View Full Version : Snails?
lexmarkz22
12-15-2002, 8:49 PM
i just finished cleaning out my tank and i noticed 2 little snails i think. i never bought anything but 3 plants and 3 zebra barbs. how would they have gotten into my tank? also is there any way to stop one of the zebra barbs from chasing the others?
moose1960
12-15-2002, 8:51 PM
The snails probably hitched a ride with the plants.
lexmarkz22
12-15-2002, 8:52 PM
also are the snails bad for the tank?
moose1960
12-15-2002, 9:00 PM
Ive got snails in all my tanks, as long as they are not eating your plants i see no problem Or havent over run your tank. They do help clean the inside of your tank of algea.
lexmarkz22
12-15-2002, 9:03 PM
i've only seen 2 in the tank a medium size one and a real small one. i have some real small rocks that i was told to use to grow plants and both has disappeared under the rocks. and i don't think they are eating my plants because i had to trim alot of them because it was overgrowing the tank and blocking light from the rest of the lower plants.
the best bet would be to figure out what type they are if possible. the little ones like pond snails can multiply quite rapidly....
www.applesnail.net
they probably hitched in on the plants as was stated, that's how i got my first one. and from there they breed...... and breed.... and breed... :D
i still like 'em tho! :)
lexmarkz22
12-16-2002, 8:43 PM
after looking in that site someone posted i think the type of snails i have are Melanoides granifera, i'm not sure though. the picture looked similiar and the bio of the snail seemed simialar. such as the snail living in the gravel. because i've only noticed them after cleaning the tank and today i no longer see them.
pinballqueen
12-16-2002, 9:11 PM
Oh, if they're the kind you usually get with plants, you'll be overrun with them in about a month..... they do keep the algae off the glass, though. They replace it with eggs, which resemble, for lack of a better term, snot.
I like having them, personally. The fish will sometimes eat the little-bitty ones (assuming your fish can get them out of their houses....)
You will not be over-run with snails unless you are overfeeding. They cannot grow and multiply without food.
http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/snail.shtml
Learn how to feed and you will never have a snail "problem"
Skippy
12-17-2002, 12:03 AM
As for my 2 cents.
I think a fwe snails tend to be a good thing for a tank if they're the right types of snails for the tank.
MTSs for isntance are a boon to planted tanks.