Bladder / pest snails

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

Ok so I have seen 1 snail in my tank (I believe it’s a bladder snail) and I’m conflicted about what to do. On one hand I don’t really want to kill it, but on the other I don’t want a tank with hundreds of them. I plan on putting a betta fish in the tank, will it eat the snails? Im also worried about if the snails overpopulate, will that increase the bio load significantly? Is it possible to keep them in the tank without having them overpopulate? What affect would they have on the tank? Thanks 🙂

[Guppysnail]

If the only thing in the tank is a betta and food never hits the ground and you have no almond leaves/driftwood and you keep your plants maintained they will not overpopulate. They only populate to the amount of food available. This includes algae, excess food, decaying wood plants etc. They are excellent gardeners but they produce a lot of waste as they eat constantly. Some Betta will eat them some will not. 
if you are unsure put a plant some substrate in a vase and put it there. These things are near indestructible unless crushed or poison is used. They are Mother Natures cleaners. They go into uninhabitable areas and clean them up. My understanding is they are so tough waste water treatment plants get infested. 

Did I mention their faces are very cute when they eat? 🤣

Edited October 29, 2021 by Guppysnail
Typo

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

On 10/29/2021 at 3:17 PM, Guppysnail said:

If the only thing in the tank is a betta and food never hits the ground and you have no almond leaves/driftwood and you keep your plants maintained they will not overpopulate. They only populate to the amount of food available. This includes algae, excess food, decaying wood plants etc. They are excellent gardeners but they produce a lot of waste as they eat constantly. Some Betta will eat them some will not. 
if you are unsure put a plant some substrate in a vase and put it there. These things are near indestructible unless crushed or poison is used. They are Mother Natures cleaners. They go into uninhabitable areas and clean them up. My understanding is they are so tough waste water treatment plants get infested. 

Did I mention their faces are very cute when they eat? 🤣

Thank you! How many snails would it take to majorly impact ammonia production? My planted tank isn’t balanced yet so unfortunately that means algae growth and melting plant leaves. I’m 100% ok with snails being in the tank I just would not want them to produce more ammonia than the tank could process. And I’ll  be sure to look at their faces when they eat haha. 

[Guppysnail]

On 10/29/2021 at 9:17 PM, BeginnerFishKeeper said:

Thank you! How many snails would it take to majorly impact ammonia production? My planted tank isn’t balanced yet so unfortunately that means algae growth and melting plant leaves. I’m 100% ok with snails being in the tank I just would not want them to produce more ammonia than the tank could process. And I’ll  be sure to look at their faces when they eat haha. 

If your still melting with plants they will help the plants but explode in population.  The melt (that releases ammonia) they consume will be equal to the ammonia production from their waste. I’m torn on what to tell you. I personally would allow them because they will consume the melt quickly and help the plants flourish sooner because they will not be trying to still support the leaves that are dying back. But I also know they will explode in population because of this extra consumption. I have an outlet my lfs takes my extras as fast as they grow and I’m comfortable controlling the population until it stabilizes this way. You however I think will be displeased with their numbers for awhile unless you fish them out constantly.  So all of that being said…If there is one there are most likely more. Sorry if I made it more confusing but when my population grows quickly I’m not pleased with their numbers but love how my plants look. 

[Jennifer V]

@BeginnerFishKeeper I'm a huge fan of bladder snails for the reasons @Guppysnail mentioned. They clean the tank beautifully, eating up diatoms and dead plant matter/algae. They're also fun to watch and because they can live in horrible water conditions, they're pretty indestructible. It's fun to see something live in the tank while you're waiting for conditions to stabilize to add fish.

They may "explode" in population at first, but they will die back. That may actually aid in getting the tank cycled (ammonia = nitrite = nitrates) You could also reach out to local clubs or Facebook groups to get rid of your extras. I'm always looking for more snails to feed my puffers! 

The other thing is the egg sacs are pretty noticeable so you can remove the ones you see, although you'll still likely end up with quite a few. 

I say enjoy your little guy(s) and don't worry too much about an overabundance. They're such a cute and valuable part of the ecosystem! 

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

On 10/29/2021 at 7:59 PM, Jennifer V said:

@BeginnerFishKeeper I'm a huge fan of bladder snails for the reasons @Guppysnail mentioned. They clean the tank beautifully, eating up diatoms and dead plant matter/algae. They're also fun to watch and because they can live in horrible water conditions, they're pretty indestructible. It's fun to see something live in the tank while you're waiting for conditions to stabilize to add fish.

They may "explode" in population at first, but they will die back. That may actually aid in getting the tank cycled (ammonia = nitrite = nitrates) You could also reach out to local clubs or Facebook groups to get rid of your extras. I'm always looking for more snails to feed my puffers! 

The other thing is the egg sacs are pretty noticeable so you can remove the ones you see, although you'll still likely end up with quite a few. 

I say enjoy your little guy(s) and don't worry too much about an overabundance. They're such a cute and valuable part of the ecosystem! 

Thank you both @Guppysnailand @Jennifer V !!! I’m most likely going to just let nature take its course and only interfere by removing algae if it starts becoming excessive, hopefully all goes well. Thanks again! 

[Scapexghost]

Pest snails don't add to the bioload since they aren't effecting the amount of nutrients added to the tank. They eat the food and waste that is already in the tank. With snails, overfeeding will cause a population spike in snails. However, without snails, overfeeding will cause an ammonia spike that will kill all your fish. This is why snails a good for the health of the tank, as they turn potentially harmful waste into more snails.

[Atitagain]

I got some pond snails and bladder snails when buying plants, thought “ awesome free cleaning crew.” The tank I don’t do much algae control in because I had shrimp in there and I never cleaned the back or side glass. The snails exploded absolutely took over the tank and somehow transferred to 2 more of my tanks and we’re starting to become a problem in those as well. The solution was easy, I bought a new 20G and a 6 pack of pea puffers problem solved about a month later. Unfortunately I’ve lost 3 of the puffers but I am struggling to breed enough snails to keep them feed.