Pond Snails?

Question

I have loads of baby snails in the pond and I'm not sure if they're the good or the bad ones. They are the pointy ones, not the Rams-horn ones, and they do indeed seem to enjoy tucking into the lily leaves etc. Should I remove them?

Answer 1

yes yes yes yes and eat em

Answer 2

Correct answer is...it depends!

If you have certain plants in your pond these little buggers will have a real feast ahead.  If you have a good population of fish - gold fish, Koi and such, in the pond then they will keep the snails in trim.

I started out 3 years ago buying the good guys (Rams Horn) from a good aquatic place -  I cleaned out my pond this spring and found only 1 left alive, I also only found a very small number of the pointy ones (your words?).  These last will get in no matter what you do, the eggs get in with plants etc.

My suggestion is don't get paranoid about it - nature has a way of keeping things in check.  If it makes you feel better - when you see one of the pointy buggers, fish it out and put it in a d**e or pond near to you. Keep em in a bucket until you have a decent number worth moving.

** A good tip to get the pointy ones out in numbers is to float a couple of lettuce leaves on the pond surface over night - they absolutely love this and will 'swim' across the underside skin of the water surface and feed, you just lift out the leaves and wash the harvest off into a bucket and away you go...

Good luck with the snail war ;o)

Answer 3

No!

These guys hoover up all the muck and filth in the pond and keep it clean!

Leave them be - do not interfere! ;o)

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Answer 4

They eat the scum and other debris in the pond.  The problem I have with them is that they clog my pump, so if they get in there, I toss them.  If I see them in the pond, I leave them alone.