Snail invasion?

[Kendramc]

I just noticed a lot of small snails in my tank, like 30 or so in one area. They are pretty tiny. Are they anything interesting or just a pest? And given how many I now have, should I try to do something about them? If so, what?

I know pretty much nothing about snails, never had them on purpose. I can only assume they came in with the plants.

 

[connorlindeman]

Dont over feed and they wont go crazy. Overfeed, and your tank will be overrun. They are pest snails.

 

[Donya]

The two things I see that look like snails in that pic are long with a lot of whorles - so doesn't look like the typical pest physa. They look somewhat more like young trumpet snails but I'm not 100% on that. If they are, it's somewhat rare for those to turn into a pest problem and usually they just exist unnoticed. Any chance of plucking one out and taking a pic of it in a bowl or something to get more detail?

 

[StripySnailGirl04]

If you don't have any other snails, you could get some assassin snails to eat them.

 

[Kendramc]

Here's a better picture. Found another big cluster of them, definitely more than I can count confidently. This is one of the bigger ones at about half a cm long

 

[Donya]

Hmm...well, not a trumpet snail (Thiaridae). Looks more like some things I've seen called "mud snails" (Potamopyrgus; had to look it up). Were the plants grown locally? Mud snails are invasive in Michigan: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/NewZealandMudsnail.html
If you do a google image search for the genus, see if pictures showing the soft tissue match what you're seeing.

(Edit: fixed a typo)

 

[Kendramc]

Plants were all bought at the local pet and aquarium store, same place as all the fish.

If they are invasive, I'm going to start working to get rid of them.

 

[Donya]

Just realized I linked a Wisconsin thing I was looking at on those snails, not the Michigan one I looked at first...

New Zealand Mud Snail

(Potamopyrgus antipodarum) Watch List - Prohibited in Michigan New Zealand Mudsnails are an average of 1/8 inch

www.michigan.gov

Seems pretty likely to me that's what they are unfortunately given the region. Could even have gotten on the plants via the store's own tanks rather than being on the plants where they were grown. They are reasonably widespread in the United States an in Michigan at least listed as a "prohibited species." If the ID is right, that store could eventually get in trouble if they don't control them.

At any rate, getting rid of them indeed seems like the best course of action. They may be tough to eradicate depending on how long they've been in there. Remove any you find, but don't be tempted to smoosh them by hand as a shortcut - you can get some horrible infections from tiny cuts from broken freshwater snail shells. Also be aware that if you use a chemical solution like copper or other molluscacides, even though they are often safe for plants/fish, they frequently harm other invertebrates (i.e. shrimp) and can also be absorbed into certain sealants and types of rocks commonly used in aquariums - which can leach the chemicals out later in response to pH changes. So if you were to ever want ornamental snails or shrimp down the line, it's worth being cautious about how you eliminate pest snails.

 

[Kendramc]

Given how many of them I can see, I think my best course is to basically start my tank over and treat/clean the gravel and plants. (I dont like using chemicals if i can avoid it at all) Are the snails likely to be a problem for the fish until I can deal with them? Also, are there likely to be snail eggs in the filter material or just in the gravel and plants?

 

[Slaphppy7]

The snails will cause no issues with the fish, and any eggs are most likely not *inside* the filter

 

[Kendramc]

So, as I plan my attack on the snails, I have a few questions in regards to my plants. I have a few potted crypts and a bunch of Java ferns. How should I get rid of the snails and eggs on them? Am I going to need to unpot the crypts?

 

[sharkweek178]

Just realized I linked a Wisconsin thing I was looking at on those snails, not the Michigan one I looked at first...

New Zealand Mud Snail

(Potamopyrgus antipodarum) Watch List - Prohibited in Michigan New Zealand Mudsnails are an average of 1/8 inch

www.michigan.gov

Seems pretty likely to me that's what they are unfortunately given the region. Could even have gotten on the plants via the store's own tanks rather than being on the plants where they were grown. They are reasonably widespread in the United States an in Michigan at least listed as a "prohibited species." If the ID is right, that store could eventually get in trouble if they don't control them.

At any rate, getting rid of them indeed seems like the best course of action. They may be tough to eradicate depending on how long they've been in there. Remove any you find, but don't be tempted to smoosh them by hand as a shortcut - you can get some horrible infections from tiny cuts from broken freshwater snail shells. Also be aware that if you use a chemical solution like copper or other molluscacides, even though they are often safe for plants/fish, they frequently harm other invertebrates (i.e. shrimp) and can also be absorbed into certain sealants and types of rocks commonly used in aquariums - which can leach the chemicals out later in response to pH changes. So if you were to ever want ornamental snails or shrimp down the line, it's worth being cautious about how you eliminate pest snails.

You can use pliers for this.

 

[Donya]

Unfortunately, snail eggs and hatchling-sized snails can easily be in filter media and also on the inner surfaces of filters if an adult snail somehow is able to get in - sponges especially are a place where little snails go because they feed on the detritus. While a strong impeller might be pretty good at keeping snails out of the media, I have definitely found freshwater snails in filters before where they either went up the output or somehow got through the impeller chamber intact. If not using a molluscacide or predator that can be pretty efficient about eliminating snails before the breed, then to be sure you don't have to do this all over a second time I would ditch the media too and dry out the filters.

Options for plants:
- For something like java fern or other broad leaf things, you can wipe it down really carefully, wash the "roots" thoroughly (I know they're not roots on java fern but I can't remember the term) and then I would quarantine it for a week or two. I don't think these snails would be in the bits that would be in the substrate. I have removed pest snails from java fern just by careful cleaning before, although it was Physa which may be a bit bigger as hatchlings than the snails you're dealing with. Still, a good wipe and wash of those probably would get rid of them.
- I know you said you don't like using chemicals, but if the plants will tolerate a copper treatment, you could have a copper-dosed tub of water that the plants spend a bit of time in. This could also be used for QT of new plants. Plants in any kind of soil/mineral substrate would need repotting before transfer to the regular tank. To my knowledge, plants are not a risk for absorbing copper treatments and re-releasing them in the way the sealants and minerals do, but I also don't know if those treatments can harm some plants.