanks, maybe skipping over the tank in between, and started getting dry, and went for a dip 2 tanks away???

since the pothos vines have crossed over to put roots down in each tank, I suspect the snails could use them as a highway also...

I've had them show up in my Tilapia raising tanks outside, assumed they just came from nature???

 

[GaryE]

I thought I'd cleared my Malaysian burrowing snails through a freezing of my substrates when I moved. A little while ago, I noticed a few I guess from plants I bought in the club and didn't rinse enough (I did rinse them). Now, they just keep growing and are something different . They're honking big snails and I'm not removing them in one tank because I'm wondering how big they'll get. I'm wondering what I have here.

The ways of snails are mysterious. They are resourceful little bundles of snot, and clearly a very ancient problem.

 

[Magnum Man]

in researching rabbit snails after posting a thread on them, it's claimed they can get 4 inches long... it would be kind of cool to have a couple that big...

I had a salt water snail the size of an American football, decades ago, when I kept salt water tanks... it's foot was huge , and was mottled pink and purple , the shell had a spire, it was big enough it could push the plate glass cover open, and if someone came up to look at it, it would spray water on them from it's spire...

they can be interesting, but most are just pests...

 

[GaryE]

I am a certified snail hater. It's not for nothing that medieval people saw them as symbols of evil.

I know people who love them, and I respect their feelings. It's not their fault they're crazy. Society (snail lovers in the hobby) have brainwashed them.

Snails, and duckweed... get me my sword!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I like snails. But I really like that picture too, Gary. I think image that might become the standard response when someone asks for advice on how to get rid of snails.

 

[MrsShrimp]

I started off by introducing two bladder snails and now I'm over-run with the little monsters! Why oh why did I ever think that was a good idea?!
I crush the ones on the front and sides of the glass on a daily basis. I have introduced Assassin snails x5 but only ever see 2 and one of these was literally covered in the bladders like they were attacking it! I thought the idea of Assasins was that they attack the pest snails. It's a bizarre situation and ridiculously annoying.

 

[Aquaria Pro Aquatics]

I am a certified snail hater. It's not for nothing that medieval people saw them as symbols of evil.

I know people who love them, and I respect their feelings. It's not their fault they're crazy. Society (snail lovers in the hobby) have brainwashed them.

Snails, and duckweed... get me my sword!

 

[Aquatopia]

For me it depends on the snail. Bladder snails are a nuisance to me. I would never add them deliberately. I just squash them when I see them and the fish get a tasty treat.

I do add Malaysian Trumpet Snails, Ramshorn snails and Nerite snails though. I find all of them beneficial.

 

[GaryE]

I'll take bladder snails over burrowing snails any time. Malaysian snails are serious trouble, as they reproduce quickly, and die buried in the gravel, unseen. At least bladder snails can easily be collected, and can be crushed. Burrowers are constant water pollution sources that do nothing a stick can't accomplish if you are concerned about turning over substrate.

Ramshorns are okay - they don't predate fish eggs like the other two, and they are easily managed and to me, fairly easy to ignore. Nerite eggs are a problem - hard to scrape off and not always deposited on surfaces you can clean them off of.

Snails are the rats of the aquarium. I can admire rats for their abilities, but I don't want them in my house. Well, ramshorns are closer to being field mice. But my tanks aren't fields.

 

[gimme30]

I thought the idea of Assasins was that they attack the pest snails.

They do but you'd need a bajillion of them. Pest snails breed quicker than they can eat them.

Gosh, I sure feel bad for you guys suffering with this issue. Looking at your fish through all the snails must be a lot like an alien trying to view earth through all the satellites. Sure glad I don't have that problem. Hey, first one that comes up with a shrink-ray, you may be able to enlist @GaryE's help, for a small fee. Just make sure he's holding his axe and mace first.

 

[Magnum Man]

curious if adding more, or a specific other snail ( besides assassins ) might at least reduce the food or territory , and thus at least reduce the numbers of bladders??? I did try assassin snails to my problem tank... the bladder numbers never went down, and in over a year, now there are no more assassins that I ever see in that tank... I added a hand full of rabbit snails to different tanks, and yesterday a group of medium sized ivory mystery snails to a few more tanks, one tank now has mystery and rabbit snails as an experiment... I'm wondering if adding a bigger more desirable snail to a tank with bladder problems, may at least reduce the reproduction of the bladders???

 

[GaryE]

Okay, I play the devil's advocate a bit. Right now, my invasive snails aren't too bad in my tanks. I have close to 50 tanks in the fishroom, and one fry tank has too many snails. But murder most foul is involved in that. Having to constantly kill pest snails is a big part of why I don't like them.

Feeding very little flake or pellet food really helps keep numbers down. Live food has more positives...

Competition? It hasn't mattered with ramshorns, without intervention. If I eliminate (okay, kill) bladder snails in great numbers, ramshorns can fill the gap. For a while. Bladders must have slightly different interests or abilities that give them an advantage.

You would need a quicker breeding, faster growing snail with the exact dietary requirements of the bladder snails. Just because it's a snail doesn't mean it has the same needs. Bladder snails are really good at being themselves.