Can anyone tell me where did this snail in my aquarium come from?

Question

I was looking in my aquarium tonight and saw a pretty shell moving. After looking a lil closer and researching on the internet, found out it was a malaysian trumpet snail. My only problem is I need to know where did he/she come from. I recently got 2 cichlid about 4 mths ago from the pet shop, but this is the first I have saw of this snail. I have never had a snail in my tank before. Do i need to remove it? Will it over populate my tank? I only have a 5 gallon tank with no live plants. By the way I have 2 baby molly fish and 2 cichlid in there. Where did it come from..... HELP!

After taking a closer look, the two fish i bought were gourami fish not cichlids. These gourami fish are very colorful and have whiskers on the bottom of them

Answer 1

they are sexual snails which mean you need two for them to reproduce. so as long as there is only one then you're fine and they will not take over your tank.

if you wish to keep is try feeding it a zucchini slice once or twice a week, tie it to something that will weigh it down and put it in the tank in the morning and remove it that night. also you might want to look into adding liquid calcium to the tank occasionally, it's for coral in marine tanks but works great for freshwater tanks with snails also.

if you do not want the snail call a pet store and offer it to them or a local school

*edit*
here is a page that tell you more about them (just scroll down to trapdoor snails), including how they are SEXUAL multipliers, not asexual. not all snails are asexual.
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/snail2.htm

Answer 2

It may have come in the bag the cichlids came in.

I wouldn't get rid of it because these aerate the gravel and eat detritus in the tank. I've never had problems with them, but some folks have (see the links I'll provide below). I added some to a large catfish tank I have and the gravel has never looked cleaner. If you've been reading up on them, you should have seen that these do not eat plants, but are detritovores. They are also nocturnal, so if you look at your tank after the lights have been off for a while, you may find out if there are more than one. During the day they hide in the gravel, which is why you haven't seen it up until now. If you have more than one, they will multiply quickly, but have never overpopulated my tanks. I think how many you get depends on your tendencies to overfeed your fish (and provide the snails with extra food).

http://aquaworld.netfirms.com/Invertebrates/Malayan_snail.htm
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Melanoides_tuberculata.php

A bigger concern is what kind of cichlids are you keeping in a 5 gallon tank? Most should be in a 30 or larger!

EDIT Just saw your note that they are gouramis - even the dwarf varieties of these will get to be 3" and would do better in a 10 gallon tank.

Answer 3

Usually they hitch rides on live plants, sometimes fish if small enough, and sometimes just the petstore water. They will kill any life plants you have otherwise it shouldn't take over your tank or be an issue. Since it will probably just survive on what ever food is left over at the bottomm of the tank. Cichlid will not do well in a 5 gallon tank especially as they mature. Expect the largest cichlid to kill off all of the other fish. Both of the cichlids will gang up on the Molly's first. Cichlids can usually only be placed with other cichlids and only the largest of the tank will survive and tolerate eachother. If the snail is an issue for you, just put it in a bag and give it to a petstore. They will usually take them.

Answer 4

It possibly got into the net at the pet store when you bought one of your fish,or the egg(s)of snails was stuck to the net and got into the bag you got your fish in.
I don't think that the snail will last ling if it is kept with cichlids.By the way, your other fish will become meals for the cichlids;and your tank is way too small for what you have. The fish are also not compatible. I suggest you read up about the type of fish you plan to get before you get anything else.

Answer 5

Yeah, you probably got it by accident as a hitchhiker with your cichlids. It happens all the time. I don't think removing it at this point would do much for you, especially if you like it. Snails are good cleaners and MTSs don't add all that much bioload.

If you're concerned about overpopulation (or if it becomes a problem in the future) you can put a leaf of lettuce in the tank before bed. In the morning, it should be covered with snails and you can just lift it out snails and all.

Answer 6

it relatively is a trumpet snail. as to what type im uncertain. this is incredibly like various different snail relatively. no count what with any snail you danger breaking the filtration if this is below the gravel i doubt it is going to do any harm. the main problems with you tank is a million. your tank is OVER stocked.a bristlenose pleco needs 20gals on my own. you may desire to enhance the tank in any different case problems gets up sooner or later. 2. the snails will populate and infest the tank crowding it much extra. you may basically shop the snails in buckets with an airator or supply them to somebody who makes use of them for fish food.

Answer 7

The snails will overpopulate your tank. They dont need a mate to lay eggs,get it out!I had put some rocks in my tank from my brother-in-law that were used before and now I have snails everywhere! I flush at least 20 a day and they are right back!

Answer 8

usually they come in on live plants that you've purchased, but also can come in when introducing new fish, if there was gravel at the bottom of the bag...snail eggs are clear and tiny, hardly noticeable. Get that snail out of there they are *a-sexual multipliers*
ie: one snail today+ hundreds in no time.

Answer 9

OMG, what a cool thing to find...........I can't imagine where it came from, but I'm fairly sure a snail won't harm your other fish....... you may need to feed it an algae pellet once or twice a week, in case your tank does not produce enough algae to feed it, but as to where it came from............divine intervention, perhaps?? I have no idea, it's not like the eggs were on any live plants you purchased.

Answer 10

You probably got a snail egg in the water when you got your fish.