Small snail appeared out of nowhere

[steelhealr]

Hi...I have a 10 gallon hospital/quarantine tank that I keep a few small fish in to keep cycled. Tonite I noticed a small snail on the glass, only about 5 mm in length. Quite a surprise since I haven't ever kept snails. He must have slipped in with the addition of fish (interesting because I net out my fish and dump the lfs water after acclimitization). Ok...question...I've heard horror stories about out of control snails overruning tanks. Should I get this guy out of there now or let him hang. I can't tell the type yet. Brownish/gold shell. Thanks. SH

 

[DarkSide]

It could be a hitchhicker, have you added any new plants recently. If you have an algae prblem you could keep him, or you could watch him, make sure he doesn't eat plants, and you should probably be good.

 

[steelhealr]

Hi Fish Crazy...thanks. I've added plants but they supposedly came 'clean and treated with potassium permanganate and I've had them for several weeks. The water is totally clear but there is some minimal algae on the wall, enough to support a snail or oto. K...I'll let him hang and watch him. When he gets bigger, I'll see if I can I.D. him

 

[Flashfire]

I'll tell you the nauseating tale of Harry the snail... It was a hot summers day, the fish were sweating in their glass house. And then a grubby human came along an threw food into the tank. Then he noticed something that hadn't been there before, a snail, in the filters uplift tube!(AAAAAHHHHH! screw the story!) So any way left it there thinkin it'll probably die. But one week later he was still fighting the bubbles. So I took the top off and introduced him to a much more placid home. He lived there happily and was always a hit with the guppies(they seemed very interested in him, they would swim up to him and as soon as they got close they'd dart away and start to aproach him again, it looked funny up close).Anyway he enjoyed his algae and lived a happy life.


I'm am sad to report that Harry the snail died as a result of old age on the 13 of January 2005 ...

LOL!

 

[steelhealr]

....awww....sorry....it's funny how you can get attached to these little guys. I"d swear my angelfish are smart as can be. Sorry. SH

 

[Jezah]

I would say most likely the snail is a regular pond snail. I have one is my tank. As they are sexual, if you only have one you shouldnt get a infestation. They are GREAT cleaners BTW, so I would keep him. Just an idea

 

[steelhealr]

Thanks Jezah....I think you are right. The person I purchased my plants from is a pond person and your post makes sense. Do you have a link where I can read on this type of snail? Thanks. Frank

 

[rain-]

I hope this helps you with identifying and finding information about your snail:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=75554

 

[steelhealr]

Thanks Rain...I've bookmarked the site. SH

 

[sswiger]

Hey Flashfire,

 

[sswiger]

Hey Flashfire, How do you know he died of old age? I just had an apple snail die and I was wondering what happened. How long do thet live? I got mine around July of 2004.
I just recently planted my tank so I was wondering if that had something to do with it or if it was just old age

 

[PUDincONE]

I understand how some of you don't mind the snails because i didnt either until they multipied into a large number within days. They overran the tank so fast i couldnt really do much to stop them resulting in the loss of most of my plants. So my word of advice is to just keep your eye on them and check the plants for babies becuase it can get ugly fast.

 

[Dwarfs]

Not all snails are terrible plant eaters Malayan snails eat leftover food and dead plants, as well as other unneeded things in the tank

 

[steelhealr]

Agreed...from my original post, I think I've ID'd the snail as a ramshorn. I found 2, pulled them. Found one dead in the filter, and just pulled two the other day. I think they got into my 10 gallon as a hitchhiker. Fortunately, none are in my main tank. SH