Do snails just appear?!?!?!

[Kelso]

I was looking at my tank last night and there crawling on the rocks was a snail! So my question is haha do they just appear? I haven't added anything to the tank, so yeah where did the little guy come from?

EDIT: and one more thing! How often to shrimp moult?

 

[Teelie]

I have some snails I know I didn't add and aren't of the species I do have which appeared under similar circumstances (nothing added that would explain their presence) but they had to come from somewhere. Usually they hitch a ride with plants or come from a pregnant snail but sometimes they just come from nowhere.

Shrimp molt a lot during their first year or so the gradually slow down to a few times a year as they age, and it also depends on their health, amount of food and how much of the necessary minerals are present.

 

[Kelso]

oooh alright. Well maybe the darn thing came in one of my plants from 2 weeks ago and i never noticed him...hmmmm...

but yeah my shrimp man has moulted twice in the month that i've had him. He usually eats falke foods and he absolutely loves the peas i put in everyday.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Kelso

Chances are good that the snail did hitch a ride in on the plants. Of course, it's also possible that there were eggs on the plant and in that case you might well have more than one of the little critters in your tank.

 

[Kelso]

So what i'm thinking is that snails aren't a bad thing? Their basically a clean up crew right?

 

[Teelie]

That depends on many, many things from the snail species, to the plants in the tank, to the number of snails, the person themself, the kinds of fish... etc.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Kelso

It's most likely that you have common pond snails if they came in with your plants. These are very small and usually cause no harm to the plants or fish. They can live in small numbers for years and barely be noticeable. If there are only a few, they are nice little additions to your aquarium.

The trouble comes if you over feed which will often cause them to begin reproducing rapidly. Then, you will want to do something. The best thing to do is either remove them while they are new, or just take care not to put too much food in the tank, which is something you shouldn't do anyway.

 

[Kelso]

Thanks for your replies I"ve been keeping an eye on my tank and it seems like there is only one snail! So as for the reproducing part i should be alright

 

[Teelie]

They're spreading. I now have at least one in my 10 gallon, where the only snail that's been in there was dead (didn't know it at the time and fortunately, it's cap prevented the internals from expelling into the tank). Now I have to figure out just how a baby snail got into a 10 gallon tank on it's own.