Snails appeared in my tank!

[Fernando M.]

Hi,

it must have been when i planted some new plants, and a few weeks later
i've noticed three snails in my guppy tank o_O

could this snails be bad or good? they seem transparent-brown with
black stains...

thanks.

[Daniel Morrow]

"Fernando M." > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> it must have been when i planted some new plants, and a few weeks later
> i've noticed three snails in my guppy tank o_O
>
> could this snails be bad or good? they seem transparent-brown with
> black stains...
>
> thanks.


If the snails are small (pond snails) then they might be o.k., they will eat
soft tissue plants like brown (dead) hornwort like mine and seem to not
damage the amazon sword in my tank they (the snails) do keep the amazon
sword's leaves clean though I am not sure if they will eat live hornwort
(green) yet if the sails are kept well fed (with spirulina pellets etc.) but
the pond snail population in my fancy guppy tank has exploded and yes I did
get them from the new plants I bought too. I consider them good right now
and I did buy some kuhli loaches to eat the snails' eggs and the small
snails but they (5 kuhli loaches) haven't seemed to made a dent in the pond
snail population but that's o.k. as I love kuhli loaches anyways. I say you
need to decide immediately whether you want the pond snails or not and
either destroy all signs of snails in your tank if you decide against
keeping pond snails or to just leave them alone and let them go to work. If
you decide later to get rid of a massive snail infestation you can buy clown
loaches (2 maybe?) in the future and let them eat any snail signs in the
tank and when they're done return them back to the fish store. This method
seems to work according to a few posts I have read here and at
rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants but I don't know how much of a pain this
method might be to you? i.e. you might live in a remote area with few if any
visits to the lfs or chain stores, etc. Those are the decisions you need to
make and the sooner the better. I let my pond snails do whatever they want I
just wish I would see the kuhli's more and I don't want to disassemble my
tank every time I want to see them, or even 1 disassembly. Good luck, later!

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

Daniel Morrow wrote:

> If
> you decide later to get rid of a massive snail infestation you can buy clown
> loaches (2 maybe?) in the future and let them eat any snail signs in the
> tank and when they're done return them back to the fish store.

Poor little buggers! Clown loaches are fish best kept in groups of at
least 5-6, they are extremly social animals. They sleep in a big pile
and look for food while swimming in a parallel row. They are always
together. They are not only pretty in appearance, but amongst the most
intelligent fish in our tanks. For example, they are capable of
recognising their food provider. And they do have their name for a
reason!

It is certainly true that with clowns in your tank you'll never have
snail problems, but treat them more appropriately, please!

Oh, by the way: There are several snail species that are quite useful in
the tank (turn over gravel, eat wastes) and don't damage healthy plants.
And apple snails are actually quite ornamental, too.