Unexpected Life In My Aquarium?

LondonguyJ

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So I just got back from Sunday dinner with my family. Switched on the aquarium light and saw this creeping up the glass.

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Now I haven't purchased any snails and spent at least the last half hour watching this thing with a somewhat bemused expression, wondering just how this thing came to be living in my aquarium? I washed trimmed and cleaned all my plants prior to placing them in the aquarium and prior to that, had my plants in a bucket for two weeks. There are no other fish in my aquarium? Did I mention that it's a s*** machine?

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It came in on a plant, if another snail is present you'll end up with a fair few, they'll only become a problem if you over feed.
 
Doesn't matter if there is another, those snails can reproduce on their own.
 
Only MTS can reproduce asexually, pond snails are hermaphrodites and two are needed in order for them to reproduce.

Hermaphrodites produce young by themselves as they have both male and female sex organs.

The only snails I know of that reproduce like us humans are: Apple snails and assassin snails (and related genera).
 
Only MTS can reproduce asexually, pond snails are hermaphrodites and two are needed in order for them to reproduce.

Hermaphrodites produce young by themselves as they have both male and female sex organs.

The only snails I know of that reproduce like us humans are: Apple snails and assassin snails (and related genera).

They have both organs but two individuals are still required for reproduction to take place:

Sexual material is exchanged between both animals via spermatophore, which can then be stored in the spermatheca. After exchange of spermatozoa, both animals will lay fertilized eggs after a period of gestation; then the eggs will proceed to hatch after a development period. Snails typically reproduce in early spring and late autumn.
Taken from wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia....i/Hermaphrodite
 
So that means I should brace myself for more since they can produce a sexually.

Hmm
 
You'll definitely have more, but they're not enemies, they're beneficial, as long as you don't over feed your snail population should remain small.
 

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