Snails: Good or bad?

H

Hellbore

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Aug 31, 2010
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Hi all, I have a new 10 gallon tank that is in the process of getting cycled.

I put a few plants in it, and one of the Anacharis plants I bought had a snail on it.

I removed the snail and I have it in a separate container. What I'm wondering is, do I want a snail population in my tank?

I read that they help keep algae under control by eating it, but I also read that if you have enough plants, you shouldn't have too much trouble with algae anyway.

I also heard they can harm your plants by feeding them and multiplying to the point where you have an infestation.

So, just thought I would ask here. Any reason why I should put this guy in my tank? Or should I squash him?
 
Show us a pic of the snail so we can identify it. Some snails are better (more popular) than others. FYI, most snails only eat dying/decaying leaves, not healthy ones. Also, just about any snail can become a nuisance when it overpopulates a tank — but that's almost always the result of overfeeding.

I never used to understand the attraction of snails until I had a baby (invisible) ramshorn hitchhike in on some plants. Loved the beast and miss it terribly now that it's gone. (Have to admit that I also had pond snails, which I worked very hard to eradicate. A lot depends on the aquarist and the type of snail. :) )
 
H2Ogal said:
Show us a pic of the snail so we can identify it. Some snails are better (more popular) than others. FYI, most snails only eat dying/decaying leaves, not healthy ones. Also, just about any snail can become a nuisance when it overpopulates a tank — but that's almost always the result of overfeeding.

I never used to understand the attraction of snails until I had a baby (invisible) ramshorn hitchhike in on some plants. Loved the beast and miss it terribly now that it's gone. (Have to admit that I also had pond snails, which I worked very hard to eradicate. A lot depends on the aquarist and the type of snail. :) )
Click to expand...

Here is the snail next to a penny:



snail1



snail2

Edit: Bah, I did some searching on freshwater snails, looks to me like this is jut a baby pond snail. He's going bye-bye unless anyone disagrees lol...
 
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Yep, pond or bladder snail. (Which are much the same, just different adult sizes.) Not a particular popular fellow ... If you have omni/carnivorous fish, you can crush and feed him to them. Or one of them. He's barely bite-size. Kinda amazed you saw him at all, lol.
 
I love the snails! I think they are so adorable and fun to watch. I recommend keeping him!
 
Snails have a great benefit to a tank. They can help consume leftover food, graze on some algae, and are just a nice addition. Remember that snail 'infestations' are human errors. If you overfeed the snails will find that they have a great mass of food supply for their future family so they begin reproducing. If they don't have food, they don't reproduce nearly as fast.

Hellbore said:
Hi all, I have a new 10 gallon tank that is in the process of getting cycled.

I put a few plants in it, and one of the Anacharis plants I bought had a snail on it.

I removed the snail and I have it in a separate container. What I'm wondering is, do I want a snail population in my tank?

I read that they help keep algae under control by eating it, but I also read that if you have enough plants, you shouldn't have too much trouble with algae anyway.

I also heard they can harm your plants by feeding them and multiplying to the point where you have an infestation.

So, just thought I would ask here. Any reason why I should put this guy in my tank? Or should I squash him?
Click to expand...

H2Ogal said:
Yep, pond or bladder snail. (Which are much the same, just different adult sizes.) Not a particular popular fellow ... If you have omni/carnivorous fish, you can crush and feed him to them. Or one of them. He's barely bite-size. Kinda amazed you saw him at all, lol.
Click to expand...
pond or bladder indeed, i have no problem with mine, i find them interesting.

taniner said:
Make sure he's the only one in the tank and pop him back in... no harm.
Click to expand...
he is not the only one in the tank. i guarantee that there is more
 
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