Why are there so many snails in our tank? We started with only one and now have 4. We didn't buy them...?

Question

and we didn't buy anything new for the tank. Gravel is the same and don't feed anything but flakes, blood worms. How can we get rid of them? Or are they good for the tank???? HELP!

Answer 1

Here is a long answer, but it has all the info on why, and how to get rid of them.
Pest Snails and Controlling Snail Populations
Dealing with an Aquarium Overrun with Nuisance Snails
Pest snails are common in aquariums. These small animals may seem cute and innocent at first, however they can reproduce with such vigor that they can quickly overpopulate a tank, causing all the problems that having too many fish in the tank will cause. Additionally, as the snails reproduce, the young need to eat, and they can decimate a population of live plants, starting with those that are the choicest foods to snails.

So, how did these unwanted snails get in your tank? The most common source for pest snails in the aquarium is live plants. The live plants available in the pet trade are often raised in outdoor ponds in warmer parts of the U.S. or in southeast Asia. These outdoor ponds are home to many varieties of snails, but also home to their natural predators including varieties of all different kinds of animals. However, these snails lay their eggs on the plants, then when the plants are harvested and shipped to wholesalers and then on to pet stores, the snail eggs come along. It is also possible to get snail eggs from decorations (or other equipment) that have been used in an infected aquarium and are then transferred to your tank. Snails can also occasionally be transferred with fish if a snail is accidentally caught in the net with a fish and transferred to the bag, then "rescued" from the bag when you get the fish home. Occasionally, wild snails will be caught in nearby streams, ditches, or other waterways and deliberately transferred to the tank.

Now that you have them, how can you get rid of these pest snails? Here are some steps for trying to remove snails from your tank:

Spend a little time every day, once you first find the snails, trying to find a few more and pull them out. If you crush their shells, many fish will will swarm over to eat the dead snail, or you can just throw them away.
Copper additives can also reduce the snail population, as copper is toxic to most invertebrates. Some people will add pennies to their aquarium to increase copper levels, however this can be dangerous to your fish since you do not know what might be on a penny...
Snail eating fish can also be helpful. Freshwater puffers (most of which are actually brackish water fish and need a little salt in their water and are typically very aggressive) will eat snails, as will some cichlids, and most Botia. The Clown Loach, Yo-Yo Loach, Dwarf Checkered loach, Skunk Botia and the Bengal Loach are all Botia that will usually do all right in a community tank and eat snails. Remember, when adding a fish to the tank to help with a problem like this, that the new fish does contribute to the tank population.
You can remove the snails in larger groups by tempting them with food. After the lights go off for the night, and the tank is dark, place a saucer on the gravel at the bottom of the tank, place a piece of sinking fish food on the saucer and leave for about 25 minutes. When you come back there will probably be several snails on the saucer and they can be easily removed with the saucer and food. You can similarly use lettuce, spinach, scallions (green onions) or other fresh vegetables to do this, if you have a way to anchor the vegetables in the tank.
If you perform several of these tasks with diligence, you should be able to easily keep your snail population under control, if not eventually eliminating it. Remember, none of these will get rid of all of your snails in short order, but over time, they should become much less of a nuisance.

Answer 2

I have seen this question many many times, but I have never gotten any Snails in my aquarium. I have two, and it seems that they do not reproduce in it. Im glad I am not over run with them, but do not understand what is happening with mine. The fish mentioned in the other answers are prevalent in every answer, and that seems to be the best way to get rid of them. I have made a note, and will use that info if I ever do get any. I just hate to kill anything, so I am hoping that everything will stay the same as it is now, but if I have to get a fish to get rid of them if it happens, I will look at it as food for the fish I suppose.

Answer 3

You may have brought them in with fresh living plants or if you had one that had allready mated before you got it, it laid its eggs and now you have more.
If your tank is tropical a clowm loach would be a good addition as they like to feed on snails.
If it is cold water (goldfish) then you may have to pick out the snail before they over run your tank.
Snails carry both sexes so all of them can become mothers and so breed at a prolific rate. Snails are not asexual but hermaphrodite they still need two to breed. Asexual is when a species can reproduce with only one sex present as with stick insects and some lizards.

Answer 4

Snails are capable of asexual reproduction; one snail is all it takes to end up with a tankful. Be sure when you buy anything for the tank (even a new fish) that a snail hasn't been accidentally introduced with your purchase. Most of the time, to get them out, you simply have to remove them all; they're not good in the tank, as they tend to take up a LOT of oxygen.

Answer 5

they have been brought in probably with live plants and are a very common problem in a fish tank, There are many products on the market for getting rid of them, You do need to get something as these snalis multiple, Loach fish enjoy eating them but if you have an infestation you do need the help of a snail treatment, Your local pet store should be able to advise on which is the best product

Answer 6

The best advice I can give you as a marine keeper is do not start a marine tank unless you can do it with at least 30 gallons, that is the minimum that most fish can be kept, there are few that can go in a 10 gallon such as a fire fish neon goby, well most will be a goby of some sort. The biggest concern is how difficult it can be to keep proper water parameters.

Answer 7

Snails multiply like crazy (maybe they came in with the bloodworms?) . They eat algae in the tank but also produce a lot of poop. It depends if it bothers you or not.

Answer 8

pick out and throw away any you find, or smoosh any eggs or tiny babies. if you can see 4, there's probably 10 more you can't see.
chances are you've got one of the common pest snails, trumpet, ramshorn or pond/bladder. these are hermaphrodite snails, so one can turn into one hundred with shocking speed! (as i found out with my red ramshorns -_-) dispose of them unless you want to be overrun.

one will eat algae which is good, but one hundred will eat algae and be poop machines, messing up your water.

not ALL snails are hermaphrodites, apple snails have male and female counter parts that need to be together in order to produce babies. and nerite snails don't produce in freshwater (they still lay infertile eggs though...)

Answer 9

They breed really easily. Put a chunk of cucumber on a string and hang it in your tank. They will go to the cucumber, and when they are covering it, pull it out and toss them.

Answer 10

snails are A sex animals which means they have both male and female organs and are able to reproduce without a mate. you will continue to have this problem as long as you have at least one in your tank.