I have always has saltwater tanks and I changed it to a fresh water tank about 4 month ago. This morning I turned on the light ans see these Snails with long pionty shells all over the sides of the tank. I thought thay where kind of cute. LOL But 15 mins later they all disapeared. I only have 4 fish in a 55 gallon. 2 butterfly tetras (i think) and 2 cory cats. Where did these snails come from? and why do the disapear after the light is turned on. Serious answers only please!
2007-12-07 08:44:23 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Nope all my plants are that fabric style of plant and no live rock or anything like that
2007-12-07 08:51:29 · update #1
Meg b: well at least that is some kind of answer!! ha ha thanks
2007-12-07 08:57:56 · update #2
Frnatic and christy both of you gave information that was very good! That is exactly what I have even though no live plants or rock and my gravel I purchased from pet store was brand new and my old tank was salt water not fresh. So still a little confused on where they came from. I have not added fish for about 8 months I think! haha Thank you both!
2007-12-07 09:34:51 · update #3
The snails you are describing sound like Malaysian or Malayan Trumpet snails. These snails tend to be nocturnal, so when you turn on the lights, they will hide. Usually, they will burrow into the substrate of your tank. It's fairly common for these snails to hitch-hike in on live plants, but it doesn't seem as this is how you got them as you have fake plants. Live sand and rock is also a possibility, but this does not apply in your case apparently. Other possibilities are that they hitch-hiked in on one of you new fish or they could have been in your filter media. Did you use filter media from your "old" tank to cycle your new tank? It's also "possible" that the snails were in the substrate that you purchased for your tank.
Regardless of how they arrived, they really aren't harmful. They can overrun your tank and become a nuisance (especially since you don't have puffers to eat them). Here is how you can rid your tank of these unwanted "pests": Run some hot water over a lettuce leaf and just before you turn the lights out, tie a piece of cotton around it and drop it in the tank. It will sink to the bottom and in the morning you should find it covered in snails. Remove the lettuce, snails and all. Repeat until the snails are under control. Needless to say, persistence may be required.
You might consider contacting a local fish shop to see if they would like to take the snails. Many aquarists with planted tanks use these snails. If you use the method I described to "trap" the snails, don't flush them! They may survive the flush and invade your septic field or public water supply. It would be best to simply put the snails outdoors or in an outdoor pond where Mother Nature can deal with them quite effectively.
Good Luck!
2007-12-07 09:12:41 · answer #1 · answered by Finatic 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We had the same thing happen when we switched from a brackish tank to a fresh water tank, but we added some live plants.
Did you get the fish you now have from the pet store with snails in their tanks. The eggs are very small and hard to see and could have come along with water in the plastic bag.
You only need two eggs to eventually have a whole colony of snails. Aquatic snails (terrestrial snails, also) don't actually have a sex until they come together to mate. One just sort of decides to be female and the other male. So in no time you can have a real infestation going. They are very hard to get rid of completely. We never did.
As for why they disappear when the light is turned on, I don't know.
2007-12-07 09:04:14 · answer #2 · answered by deedybird 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Where did the gravel come from,these are Malaysian Rams-horn Snails and I'm sure you can find out more about them on the net. I'm not sure how they are transported from tank to tank,but during the light hours they burrow into the substrate. If you are using an under-gravel filter they are sort of beneficial,although they can be real prolific. Clown Loaches (several) might be a control.
2007-12-07 10:18:56 · answer #3 · answered by PeeTee 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it's excellent so as to add a snail the betta wont do some thing snails are innocent and they have got approaches to protects themselves they have got their shell and they are able to even slide on a tip of a needle and now not get harm seeing that the mucus and secrete has a thick layer
2016-09-05 11:05:14 · answer #4 · answered by guerrido 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know the answer to your Q, but I saw these same little tiny snails on the side of the tank at a fish store I frequent. They told me that these were a nuisance snail, a problem, and weren't actually something they wanted in their tanks, they just showed up.
2007-12-07 08:54:24 · answer #5 · answered by meg b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you have Melanoides tuberculata (Malaysian live bearing snail). Read the article I'm sending you. They live in the sand and come out at night. So come light time, off they go into the sand again.
The article makes it sound as if you let them grow, they can reach tennis ball size. That is if your fish don't eat them first.
2007-12-07 08:59:06 · answer #6 · answered by christyo58 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure where they came from, if you don't have live greenery...perhaps they were nestled in your gravel for awhile. As far as why they disappear when the light is turned on...most likely they are nocturnal.
2007-12-07 09:01:25 · answer #7 · answered by Hawkster 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you have any live plants that is usually were they come from
2007-12-07 08:48:33 · answer #8 · answered by BrokenArrowsFinest 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋