Snails

[Arcticfox1977]

I have recently noticed snails appearing in my tank. I obviously never bought them and they have hitched a ride on my live plants. Are they harmful for my fish?
Are they safe?
I have 4 in total.
What are the pros and sons of these stowaways?

 

[This Old Spouse]

They aren't harmful to your fish in small numbers. They can be somewhat beneficial in keeping your glass clean and cleaning up excess food from the substrate,  but the problem comes in when they start multiplying in huge numbers.
 
You can keep the numbers down by feeding less. Most newbies feed much too much. A fish's stomach is about as big as his eye, so keep that in mind when feeding. 
 
You could get a couple of assassin snails, which feed on common snails and don't breed very fast. I got some a few years ago and haven't had a pond snail problem since.

 

[laurac94]

Get some assassin snails or some loaches if you have the space to eat them or just remove them, they aren't harmful they will just eat left over food and algae. But depending on which pest snail they are they will probably breed loads and loads and take over your tank which becomes rather unsightly. They might eat your plants aswel which is never good :'(

 

[Lillefishy]

Some snails are beneficial & part of the clean up crew but if you overfeed they will multiply very quickly.
Assassin snails are good to keep the numbers under control if you do have a population explosion.
I would never recommend getting a fish to solve a problem, always try & find the cause of the problem & fix it from there

 

[Vibora]

A gravid malaysian snail hitched a ride on a plant to my mom's tank, then proceeded to cover the bottom of the aquarium in eggs. We don't have to feed the loaches as often, but siphoning up hundreds of empty millimeter long shells every few weeks is a chore. We used to have a nice, small population of malaysians a long time ago, before the loaches though, and the fish would eat any excess snails.

 

[coolie]

Rosby Barbs eat them.

 

[bullgoose]

how long does the assasin snail live if properly cared for and is it possible to tell between male and female.  Dont want my little tank over run with nowhere to put them.
 
 
 
sorry for thread jack

 

[Lillefishy]

They live up to about 5 years, they're not like a lot of snails they need a male & female to reproduce & don't multiply nearly as fast as other snails

 

[laurac94]

Not sure how long they live but if they do breed, you will probably see small assassins after about 6 months, there is quite a good demand for cheap ones, so if you sell for 50p - 1£ each you will sell pretty quickly. Pets at home sell them for 2 for £9! I got mine from someone local for £1 each.

I did just have an adult lay about 30 eggs over 2 weeks then die :'( I have had her for about 6 months but she was bought as an adult
And you can not tell the gender ime

 

[This Old Spouse]

Plus, they're beautiful.