I bought some aquatic freshwater plants online, and they have several snails on them. Do I remove them? How?

Question

My first online order for aquatic plants, as I was looking through the plants I saw some small snails on them. Some of them looked like little circles and you couldn't make out they were snails until you looked closely.

I know snails are sometimes bought to control algae, but I already have algae eaters. I also heard that they reproduce extremely fast, so I'm nervous about that.

How do I get rid of the snails in the plants? Or should I just leave them there? I'm not a big snail fan...

Answer 1

u can just pul them off but if it keeps it even more clean then i dont see why u would take them off

Answer 2

The snails you got are probably Malaysian Trumpet Snails or Ramshorn Snails, both of which can quickly overtake a tank.  There are several options, the most common ones being chemical baths.  Using 1:19 parts bleach:water, a 2-3 minute soak (more delicate plants should recieve less than 2 minutes) will kill the snails as well as any pathogens or algae spores on the plants.  The plants may be damaged slightly, but will regrow very quickly.  After the bath, soak the plants in water with a triple dose of dechlorinator and allow them to sit there for about 30 minutes.  They are now snail-free and tank-safe.  Potassium permanganate also works, but is less exact.  You want a 20 minute bath in just enough permanganate to tint the water pink.

EDIT: Snails in a tank full of live plants will NOT fall for the lettuce trick-- they're already surrounded by very palatable vegetation!

Answer 3

i would stick my hand in there and just scrape them off. if they happen to lay eggs make sure you scrape them off too.

Answer 4

Like any other animal, snails need food to live and reproduce so if yo do not overfeed the tank the snails (if you have then) will have a harder time of reproducing. If you do get an out break of them then float a piece of lettuce leaf on the surface at night and in the morning thee should be plenty of snails on it that yo can dispose of. If they are trumpet snails, they are like earthworms but in the aquarium and they are actually good for a planted tank in that they will go down through the gravel and aerate it and also to eat food that gets trapped in the gravel. I just recently bought some "killer snails" that are supposed to eat other snails, I will let you know in a week or so if they are doing anything to the snails that I am putting in for food for them.When I first got them I placed them in a jar of water with a few pond snails to see if they would eat them (it had taken over a week to get them through the mail) but they did not seem to be hungry at least for pond snails.

Answer 5

You will most likely end up with snails in the tank at one point or another. A very effective method to get rid of them, unless you want to start trying out different chemicals, is adding fish that eat them.

Someone mentioned loaches. They can be excellent snail exterminators. If you have a small tank, like 5-20 gallon, I would suggest 2-3 Yoyo-loaches. If you have a bigger tank, a few clown-loaches might be a better alternative. They grow to about a foot or so, so beware, but it they grow fairly slowly. I have had both these types of loaches in the past, and they are fun to watch, and they will keep your tank snail free.

Answer 6

my dad had the same problem, he got these fish that look like clown fish, but they are not, they are red with blck stripes and thy eat snails. if you go to your nearest pet store and tell them your problem they should be able to help. srry i cannot remember the name of the fish. you shouldn't have to get rid of your plants if you get these fish.

EDIT: they are called loaches

Answer 7

As with all living creatures, snails produce excreta and thus large colonies of snails can result in quickly deteriorating water quality. Some species do damage plants, and large numbers may look unsightly.  Snails can quickly over run your aquarium if you aren't on the lookout and careful when adding life plants and live food.

Snails can be prevented from entering the tank on plants by bathing the plants in Potassium permanganate (available from pharmacists, use just enough crystals to turn the water pale pink), or a commercial snail killer for a few hours, although once introduced, snails can be removed from the aquarium by a number of means.