Do I need to get rid of these snails?

[crudnugget]

Today I got some plants from an LFS and put them in my tank. Evidently there were a couple snails that got past my rinsing of the plants (just kinda shook them in a bucket of siphoned tank water).

I do not want snails multiplying and overtaking my tank, so if these are going to be pests I would rather get them out as quickly as possible, as I am not going to be adding any snail eating fish.

This is a pretty close-up picture. I'd say the larger snail is about 5mm long, the smaller one about 3mm.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q229/crudnugget/IMG_1482.jpg

edit: Since they were on top of that rock and easy to reach now, I went ahead and got them out of the tank. But advice for the future would be nice :)

[grannylvsfish]

Trumpet snails, they stir the gravel some say are pretty good for tanks. I got 8, now have about 200 in about 2 months :lol: but you can take them out if you do not want them. read up on them, trumpet snails or MTS

[Mgamer20o0]

MTS great for sand.... they are nocturnal so if you saw those there prob more.

[Lupin]

:iagree:

[crudnugget]

Just what I had hoped not to hear :D

After I turned the lights out, I spied a few more and snagged them too. Hopefully that's all of them, but I'm going to keep my eyes out the next few days.

[Mgamer20o0]

lol good luck they stay under the gravel......

[Yadokari]

They eat plants. I went to my LFS and asked for trumpet snails. They told me sure, but they don't suggest I get it because they eat plants and that they cause more harm than actually help (gravel shifting).

[hotpod]

omg get them out NOW! i thought oh how cute! 2 little snails! and now......i think they are fighting my shrimp for the food. its been awful. i just wish i could find a food that the snails couldnt eat and the shrimp could...ive even thought about taking my shrimp out and dumping everything in it out and clean clean clean!!! but now the shrimp have had babies...and thats what i wanted...so im left with a dilema...i may still do it. but whatever you do if you see one take it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they go crazy!

[kimmisc]

Hating to bring the bad news, but if the plants went in with the hitchikers, you're stuck with them. Shaking them in some tank water does pretty much nothing if you're trying to avoid getting them into your tank. :( I just spent the last 2 days tearing down my infested tanks, and hope there's not a living snail anywhere in my appartment now! (Accept for my mystery snail <----)However, there probably is. :) If you don't want them, think of them as a highly contagious disease because when you're adding new plants to your tanks, you'll have to be THAT meticulous to keep them out.

I got potassium permanganate to use as a plant dip, but it doesn't completely kill them all. It does make them go into their shells, thus dropping off the plants, and it kills alot of them. I'm not sure how well it kills the eggs, but I still search all over the plants closely for eggs and remove all I see.

[kimmisc]

omg get them out NOW! i thought oh how cute! 2 little snails! and now......i think they are fighting my shrimp for the food. its been awful. i just wish i could find a food that the snails couldnt eat and the shrimp could...ive even thought about taking my shrimp out and dumping everything in it out and clean clean clean!!! but now the shrimp have had babies...and thats what i wanted...so im left with a dilema...i may still do it. but whatever you do if you see one take it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they go crazy!

I had the same problem, and hate that I waited until I had so many shrimp, it wasn't possible to catch them all. :( If you're going to do something about snails in your shrimp tank, you better do it before you have hundreds of shrimp.

[Mgamer20o0]

i have them with plants. havent had a problem.

[thebullit]

never witnessed or heard of mts eating live plants b4. i have them in a planed tank. no harm caused.
i personaly like them as they rarely come out during the day and kep my substrate stared up so no dirt or gasses settle.

[Dwarf Puffers]

never witnessed or heard of mts eating live plants b4. i have them in a planed tank. no harm caused.
i personaly like them as they rarely come out during the day and kep my substrate stared up so no dirt or gasses settle.

I agree completely, for both comments.

Right now I'm trying to breed 3 MTS that I've had for months. I would love to have more of these things. If I forget to stir a patch of sand in my 75g, the sand is litterally gray where I missed. These guys keep your sand stirred up plenty.

They're easily controlled by watching what you feed and keeping a clean tank. If you can't lose them with that, do the veggie in a jar trick.

[Hooked Newbie]

Snails are soooo under-rated. If they over run the tank, it's a good indication that you are feeding too much. If the population stays steady, they do nothing but good.

They do not feed on live plants, but will help to eliminate any decaying plant matter. I purposefully keep regular ole pond snails in my tanks.

[grannylvsfish]

I agree completely, for both comments.

Right now I'm trying to breed 3 MTS that I've had for months. I would love to have more of these things. If I forget to stir a patch of sand in my 75g, the sand is litterally gray where I missed. These guys keep your sand stirred up plenty.

They're easily controlled by watching what you feed and keeping a clean tank. If you can't lose them with that, do the veggie in a jar trick.
Want 50 more? seriously mine went to town breeding. Tonight I shut off the light, 25 minutes later wernt bsack and there were 15 adults on the glass and babies :lol:

[bellazeus]

I would love a couple of snails but my barb eats them the moment they enter the tank.