Baby snails just appeared in my fish tank......?

Question

I have a flathead catfish (that I feed shrimp pellets, earthworms, and minnows) All of a sudden I notice baby snails, 5 of them.
Where did they come from? I'm baffled....

I've had the cat fish for months. No live plants in months. No new fish either. It had to have been introduced recently right?

Answer 1

Did you add anything recently to the tank? Snails are usually introduced into the tank through live food or plants. Sometimes when we add live plants purchased from the pet store a snail or two can slip in undetected. Maybe in the bag of minnows possibly? I don't know.

Snails can be a good thing because they eat algae. The key is moderation!

Be careful though because a few snails can take over an aquarium in a short period of time. They multiply worse than rabbits!

If you want to get rid of them, you can add a bit of salt to your tank, purchase a snail eating fish or they have chemicals at the pet store (but I wouldn't recommend that unless you have to).

I would have suggested getting a Loach (what we have) which will keep the snail population under control but I think your catfish would be probably take care of your Loach (Lunch?). :)

Answer 2

Baby Snails In Fish Tank

Answer 3

Snails can come from a lot of places such as rocks, plants, ornaments that at one time where in a tank that had snails in it. Their eggs can survive on objects for months, ever out of water. If they are the pointy spiral kind (sorry I don't know the name) they will reproduce very quickly. If you do not want to have them in your tank they have a medicine call "snail no more" and another called "had snails" that will rid your tank of the slimy little critters.

Ps it can take months for their eggs to hatch if they have been dried out for a long time. Your feeder minnows could be the culprit, (carrying snail eggs on them).

Answer 4

Most likely they came with the fish. Maybe the catfish will eat them. If not get a slice of cucumber and attach a piece of string. Throw it in. Wait a hour pull it up with the snails. Repeat.

PS- Don't flatheads get really big. I mean like 100 pounds big?

Answer 5

If you have an undergravel filter, there just might be snails in there that got introduced by the live plants that you had months ago. I've seen the ones in my tank get in the weirdest places..

Answer 6

Do you have live plants? If so they may have come to you with tiny snails already in them. To the best of my knowledge, this is the most common way to suddenly find snails in the tank. The problem with the snails is that they can clog up your filtration system if you don't have it protected from such tiny creatures.

Answer 7

Sometimes when you bring new fish home from the store, unwanted parasites and foreign matter comes with them. Sometimes snails, fish fry are a bonus. Most of the time they are really to small to see or notice. It is just the parasites you don't want!

Snails are good for your tank. think of them as a bonus

Answer 8

Do you have live plants in your tank they could have been on (or the eggs)? Or a new fish that you put in there recently might have had an egg of them...

Answer 9

did you add a plant from a snail infested tank? i wouldn't know either, unless your feeders are carriers too,

i have got live moss from someone before that had snail eggs in it, those things multiply fast too

Answer 10

they can come from any thing like plants magorly or putting water from a pond or the water from the last fish tank they were in.