Snail Question

We have just completed our first pond. Its is about 5200 gallons and
we are in illinois. No fish (koi) or plants have been added since we
just completed it and the temps are chilly here now. I have decided
to let it freeze over for this season since its so late in the year.
The external pump and skimmer will be started and seeded in the
spring. At this point I have not added any chemicals.

My question is should I add snails to my pond?

Over the years of having indoor fish tanks I am familiar with how much
disaster snails can do and how fast they procreate. But Im wondering
if they would be the best type of critter for biological breakdown of
dead leaves and such during this time. Any help with wether or not
snails are good or bad and a recommended type would be very benificial
group. thx

Rick

Hi Rick,

Koi love snail snacks so if you end up with snails (they will sometimes come in
as eggs on plants) they usually only hang out in the filter, save from
predation.

Your best bet for dealing with debris is the skimmer, followed by netting the
pond to keep leaves out in the fall, trimming decaying plants and a yearly
cleaning.

When my garden was overrun with garden snails, we'd gather them up and toss
them in to the pond for koi snacks. Once in a while a snail would land on a
lily pad. The koi would cruise around the lily pads like sharks.If the snail
was unlucky enough to stretch his head out over the edge, a splash and a bite
and the snail would be gone. Cue the Theme from Jaws.


kathy :-)
3000 gallon pond
800 gallon frog bog
home of the watergardening labradors
zone 7 SE WA state

Good suggestions from Kathy. I don't have a skimmer though. So I just
netted
the pond. Worked out fine. I didn't add snails... they just create a mess
of their
own.

Good Luck ...

Nedra in Missouri

Lotus Garden:
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118
Backyard Pond:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836

"Ka30P" wrote in message
...
Hi Rick,

Koi love snail snacks so if you end up with snails (they will sometimes
come in
as eggs on plants) they usually only hang out in the filter, save from
predation.

Your best bet for dealing with debris is the skimmer, followed by netting
the
pond to keep leaves out in the fall, trimming decaying plants and a yearly
cleaning.

When my garden was overrun with garden snails, we'd gather them up and
toss
them in to the pond for koi snacks. Once in a while a snail would land on
a
lily pad. The koi would cruise around the lily pads like sharks.If the
snail
was unlucky enough to stretch his head out over the edge, a splash and a
bite
and the snail would be gone. Cue the Theme from Jaws.


kathy :-)
3000 gallon pond
800 gallon frog bog
home of the watergardening labradors
zone 7 SE WA state

On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 12:15:01 -0600, rider wrote:

We have just completed our first pond. Its is about 5200 gallons and
we are in illinois. No fish (koi) or plants have been added since we
just completed it and the temps are chilly here now. I have decided
to let it freeze over for this season since its so late in the year.
The external pump and skimmer will be started and seeded in the
spring. At this point I have not added any chemicals.

My question is should I add snails to my pond?

Over the years of having indoor fish tanks I am familiar with how much
disaster snails can do and how fast they procreate. But Im wondering
if they would be the best type of critter for biological breakdown of
dead leaves and such during this time. Any help with wether or not
snails are good or bad and a recommended type would be very benificial
group. thx

Rick

Personally I would not add snails. You could add a few feeder
goldfish, just to test the water. They will help keep the algae in
check (and they are much nicer than snails.)

In my experience, the snails will add themselves! I'd be surprised if you
can keep them out. "Build it and they will come", you'll probably end up
with all sorts of visitors and residents that you may not have considered,
LOL. If you add nothing yourselves, in the spring you'd still probably end
up with birds, frogs and toads, raccoons, dragonfly larva, mosquitos, all
sorts of protozooans, and of course, the group favorite, algae!

Tim C.

"rider" wrote in message
...
We have just completed our first pond. Its is about 5200 gallons and
we are in illinois. No fish (koi) or plants have been added since we
just completed it and the temps are chilly here now. I have decided
to let it freeze over for this season since its so late in the year.
The external pump and skimmer will be started and seeded in the
spring. At this point I have not added any chemicals.

My question is should I add snails to my pond?

Over the years of having indoor fish tanks I am familiar with how much
disaster snails can do and how fast they procreate. But Im wondering
if they would be the best type of critter for biological breakdown of
dead leaves and such during this time. Any help with wether or not
snails are good or bad and a recommended type would be very benificial
group. thx

Rick

On or about Sun, 05 Dec 2004 21:01:57 GMT, "tim chandler"
wrote something like:

In my experience, the snails will add themselves!

Right on. Lady was buying snails at the local fish store and asked for
just one snail. I though, there is no such thing as "one" snail; they
are hermaphroditic, born pregnant.
--
Crashj