GoldenGardner Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I do not understand what is going on with the snails in my tank. I moved ONE large snail from my main tank to my small 5 gallon tank two weeks ago and now there is 15 small snails in there. How? What? How? I have been cleaning the tank 3-5 times a week because it has baby guppies in it, and I thought if I had a clean tank that they would starve off, but there just seems to be more and more. Also I'm not seeing any eggs at the top of my tank above the water line. Where are they coming from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 You moved a mystery snail? If it was, then I think the babies are a different species. Perhaps the eggs hitchhiked in with something else added to the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 snails are evil creatures. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 31 minutes ago, OceanTruth said: You moved a mystery snail? If it was, then I think the babies are a different species. Perhaps the eggs hitchhiked in with something else added to the tank? Yeah, he's a mystery snail. I swear there's more every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 11 minutes ago, GoldenGardner said: Yeah, he's a mystery snail. I swear there's more every day. That is wild! I would have assumed you would have found a clutch of eggs. Mystery snails are sneakier than I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Oh crud. I just looked up a clutch of eggs in aquarium so I could see if I was looking for the wrong thing. My husband noticed this clear thing on the side with white dots, I thought it was just from the food debree from cleaning up. Kind of like the pellets for the catfish tend to get gross. But now.... I'm pretty sure that was eggs. I thought the eggs were above the water line and pinkish looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Clear sac with white dots sounds like bladder snail eggs to me. They lay them underwater on glass, rocks, plants, wherever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Yeah that doesn't sound like mystery snail babies. That sounds like bladder snails to me. They usually hitch hike in on plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Oh man. You all are totally right. Dang it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 There are at least 10 visible clutches!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I wish i had some advice for you. I love my bladder snails. They are the best tank cleaners in my opinion, so ive never attempted to get rid of them. Maybe someone with experience ridding bladder snails could help you out. Many have noted, and my observation of keeping bladder snails holds true, that they only breed as much as the food source allows. They are a check engine light for over feeding. Your population will explode at first, but over time they will eat themselves into a stabile population so long as you dont overfeed your tank. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 I think part of the problem is I'm overfeeding the tank because it's guppy fry and I'm feeding them 6 times a day. I just kind of freaked out trying to clean it, I moved a chest that was in there and there were 15ish more snails in there all huddled together. I can't seem to keep the water clear in this tank either, it's always so dirty despite doing water changes so much. So I pulled all the substrate from the tank, which has left a huge mess in the tank. I'll take a picture once it's settled. I scrubbed the sides of the tank too and then turned the filter off to allow the water to fully settle, then I'll do a water change. I'm going to dry out the substrate and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the plants. There was only two. A sad dwarf grass and one with larger leaves. I may try to keep that one partially submerged in a bucket to try and keep it alive, but I can see a bunch of egg clutches on it. I only have guppy fry in the tank, there's 6 guppy fry total, so I think they will be ok without any substrate for a few days. Sigh.... I may just put them in the big tank and leave it empty for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Is this just a fry grow out tank? If so you can let the snails provide their service and nuke them once the fry move out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I mean... it seems clear to me. After you finish growing out fry it is the perfect time to get a pea puffer... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Brandy said: I mean... it seems clear to me. After you finish growing out fry it is the perfect time to get a pea puffer... I've been saving the huge clumps of snails that have been accumulating while my CPD fry fatten up for exactly this. The downside is that I'll need to get another aquarium to use as a grow out tank in the future. Shucks. Edited March 7, 2021 by Schwack 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 Found this clutch while cleaning the tank today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 (edited) 22 minutes ago, GoldenGardner said: Found this clutch while cleaning the tank today Now that is mystery snail eggs. The clear globs were your bladder snails. But that is definitely mystery snail eggs. I know this sounds weird, but mystery snails though they live in water, lay there eggs outside of water because somehow the baby snails can drown submerged. Yeah, i dont get it either lol. They do need to stay moist however, just not submerged. Also not to dash any hopes but mystery snails are sometimes known to lay a clutch of eggs unfertilized. If i recall correctly and maybe someone can correct me if im wrong, i think it takes about 3 weeks for the baby snails to gestate. If after a month and you dont see them hatch they could be unfertilized and you can just pull them off. Edited March 13, 2021 by Will Billy Added the gestational period section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 2 hours ago, GoldenGardner said: Found this clutch while cleaning the tank today. I would flip if I saw that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Philip said: I would flip if I saw that. One of these days ima convert you to snails @Philip lol. Just kidding, but your post did give me quite a chuckle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Just now, Will Billy said: One of these days ima convert you to snails @Philip lol. Just kidding, but your post did give me quite a chuckle. You might. But for now nothing gets by my first line of defenses until I decide. All it will take is one to sneak in and I'll be picking snails for the next four months. It would have to be one that I can have neutered or is celibate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Was this a new tank? Snails or snail eggs can hide any and everywhere... for long periods of time. Up under the plastic rim. Little nook or crevice on heater or decorations. Or net or plant. I am starting to think that some snails or at least eggs might even survive the process of being eating and passed back into the aquarium? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 I leave the bladder snails to it they are a great part of the clean up crew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Colu said: I leave the bladder snails to it they are a great part of the clean up crew Had i anticipated how much i love my bladder snails, i would have dug up that old receipt when i bought one of those magnetic algae glass scrubbers and gotten my money back. It just sits there collecting dust unused underneath my tank. Gosh, i cant remember how long it been since i used that thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJV Aquatics Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 On 3/6/2021 at 9:06 PM, lefty o said: snails are evil creatures. Sorry, but that's absolutely wrong. Snails are a valuable asset in natural tank management as they process organic waste so bacteria can more easily finish the job. Like beneficial bacteria, their numbers are relative to the available resources. If there are too many, it's most often due to over feeding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 40 minutes ago, MJV Aquatics said: Sorry, but that's absolutely wrong. Snails are a valuable asset in natural tank management as they process organic waste so bacteria can more easily finish the job. Like beneficial bacteria, their numbers are relative to the available resources. If there are too many, it's most often due to over feeding. well, i disagree with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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