what do you do with snails?

[glittergirl]

I've noticed I seem to be breeding a lot of snails. They must have come in on the plants, even though I thought I was very thorough in cleaning them before putting in tank. I have caught a couple, but they move pretty fast and I find it difficult to actually grab them to get them out the tank! I don't like the idea of killing them, even though they are pests, so would it be OK to put them in our pond in the back garden?

[thom336]

Yea, if you put them in the pond they will become food for the birds and that - but of course how they would do in the pond depends on what type they are. The best way of controlling snails is to destroy he eggs, which mainly appear on plat leaves, in filters or just above the water line. These eggs are clear and sticky.

Hope this helps,
Thom.

[Skittyfish]

NO! Don't put them in the pond, you may get rid of the snails that are endemic to your area. Put them in a bit of water and then stick them in the freezer. When frozen you can just trash them.

[OrionGirl]

I agree, do not take anything from your aquarium and put it in a pond, unless the pond is completely isolated from all other water sources and birds do not frequent the pond. Bad juju--introducing non-native species to a native waters is illegal in many places, and irresponsible.

There are many options for controlling snails. First, realize that an abundance of snails probably means you are feeding too much. The population would not be expanding if there was too little food. This is the easiest way to limit the population--reduce your feedings, either in quantity or in frequency. Very few fish require daily feedings (excluding fry).

Another option, which will depend on the size and occupants of your tank, is to add a fish that dines on snails. Dwarf FW puffers are an easy option, and since they stay small, will work with most tanks. They should not be added to tanks with long finned fish, since they can be nippy. There are many loaches that dine on snails and snail eggs, so look into them as well.

Manual removal is a tedious task, and requires dedication, since snails start out so small and reproduce so readily. Just before lights out, anchor a leaf of lettuce to the bottom to attract them, and remove the lettuce with it's load of snails each morning. This will eventually get rid of most of them.

When purchasing plants, use a bleach dip. In a 10:1 water:bleach mix, dip plants for about 1 minute--less if they are delicate, stem plants. Most eggs and snails will be removed this way, as will a variety of other critters (some good, some benign).

[aquatrippe]

good advice from the last two posters.. big mistake to introduce fish/plants/inverts..anything into local bodies of water..

even if your pond is private it is not contained..birds can carry the snails or their eggs to larger open bodies of water and potentially damage the ecosystem.

check out the problems the southern united states have had with exotics being introduced into local waters..

Regarding eliminating the snails, as Oriongirl suggested, cutting back on feedings is very effective..I was surprised how effective.

[RTR]

http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/snail.shtml

HTH

[TwoTankAmin]

I harevst my snails and then feed them to my clown loaches. I can drop 150 snails into the loach tank and within hours can only find empty shells.

[thom336]

By garden pond I was making the assumption it was a small, isolated, man made body of water. And adding acouple of snails to a small garden pond in Wiltshire (no disrespect to Wiltshire) is slightly different to introducing exotics into the local waterways of the southern states. If there was the slightest thought in my head that it could pose a problem to the natural balance of things I would not have advocated it. I would say that there is an extremely low chance that these snails even leave that pond, and I doubt they would survive a British winter in any case. All the same, I am also making the assumption that they are the common water snails, which are present in almost any pond in England anyway.

Thom.

[glittergirl]

Thanks everyone, I have taken note of all concerns. Just as an afterthought though, do the snails eat the algae on the side of the glass? If so, are they really such a pest, apart from breeding so prolifically?

[OrionGirl]

Snails eat a variety of things, and algae is one of them, but it is not their primary diet. The leftover foods (which are also why you have an abundance on planaria) are their primary food source.

thom--I know you weren't advocating introducing an introduction, but life finds a way. Snails can be readily transferred, even without a direct water highway. Wading birds frequently visit backyard ponds and act as inadvertant transportation to a variety of pond occupants, including snails. New Zealand mud snails made their way into American waterways in this fashion, and have since decimated many waterways and killed the native mussels and snails.

[andruboz]

my advice is to make friends with someone who owns a puffer.

i'd love to take them off your hands but intercontinental shipping is too expensive.

[superjohnny]

If you see it squish it or put it through the garbage disposal and cut down on feedings. Pretty soon you won't have anymore snails.

[RTR]

Disposing of unwanted excess snails is one issue, but if they are all removed without correcting the real issue of excess food (from algae or directly from excess feeding), then other issues will arise to make use of that excess which allowed the snails to increase to and maintain high numbers. You may trade snails for BBA, BGA, green water/cloudy water, hair algae, etc.

Think about it - which do you want?

Correct the underlying problem and the snail population will decline on its own.

[glittergirl]

Thanks RTR - that sounds a really good idea. :)

[ChilDawg]

Or, instead of what was suggested before, get yourself a puffer (in another tank)!

(But leave the snail population somewhat alone...and you'll have free food for the puffer for many years to come.)