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What are these tiny snail looking things


sk_s
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I think I have snails but not sure.they are soo tiny,one can fit on the tip of a pen. There's millions of them in the gravel,where I can't really see them.my siphon isn't strong enough to suck them out of the aquarium. does anyone know what these things are? They eat algae but I don't have much algae in my tank. Is there a siphon with a motor that could remove these pests?  I don't want to replace both my aquariums because of much expense and work. Hope some one knows what these things are

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On 12/8/2021 at 4:17 PM, sk_s said:

I think I have snails but not sure.they are soo tiny,one can fit on the tip of a pen. There's millions of them in the gravel,where I can't really see them.my siphon isn't strong enough to suck them out of the aquarium. does anyone know what these things are? They eat algae but I don't have much algae in my tank. Is there a siphon with a motor that could remove these pests?  I don't want to replace both my aquariums because of much expense and work. Hope some one knows what these things are

Probably snails. Can you upload a photo? 

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IMG_20211208_194758_kindlephoto-318857097.jpg.8a9f4af07fe15b31867696da6f7d5e87.jpgI will do photo later today. They are hard to see,but man! There are millions of them.  So,here's a picture of the little pests. They appear larger than They really are,two of them could fit on the head of a pin.I have plastic plants ( because I kill the real ones) and just fish,nothing else. Can anyone recommend a chemical I can use to rid of them. Also is there a strong siphon that will remove the bodies? Maybe someone should invent one.I would buy it in a heartbeat

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https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/new-zealand-mud-snail

Please have a look at the link above and very deliberately examine and consider if this is what you have in your tank.  Consensus seems to be that these things are as big an invasive threat to the environment as something like Zebra mussels.   If you even remotely suspect that what you have is Mud Snails,  you should NOT put any of your tank water down public sewers and you should make accommodations for the other tank inhabitants and investigate how to poison your tank.

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Now I'm scared. They look very similar. I got them from a privately owned fish store, I think. So their eggs float in the water? I can keep the snails them selves out of water changes,but are there eggs you can't see in the water? I have them in both my tanks. What do you use to kill snails like this?

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On 12/12/2021 at 10:29 PM, sk_s said:

Now I'm scared. They look very similar. I got them from a privately owned fish store, I think. So their eggs float in the water? I can keep the snails them selves out of water changes,but are there eggs you can't see in the water? I have them in both my tanks. What do you use to kill snails like this?

@sk_s  before you take any drastic action, it would probably be advisable to call or visit the store you think they came from and ask them if they know what kind of snail they are.   The next step I would suggest, as did lefty, is to cut back your feeding.   You can usually feed your fish half of what you normally feed for a week or 2 and see if the population starts to reduce on its own.  This will have the added benefit of being healthier for your fish too!   I have never had assassin snails, so I can't comment on them, but I would never suggest poisoning your tank as a first step.   I do feel like we should all try to keep our aquarium water out of the sewers, especially since it can be so beneficial to house plants or landscape plants (as long as it doesn't run off into natural water sources).  Take it slow, and good luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think I might just remove a cup of gravel with water changes, that will remove a couple hundred of them,and then put that in a bucket on my balcony.i live in Arizona so they will dry out and cook in the heat.  After awhile I can throw away in garbage. I will change the gravel to natural from black so you at least can't see them. I don't feed every day so I don't think I am over feeding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 12/14/2021 at 12:13 AM, 1moretank said:

@sk_s  before you take any drastic action, it would probably be advisable to call or visit the store you think they came from and ask them if they know what kind of snail they are.   The next step I would suggest, as did lefty, is to cut back your feeding.   You can usually feed your fish half of what you normally feed for a week or 2 and see if the population starts to reduce on its own.  This will have the added benefit of being healthier for your fish too!   I have never had assassin snails, so I can't comment on them, but I would never suggest poisoning your tank as a first step.   I do feel like we should all try to keep our aquarium water out of the sewers, especially since it can be so beneficial to house plants or landscape plants (as long as it doesn't run off into natural water sources).  Take it slow, and good luck.

I really don't have a choice about putting old aquarium water done the drain. I have health issues and live on second floor of apartment building without an elevator. The people in my building would also complain if I dumped it out on the grass, and anyway it go back into ground water. I hope water treatment for drinking water will kill them. Or just drying them out in the heat until I believe they will be dead. I am holding off on using chemicals for now

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about six years ago i had a pelco that ate plants and I could not have live plants.. i had fake at the time i got snails i guess from my pet store i guess from a piece of wood i got from them .. out of their tank ……i noticed snails i could not get rid of them except by removing my gravel and clean tank  bottom and sides and put new gravel in now. i have live plants and have a few netrite snails 🐌  now but do not mind a few snails but hate when they are out of control  best wishes 

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For my own curiosity, I  compared the malaysian trumpet snail and the mud snail photos to the photo supplied. The supplied photo is out of focus and too far away to determine what they are. 
Since you have a better look, compare the malaysian trumpet snail and the mud snail photos. See what you come up with. 

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The photo actually makes them look bigger. One of these fits on the head of a pin. I think a lot of them are already dead because I only see a few moving at a time. I have practically no algae in my tank,and frankly they seem kind of dumb,if snails can be dumb.they are never on top of where the algae is, they only hang out where the filter shoots water out with the most Force. I'm going to try removing gravel with water changes and will see if that helps. If it turns out a lot of them are dead it should help. So I guess I will wait and see if it helps

 

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On 12/28/2021 at 9:37 PM, sk_s said:

The photo actually makes them look bigger. One of these fits on the head of a pin. I think a lot of them are already dead because I only see a few moving at a time. I have practically no algae in my tank,and frankly they seem kind of dumb,if snails can be dumb.they are never on top of where the algae is, they only hang out where the filter shoots water out with the most Force. I'm going to try removing gravel with water changes and will see if that helps. If it turns out a lot of them are dead it should help. So I guess I will wait and see if it helps

 

You can tie a string to a fork and stick a slice of zucchini or cucumber on it and when the snails get on the vegetable to feed just pull it out and cull them that way.  Cut back on over feeding.  Eventually the population should balance out.  Snails are helpful in keeping your plants healthy and free from algae and mulm build up.

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