FW Snail concerns  9/28/06
Hello WWM! I really appreciated your help in the past- and I fear I have another question...
<No fears>
I just found this tiny snail in my 10gallon freshwater tank (Platies and guppies only). I already have a gold mystery snail- but a male. This tiny snail appears to be about 1cm long, blackish brown shell with lighter brown spots..?
<Mmm, likely a juvenile Ramshorn...>
It's kind of see-thru as well. I can't find anymore for the moment. I figure it must of come in with the plant i bought-
<Yes, very common>
I can't name the plant either.. hm. Anyways, to get to the point, I would really appreciate some advice on what kind of snail this one may be, and should I throw it out before my tank gets overpopulated.
Thanks!
Anitra
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnails.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

FW Snails and Praziquantel   7/12/06
Hello to all. I have been having a freshwater snail problem. I have a 45G breeder with many live plants and a peaceful community of fish, mainly tetras and guppies, but there some "oddballs" as well: 3 kuhli loaches, 2 yo-yo botias, a clown loach, and a clown pleco. The tank also uses an undergravel filter.
<Okay>
My problem: I have a snail population like you wouldn't believe. It's been this way for months. When I vacuum the gravel, it looks like shiny gold flecks of vermiculite are swirling around, but they are actually baby snails. They even come out in the daytime. There are hundreds (thousands perhaps?) of them, of two species: one set is like miniature trumpet snails, the other species have a spiral form, like miniature cinnamon rolls.
<Ah, yes>
I have tried the lettuce trick; I added the clown loaches and yo-yo botias. Not even a dent in the snail population. I have heard/read that Praziquantel will kill them, and that Prazi is fish- and plant-safe. On the koivet site, I found that the recommended treatment level for such is:
3.5 Tbls / 1000 G (or sized down for me, either ½ tsp / 50 G or 1/3 tsp / 33 G )
I figure it'll take two to three doses in order to kill off all newly-hatched snails.
<Mmm... maybe>
My questions are: if the Prazi works, won't there be an unholy spike in ammonia from all the dead snails?
<Is a possibility, yes...>
Will ammonia-absorbing media (like those ammonia granules at the LFS) prevent the spike from killing the fish? Must I remove all fish, even though Prazi is fish-safe?
<I would remove your fishes if you have a concern here>
Thanks in advance for any guidance on this issue. Karl (in San Antonio)
<Have you read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnails.htm
and the linked file on "Compatibility" above? I might first try a glass tray/attractant with sinking algal-based tablets for a few nights to rid most of the snails here. Bob Fenner>

Killing freshwater snails?  - 06/07/06
Hi Bob,
Quick question.  Now that I've removed a good number of snails (upwards of 30 trumpet snails!) what's the best way to "dispose" of them?  The same way as fish?
<Mmm, possibly... placing these in a plastic bag and putting them in the freezer is best IMO. Turfing out on trash day...>
They're of varying sizes, currently in a cup with some tank water, and I was considering popping it in the freezer.
<Oh!>
  (I may have some clove oil as well, but I'm not really sure whether that would work on snails...) I did read of cracking their shells and feeding them to the fish, but I have to admit I'm a bit squeamish about doing so.
<I would not do this. There is too much likelihood that the fish will be damaged on/with the shell bits, and even the risk of disease/parasite spread... wash your hands...>
By the way, I haven't gotten email responses to my last two questions-- not a problem, since I easily found them on the site, just letting you know.
Thanks!
Rachel
<Strange... and disturbing. Sabrina has been working with our ISP, DataPipe to upgrade our webmail (we need it), but haven't thus far found a program that meets our needs (mainly to log on simultaneously, not lose incoming, block spam...) Cheers. Bob Fenner>
<<....and indeed I am still striving to find a solution....  -Sabrina>>

FW snail problems 6/5/06
I have a 45 gallon FW tank which I converted to a planted aquarium with a small population of tetras, Endler's Livebearers, and a pair of Rainbows.
<Sounds nice.>
It's beautiful, and the plants and fish all look great.  My snail population is starting to get out of control.
<Hate those things.>
I am considering getting a couple of Clown Loaches, however, I have a small population of Cherry Shrimp and would like to purchase more.
<Clown loaches get FAR too big for that sized tank.  Botia Striata would be far more appropriate.  I have them and love them.>
I am concerned that any fish that would eat snails would also find small shrimp quite tasty.  
<Most any fish that can fit a shrimp in its mouth will.  I keep some smallish shrimp with them without a problem, but cherries are quite tiny so it's a gamble.>
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
<Welcome>
<Chris>

Attn: Bob Fenner, Variety of questions... on Bettas.... health... and snails... comp.... and algae    5/2/06
Hi Bob (if you don't mind the familiarity),
<Not at all... is my name...>
Thanks for your reassurances.  Terrence and Edmund are both doing fine, in fact Edmund's fins look a bit less curly.  I did get Terrence to try bloodworms and he loves them.
<Few Bettas can resist these>
  The patchy white spot hasn't spread, though I haven't seen him blow any bubble nests lately.
With more frequent water changes (10% 2x a week, 40% once a week out of a 2.5 gallon tank) the water is still 0 ammonia, now 0 nitrites, and the nitrates are hovering around 20 ppm.  I've been feeding less-- skipping a day occasionally, and when I do feed, 2-3 Betta pellets with sometimes a bit of bloodworm, or sometimes just a bloodworm.  Still too much?
<Not likely>
I have a good number of Malaysian burrowing snails-- I'd hazard a guess of 10.
<Soon to be more>
  Except for two old ones of maybe 3/4 of an inch, they're all about 1/4 inch or smaller.  I used to have a large population of small Ramshorns, but not long after the move to this new tank, the Ramshorns have gradually died off except for one, whose shell is covered with white scratches.  (I'm it's because my water is soft and slightly acidic.  All the Ramshorns started looking that way as time went on, though the burrowing ones haven't shown any shell problems.)  I was wondering if the die-off may have raised my nitrate levels, and if the waste of the current population could be contributing.  The snails came in with plants from my LFS (and then proceeded to multiply); I knew they were coming and kept them in hopes they'd help keep the tank clean.  If you think they should go, I'll remove them via blanched zucchini or something similar.
<Might want to just do this occasionally to keep the numbers in check>
I've also had some small smudges of algae on my tank walls, and true to your word in the snail article, the snails aren't eating it.  It's not very noticeable unless it's right between you and the tank light.  It showed up after I added aquarium salt-- any connection?
<Likely so>
There is also some green on my filter floss where it's moist but not underwater, as well as an iridescent sheen on the surface of my water.  The filmy iridescence has always been there and I take out as much as I can with water changes.  The green growth I've seen before.  Any advice for getting rid of any of the above stuff?
<Posted... see WWM re>
  I have been keeping my light on too long (about 14 hrs) so I'm setting up a 10-hr timer, and I'm assuming the growth has to do with the high nitrates as well.  I scraped some of the algae off the walls... should I go after the green stuff on the filter floss?
Thanks again,
Terrence's mom
(attached is my last email)
<Be chatting, reading. Bob Fenner>

Keeping FW Snails  12/30/2005
I did add these fish to a tank that I've had for a few years, about 3 months ago. The previous fish had died because my tank temp. accidentally dropped too low. I did get a little of the water from the pet store in the tank when I put the fish in so the snails must have come from there. Is there anything I can do to keep these snails alive with the fish in this tank?
< They will pretty much multiply, eat bits of algae and leftover food. Puffers and some loaches eat them but for the most part you can just leave them alone and don't worry about them. Some medications may affect them so read labels .-Chuck>

Snails Don't Come from Brine Shrimp   12/28/05
I have a dwarf frog in my fish tank, and I feed it frozen brine. I also have tiger barbs and tetras in the same tank. I recently found a lot of new baby snails in the same tank. I have no idea how I got them except maybe from the frozen brine. Does this make any kind of sense to you. This all has me so curious.
< You probably got the snails from a plant or some gravel from the fish store when you purchased some of the other fish. Brine shrimp comes from water that is very salty and not very good for snails.-Chuck>

Snail  12/24/05
Hi,
<Hello>   
  I was looking at my fish today, and I saw a little snail on the top of my fake tree.  I'm not sure if am supposed to do anything with it or just let it be.  Please help!
     Thanks,
  Kelsey
<Some folks like these... for cleaner-uppers, pets... others loathe them... reasons, approaches here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnails.htm
Bob Fenner>

Getting Into FW Snails, I'm Telling You, I'm Gonna Post It!  12/10/05
Hi, My 5 year old son is getting into fish and snails... hence that means that I am getting into them as well! We bought two snails for our freshwater aquarium. They are about the size of a quarter. How do you know who is the male and the female?
< Hard to tell. Males are said to have a rounder shell opening.>
At Petsmart, they have about 25 snails in 1 clear box with a wedge of zucchini in it, and long (arm-like) tentacles were coming out of some of these snails.... I mean, seemed as long as the snail itself, almost like he had a garden hose in there! I imagine that that was a reproductive organ of some type? (male or female... who knows?) I could take a guess, but might be wrong! :-)
< The appendage is actually a snorkel for breathing and both sexes have it.>
The questions are: How can you tell male/female? What was the long thing? Do snails eat raw zucchini?
< In the wild they do not come in contact will zucchini. Years ago an aquarist figured out that this could be used as feed to herbivorous aquatic animals.>
Do snails need an aerator in the tank?
< Not really but they will do better with a clean aquarium.>
Background info:
(We started a fish tank after Hurricane Charlie in Florida.... we live across from a lake... during Hurricane Charley, we lost power, and the sewer didn't pump... so the water from the lake came up through the sewer drain in the middle of our street, and formed a puddle in the front driveway. We thought they were tadpoles... and many were , so we raised them... but we wound up with 5 one-inch long transparent looking fish... who have managed to survive from tap water and a filter in our 10 gallon aquarium. (They also have lake sand, and some plants that we have bought at the fish store. ) They even had babies, but they ate the babies before we learned we had to separate them. So, now the snails have been added to this.... I just bought an aerator, but perhaps this could kill them all?
< No .>
Do some fish need low oxygen?
<You can not provide too much oxygen with an aerator.>
Can too much oxygen kill them?
< Too much of anything can kill. But this is not a problem in the aquarium.>
I could never imagine being a fish owner... or a snail owner.... but this is kind of neat.... (We even bought them a castle in the tank! )  Thanks! (You don't have to post this on your website if these questions are too basic or silly) Nathalie Day
< We post everything!-Chuck>

Getting Rid Of Snails With Chemistry  11/17/05
Hello! How are you?
< Fine thanks.>
I've got a problem. There are snails taking over my 10 gallon tank. I pick them out whenever I see them, but they just keep popping out of nowhere. These are tiny brown snails, only about 3mm across and they are driving me crazy. Is there anything I can do to get rid of them for good? Would salt do anything? My tank is a livebearer tank with platies and one guppy, everything is normal and the temp is around 82 degrees. Thank you for your help! Shelley
< I have had very good luck with Fluke-Tabs to get rid of snails.-Chuck>

Snail Breeding Tank for Puffer food 5/28/05
Hi Crew.
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Thank you for your wonderful website. I've learned so much from you.
<You're very welcome, that's what we're here for!>
I'm getting ready to set up my first "big" 100 gal aquarium, and have been reading your site every day for about 3 weeks. I haven't even made a dent in it.
I have two juvenile figure eight puffers. I also have a 2.5 gal "snail tank" for them. I put in 6 1.5 centimeter snails, and waited for babies. Finally, after much agonizing, they've laid 3 batches of eggs! Once the eggs hatch and I have a reasonable "infestation" of snails I'd like to put something in this tank with the snails. It looks empty and sad. I was thinking maybe a Betta or a male guppy, maybe even a couple tetras. That said I do not want to do this if the fish will eat all the snails, leaving none for the puffer babies. I was hoping you could advise me if this would be okay.
<I have kept a Betta in my 2g snail tank, with no problems. Just keep an eye on the water parameters & make sure the tank stays nice & clean for the Betta. Congrats on your snail breeding success!>
This question is less important and I am just curious. My husband is an automation engineer. He thinks changing the water in a tank is inefficient. He seems to think that nitrates could be removed from water using an "ion plate." I told him I had never heard of such a thing. He responded "It should work. I wonder if anybody is doing it. He asked if you all had ever heard of such a thing.
<I am not familiar with this "ion plate" but there are many products on the market that claim to remove nitrates. The fish are still living in a toilet bowl, no less...>
PS Pufferpunk was so helpful in teaching me about my "babies" that we decided to name them after her. They are Pufferpunk, and Pufferpink aka Pufferpigger :)
<Awwww shucks, I'm honored! At least your "human" children aren't stuck with that name! ~PP> 

Apple Snail Info
The other day I bought a large apple snail, and I mean large. But after having him (or her) for about a week he's full of antics and great fun. Climbing all over stuff, and he's very fast for a snail. But I might be interested in breeding them. So my question is, do they actually have male and female sides to the species, or should I just get another snail and they will do their thing?
< Apple snails do have male and female sexes. The difference is very slight but you are suppose to be able to tell from the spiral on the shell. One of the sexes spiral is supposed to be more pronounced.-Chuck> 

Help!! My snails are dyeing (new tie-dyed gastropods!>
Hi guys. I am a newbie to your site and also to a 10 gallon tank. I have 3 fire bellied toads, one platy and some snails. Some of the snails are Ramshorn and I don't know what the others are. Just your basic fresh water snails???
<Is there such a thing?>
My snails are dyeing and the ones left are looking pretty lifeless. Could it be the toads??
<Mmm, yes>
Half of the tank is built up with rock for the toads and the other half is of course water. I bought these at our local pet store. I have been feeding the snails and the platy sinking algae wafers since the tank is new and there's not much built up gunk yet for them to eat. Do you have any suggestions as to why this may be happening? Thanks SO MUCH for a very informative site!!
Connie Howard
<Many possibilities here... from nutrition as you mention, to possible water quality issues... Is this system cycled? Do you have test kits for the latter? Bob Fenner>

Snails for Bug Tank
Hi, I just started a 10 gallon tank for predacious water bugs. Right now I only have ferocious water bugs (Abedus herberti) in there but I would like to add some other non-fish animals/bugs to my collection. I want to add a snail to the mix, but I am afraid that 1, snails will take over the tank, and 2, parasites from the snails will hurt the water bugs. The ferocious water bug supposedly will eat snails, which has led to another problem; I can only get a large snail for the tank. I live in southern New York and know of a pond where there are these really big snails (about 2 inches). I would love to put one of these in the tank, because I know the bugs won't eat them and they look cool. I was wondering what you thought about this. I've read that the parasites can be harmful to fish, but are they to water bugs?
< Bugs in general have a pretty short life span and probably over winter as eggs so I wouldn't worry about parasites on your bugs.>
And another question is: what kind of snails do you think they are.  And how do they reproduce?
< My guess is that are black mystery snails released from an aquarium. There are males and females. They will mate and the female will lay a clutch of eggs outside the water. Usually on the inside lid on the tank. They will stay there for about a month. After that they will hatch and fall into the water where they will become food for your bugs.>
They are large, usually black (that's all I've ever found), have a trap door, and are more blunt, not conical. Thank you so much for the help. Jeff Osborne
< You could always buy some snails at a local fish store. This way you will know exactly what you have.-Chuck>

FW Snail reproduction
Ok, I bought a gold and a black mystery snail a couple weeks ago. If they laid eggs, would they have been at the water line?
<Yes>
And if the eggs hatched, what do the new born snails look like?
<Like small versions of adults, light tan/brown>
I'm seeing 5 or 6 very small, mostly clear snails with good sized antennae, with shells that curl off to one side instead of just being very vertical like the nuisance snails that take over your tank. They might not be mysteries, as I have Frogbit that I put in there when I got the big snails, so they could've come with that (after all I found a dragon fly larvae in it too). Or they could be from the big mysteries. I just need to know what new born mysteries look like. Thanks! Get more from the Web.
<I suspect these are Mystery young. Bob Fenner>

Breeding Snails
Hi Chuck Thanks so much for replying. If I was a week later I could have answered my question - I actually got to see a snail laying eggs! It was the most amazing thing to watch and I most definitely feel for the poor girl having to be there so long. Anyway, I have 2 more questions for you please. I know that the snails lay their eggs outside the water and that it will be around 4 weeks before they hatch. What I'm worried about is that 5 clusters of eggs have fallen into the water and sunk to the bottom of the tank. Is this normal and if not is there anything I can do? Thank you once again. Trish
<The clusters should remain dry until the eggs hatch. Sometimes the materials used for hoods like plastic, glass and metal don't make very good repositories for snail eggs. In the wild they lay their eggs on vertical stems of aquatic plants. Try placing a few branches of driftwood in the back of the tank to see if the females will lay their eggs on it instead next time.-Chuck>

Snail Problem
I thought my snail was resting by my power head in my tank for 2 days and then I decided to pick him up.
He had the front of him stuck in the power head. The thing that he uses to breath was pink and white. I left him alone for 1 day in the bottom of the tank and the next day he hadn't moved. I took him out of the tank for a night (thinking he would drown without air)
and put him in a cup. He hasn't come out of his shell since it happened. He seemed fine this morning (poking out of his shell) so I put him back in the tank and he seems a little better. Is there anything that I can do or give him so that he heals quickly. I have had Sluggo for about 5 years. Jeanette Browning
<Snails are pretty resilient and will probably be out in a few days. If there is no white fuzzy growth (fungus) then I think Sluggo will be fine in a few days.-Chuck>

Snail Problem "Had-A-Snail"?
Forgot to ask one more thing: how do you handle a bad snail problem in an 80 gallon. I've already tried "Had a Snail" (copper treatment or something like that), keeps em down but doesn't get rid of them. I also have a clown loach, but he doesn't seem to be able to keep up with them, although he's very fat because of them. Any ideas would be appreciated. I'd buy another clown loach, but I've got too many fish as it is.
< Fluke Tabs will take care of all you snail problems.-Chuck>

Tired of Reading? Snail Eggs
Hi Sorry to trouble you, I no longer have the energy to keep reading to find my answers.
We have an established tank with 2 Oscars, 1 small yellow unknown and 4 yellow snails (species unknown also). Recently we found 2 growths near the roof of the tank (out of the water). I thought it was due to bad housekeeping and promptly removed them however there are now another 2 growths back same area but situated differently. They appear to be cylindrical in shape, about 3cm long and 1 cm width and depth. They are a brown/white colour and there are a lot of round "bubbles".
We do regular testing and all levels are normal however our snails do venture out regularly above the water line - I'm just assuming they're adventurous. Upon assuming this, I'm also hoping that these "growths" are snail eggs? If not, what?
If so, any idea how long before they hatch? Would love to see them before the Oscars eat them. On a side note, when we first introduced the snails, it was quite a sight to see one of the Oscars suck on a snail and take it to the other side of the tank. I thank you very much for any feed back you can give me.
Kind Regards Trish
< Those are indeed snail eggs. The Oscars probably won't eat the eggs but will try and eat the smaller snails.-Chuck>

Nasty Snails
Hello. I have a small tank with two goldfish and several snails in it. I'm not sure of their type but they are about 4cms long and have pale brown shells. 
<The goldfish or the snails? Cause if the fish have shells we got a different set of problems!> 
Today, I noticed one of the snails was in the bottom of the tank almost upside down, with a large (2cms in diameter approximately) bubble coming out of it. Could you tell me what this is possibly? It looks very pearly and not like an air bubble.
Thank you very much.
Katrina.
<Could be an egg mass. Jelly like with tiny dots. Unless you want more snails you should remove it from the tank. Don>  

Snail Question
Dear WWM Crew,
<Lynn>
I'm hoping you will know my snail by a description, as I don't have a picture to send. I've searched the net for a pic or description that suits him but haven't found anything thus far. I'm asking because I'm quite fond of him and would like to make sure I'm taking proper care of him.
'Garfunkle' is about 1cm, or 1/2 an inch, and his shell has stripes of black and orange-yellowish that run from the front to back. There is one small turn in his shell, toward the back on his right side, where all the stripes end (or begin?). He has a door that he can close and only two tentacles, and his skin is striped as well. He doesn't eat my plants, has never multiplied, keeps the (freshwater) tank spotless, and is growing very slowly (if at all).
I'd appreciate your help if you can offer any info such as: his name, what he eats, any special needs, where his kind comes from. I'd like to keep him alive and well as long as possible.
Regards,
Lynn VanAsseldonk
<Have no idea... you might try writing your description on the larger hobbyist BB's re live plants... like the krib... Send along a pic if you can make one. Bob Fenner>