nuisance snails.

I have a 15 gallon tank, with like at least 60 guppies, and idk what to do with them all!

anyways, when i first got my tank, i needed some gravel. my neighbor had a like huge tank and he was switching from fresh to salt water, so he dumped all of the gravel at the back of his yard. so he went back there after a week and he got me some of it and we washed it really really good because it was really wet and muddy.

so i put it in my tank, and about a week after that i noticed a little tiny brown snail! I had no idea how it got there, because the only snail i had in my tank was a golden mystery.

so i was like awwh how cute and i left it in there, and WOW what a mistake! now i literally have at least a thousand of those stupid little snails all over my tank! it is getting out of control! and they are laying eggs ALL over my tank. What do i do?!!?


I just got a black mystery snail about 2 weeks ago, and a couple of days ago my golden mystery died. i have no idea what happened to it, i came home and i saw like i bunch of yucky guts on the bottom of my tank, and i was trying to figure out what fish had died, but there werent any bones or anything so i was confused. and then i noticed that his shell was empty : have a 15 gallon tank, with like at least 60 guppies, and idk what to do with them all!

anyways, when i first got my tank, i needed some gravel. my neighbor had a like huge tank and he was switching from fresh to salt water, so he dumped all of the gravel at the back of his yard. so he went back there after a week and he got me some of it and we washed it really really good because it was really wet and muddy.

so i put it in my tank, and about a week after that i noticed a little tiny brown snail! I had no idea how it got there, because the only snail i had in my tank was a golden mystery.

so i was like awwh how cute and i left it in there, and WOW what a mistake! now i literally have at least a thousand of those stupid little snails all over my tank! it is getting out of control! and they are laying eggs ALL over my tank. What do i do?!!?


I just got a black mystery snail about 2 weeks ago, and a couple of days ago my golden mystery died. i have no idea what happened to it, i came home and i saw like i bunch of yucky guts on the bottom of my tank, and i was trying to figure out what fish had died, but there werent any bones or anything so i was confused. and then i noticed that his shell was empty :[ sad!

his name was gary, poor gary.
does anyone have an idea what happened to him? he was VERY large, he grew so much since i got him. he at least tripled in size and i only had him for like 5 months.
maybe he was just old?


help help help!!
thanks everyone!

p.s: i just had my sixteenth birthday! :]

sorry that was so long!

Those little snails that you are talking about are possible bladder snails. Google that type and let me know if that is what they are indeed.
Wanna get rid of them? Just throw them out of buy a puffer, but than you have to feed it once they are all gone.

Mystery snails get large and their shells need minerals that are not always available in an aquarium set up for keeping fish. For some reason, the little snails that infest tanks don't seem to mind water conditions. Their eggs probably rode in with the gravel, which may have also contained some beneficial bacteria. One of the most effective ways to control snail populations is to bait them. Just float a small leaf of lettuce or chard for a day or two, then throw it in the garden, snails and all. You may need to do this several times, but eventually the snail numbers will start to decline. Also make sure you are not over feeding, and take a bunch of those guppies to the fish store. The ma and pa places will often trade fish for store credits. Right now, your 15 gallon aquarium has a maximum biological load, so be sure to keep up with maintenance to avoid a big crash. Don't high side.

You can bait the snails with some veggies... or Algae wafers. Just throw a slice of cucumber or zuchinni, or the white part of the head of lettuce in there. Let the snails get all over it and then take it out. That will help to control the population explosion.

You could check with your local fish store and see if they'll buy your guppies from you. Or maybe just give you in store credit... for fish food and the like.

If not, if you have an online resource similar to Craigslist, list them for sale online.

Good Luck!

Every single day i throw out about 20 snails, ( i flush them because there is snow of the ground and they would just freeze).

and so far none of the local fish and pet stores take home breeders.

If you flush the snails, they may infest your sewer system, and the entire northern hemisphere could be taken over by the attack of the killer sewer snails from Detroit. Besides, they may stop up the modern convenience. If you throw them in the snow, they will just have a long winter's nap and not create the worst natural disaster since the toxic avenger teamed up with the killer tomatoes.

, alright ill throw them in the snow.

they are such a pain!

honestly i wanted to get a snail for my frestwater tank but after seeing all these threads on swarming snails im having seperate thoughts, i mean if i just get one i should be fine right

It depends on the type of snail you get. The little ones that hitch a ride on most live plants lay their eggs in great quantities and under water. They're not so bad if you can control their population. The big apple snails or mystery snails lay their eggs out of water and are very easy to control. Besides, you can sometimes sell them. The good snails, however, will not thrive without the proper conditions. I think they like dirty aquariums with hard water and lots of calcium.

She is talking about 2 different types of snails. The millions of snails that she is talking about are either bladder snails or MTS, which stands for malaysian trumpet snails. The bladder snail is an egg layer and you can see the slimmy little blobs all around the tank, puffers love them. The MTS are live barers. Both snails multiply like rabbits.

The mystery snail she was talking about that had died I believe does not multiply unless housed with another and I'm really not sure how fast. But I did hear that they eat plants.

The snails called mystery or apple snails are pretty interesting, and somewhere I heard that they are capable of asexual reproduction (parthenogenesis) but maybe that was some other aquatic creature.

you are right john they are capable of asexual reproduction.

the mystery snails are actually hard to breed.
but those dumb little ones wont stop.

btw, they are defiantly bladder snails.

snails

so my best bet is not getting a snail before i up with something like the topic starter poor guy i feeel bad sounds like he really has a lot now he is trying to post pics and it wont work try uploading them to photobucket or another image hosting site like tiny pic the embed the image link in your reply ::

The little free snails will ride in on anything, especially live plants. Basically, you don't have much choice about snails, but live plants are very good for the aquarium, and the snails are not all that bad. Maybe we should all turn to ATIS (Aversion To Invertebrates Society) for help.

killak3v718 thinks im a boy :illak3v718 thinks im a boy :[

He's probably just giving you a bad time over freezing all those poor snails in the snow.

Well the picture proves him wrong huh?

OOOPPPPPPPS I APOLIGIZE DIDNT MEAN TO CALL YOU A GUY LOL SORRY MISS LOL I HOPE U GET RID OF YOUR SNAIL PROBLEM SOON

Hey jess, you should send me some of those snails, i need to feed my puffer. Just kidding, well depending on where you live that would be sweet.

it's ok :]
well where do you live?
i want to get a puffer but im scared it will eat my young guppies!

I live in Maryland, probably no where close to you.

Livonia, Michigan. :]

Turtles and some other fish will also eat snails.

More tanks is ALWAYS the answer!

Have you tried online classified ads to deplete your guppy population?

I love snails. the Ram horn snails to be precise. they clean up most algae in my tanks and do not multiply beyond a certain number (50approx for my 12 gallon). i guess the self limiting is based on the food available. there are also the little bladder snails whose shell is shaped like a trumpet. these you gotta watch out for. however i have noticed that if you have a golden algae or some slightly bigger fish like a hongkong shark/rosaline torpedo then they dont multiply as much and stay in the gravel.
the ram horns is what i used to cycle my new tank and it worked out good.
i have had the same experience with mystery/apple snails 3-6 months of life.

so killak3v718 if you want snails and are cool with ram horns, get one and soon you will have plenty

to reduce snail population i have also tried not feeding the fish everyday and not turning on the light. basically reducing food in the tank.

glad to see such a good discussion on snails...

Those trumpet looking snails that have a sandy color are actually MTS, an acronym for Malaysian Trumpet Snails. Bladder snails are rounder and brown with spot. If you googe it you will see what I mean.

http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/snails.html

thanks. here's an article on the goodness of snails.

Thanks for posting that web address. Maybe you should write a blog about snails and post the address as a reference source. A blog will provide easier access, and our administrator is working on a blog index.