Some snails suddenly appeared in my fish tank...?

Question

Yesterday I noticed something at the top of my fish tank just above the water line. Or more accurately, it caught my eye because one of my fish was picking at it. Upon closer inspection I realized it was a snail. I have a glass tank with a glass top, and it seals down almost completely over the top of the tank making it hard for anything to get in. I never noticed anything that resembled roe (or however snails lay eggs) in the water, and in fact one of my fish is a plecostomous to keep the algae down. I have an amazon sword plant in the tank and use standard gravel. The other fish include five zebra danios, two neon tetras, and a betta fish and up until now I had been thinking of adding a few more. However just now I noticed that there are several more snails in the tank, all of which are hanging around the water line. They all have brown shells and grayish-brown bodies. My question here is whether or not there is any cause for alarm and whether or not there is anything I can do to get rid of them. And of course if anyone can answer for how they got into the tank in the first place I would be grateful.

Answer 1

-I think you have pond snails. I have them as well.

They will not do anything harmful to your pets. However, they are known to be pests because they can dirty the tank and clog small filters if they have a high population count. The snails thrive on any uneaten food, so overfeeding could contribute to the problem. Since you have a pleco, you may be feeding it sinking wafer/pellets. If uneaten, these dissolve and feed the snails, which dirties the tank. They often lay eggs at the waterline or by plants. The eggs are in this clear gel sack and are very difficult to see. Inside the sack are 10 to 20 eggs which hatch quickly in warm conditions, and more slowly in cold. Each snail can lay eggs without a mate, causing their population to expand quickly. Most people get them when they buy new live plants.



To get rid of them:

-I've almost successfully removed them from my tank by changing the substrate from gravel to sand.

The snails would live in the gravel.



-You can try the lettuce as someone before me suggested. I haven't personally tried this, though. I'd recommend putting the lettuce in a container so you don't drop any of them when getting the lettuce out. Some people have put a lid with a hole on the container so the snails are less likely to crawl away after eating. If you decide to use the container method, be sure to use one that is plastic since metal is harmful to all aquatic life.



-If you have a freshwater tank, you may consider loaches or other bottom feeders. Puffer fish are an option if you have a salt water tank.

Snails thrive on algae; a product that kills algae will kill their source of food. Some algae killers kill invertebrates (snails) as well as algae, but not fish.

Some people have had success with "snail b gone" products, but any additional chemicals could stress your fish, so please use caution!

Answer 2

How big is your aquarium, the snails probably piggy backed in your tank from the amazon sword. The neon tetras should be in a group of at least 6+ as well as the zebra danios. The best way to remove them would be to ask a friend if they have a clown loach, they eat snails like no tomorrow.

Answer 3

Regular snails are pest in an aquarium as you know. Have you purchased any new plants or fish maybe a few months ago? The eggs can be on the plants and in the water with the fish. That is why you never dump fish water in when you get new ones. There are fish that do eat eggs and snails. The bigger ones I would take out and destroy before they start laying eggs.

Answer 4

They were most likely traveling along with the amazon sword you have. No cause for alarm, unless your plants start to look like they're being eaten. Then you should probably get rid of one or the other. Some species of snail may eat your sword. It just depends.



If you need to get rid of them, and you have fish that can stand some salt in their water (most can, and it's use as medication sometimes) then you can add 1 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon. They will die and you can pick them out. Or, put a lettuce leaf in overnight. They will swarm it and you can just take it out in the morning.

Answer 5

Not good. I have been battling snails for a month now. They are hermaphrodites so they reproduce like crazy. Mine came in on a plant I bought. They can also come with fish. I just squish em if they're small enough or remove them if they are bigger. I'm not certain we have the same breed though so you might be ok. They started in one of my tanks and spread to all four. There is a product called Snail Rid but your water has to be hard and mine is way too soft.

Answer 6

They hitch-hiked in on your plant. Very common problem. The bad thing is these types of snails breed like crazy, and will eventually over-run your tank. That's all they will do, however. Best thing is to get an Assassin Snail and let him go about his business. He will take care of them. Alternately, you can try picking them out and disposing of them, but you'll most likely never get them all.

BTW, you really need a school of at least 5 Neons (and at least a 20 gallon long tank for them to have adequate swimming room).

Answer 7

Not sure but I am curious to know as well.