Snails – Page 2 – Fish Keeping HQ

Source: Toholio Wherever I look, I see snails in every fish tank. Some snails are good-looking and some are ugly. That made me thinking "should I get a snail for my fish tank?" and decided to search it a little bit more. Should I get a snail for my fish tank? Snails are beneficial for the fish tank since they eat up leftovers from the fish food and other debris on the bottom keeping it clean. They are also easy to take care of. It's not as easy as saying "you need" and "you don't" when it comes to snails. They are beneficial for most, but for others, buying a snail to your fish tank might not be for them! Benefits Getting some snails for your fish tank is beneficial in many ways. At first, the snail is an excellent cleaner. They crawl around at the bottom and glass, well, basically everywhere, and eat whatever is in their way. They keep the glass clean from algae and keep the water levels at bay by eating leftover food preventing it from releasing nutrients into the water. The snails are the only creature in a fish tank that both clean the algae and prevent it from growing. That because they don't release nutrients into the water for algae to grow while they also eat the algae that are growing. This doesn't go with every snail, some snails are not eating algae at all. But most snails do and that's the main benefit of getting a snail for your fish tank. Secondly, they are mixing the sand in the fish tank if you use sand as a substrate. When using sand as substrate there will get small amounts of food and other debris in between the small sand grains. This food is eaten by bacteria. The problem with this is that it builds up gases and rotting debris in the sand that is dangerous for the fish if released into the water since this gas and debris are consumed in anaerobic conditions by the bacteria. What snails do is that they move the sand around, making the sand aerobic and therefore the waste from the bacteria safe. So, if having sand as a substrate, I would say that you need to have snails mixing it around a little bit. If you have a planted aquarium, the snail is a good inhabitant for keeping the number of algae down. It's a common problem in planted aquariums with algae and it's not always practical or wanted to put algae-eating fish into the aquarium. The snails are suitable for every type of tank, no matter how big or how small the tank is. It doesn't matter what type of tank it is either. Snails are cheap! You can get snails for free even! That's when buying decor or plants that have been in a tank where there are snails, it's not uncommon for eggs from the snail to move over to the new tank and then hatch in the new tank. With this method, you will get snails for free, but you are not able to choose as easily which snails you get. If you are not very picky and only get plants and decor from tanks containing the snail you want. If you want to buy snails, they don't cost a lot. They go for a couple of dollars at most. The snail is a cleaner that are able to handle every situations! And you could get them for free! Downsides There are not only upsides with keeping snails in a fish tank. In most people's eyes, they look bad. You put in a lot of thought with everything you put into your fish tank, just to get the look ruined by a slow crawling creature moving over or just sitting there at your plant. It's not fun if you have not planned for that specific type of snail. That brings us to the first downside of snails. They often get into the fish tank unwanted. One satisfying thing about starting a fish tank from scratch is that you can choose everything yourself. But it's not uncommon when buying a plant or a decor that you will get snails from it. Especially when buying used decor or plants. That's because the snails are masters of putting their eggs everywhere! If buying plants from the store, be sure to check if there are any snails in the water they keep their plants in. If they have, be sure you will be fine with eventually have that type in your fish tank. The same goes for everything you buy used to put into your fish tank. Be sure to ask about snails in the fish tank that the decor or plant has been in to be sure you don't get any unwanted inhabitants into your fish tank. Another downside of keeping snails in a fish tank is that they reproduce quickly and could take over the fish tank. A lot of snails that you put into a fish tank are reproducing very quickly in freshwater. Not all are doing it though. Some species of snail are not reproducing at all in freshwater. The most common is that they reproduce quickly though and one way to combat their attempt to overtake your fish tank is to do regular water changes, cleaning the debris from the water. Also to feed your fish less and make sure that your fish is eating all food that you give them. It's all about the amount of food the snails have available! With less food, the snails are not able to reproduce as quickly. Now, you shouldn't starve your whole fish tank to get rid of snails, there is a better way that I will explain later. The infestation of snails could be a sign that you feed your fish too much or that there is too much debris in your tank. Fix that, and you should have control over your snails. Another solution is to have snails that you want in your fish tank and are okay with looking at. Then the quick reproduction is no problem. One problem with starving your snails is that they might start to feed on your plants. If it's not enough food for the snails, they will find another source of food. That source is the plants in your fish tank. One way to combat this problem is to get plants with thicker leaves. The snails mainly start to eat plants with thin leaves so by getting heavier plants your snails will not eat them. Another solution is to give your snails food. Feed your fish a little bit more. And I mean a little bit more! Because if you feed too much the water will be out of balance and cause all kinds of problems for you. There are other, safer ways of feeding your snails to be sure they are happy and not feasting on your plants. Just be sure you are not feeding them (or anyone else in the tank for that matter) too much or the snails will cause a problem with reproducing out of control and you also run the risk of having problems with your water if feeding too much. Food For Snails Snails mainly eat algae and debris in the fish tank. It's not always sufficient for them to just eat it. Their shells need calcium for them to be able to stay strong. It is their house so it's very important! You don't want to live in a house ready to fall any second? The safest bet to keep your snails living happy and strong is to give them other food containing calcium. Another way to give them calcium is to put some coral in your filter. The shells will coral down and releasing calcium into the water for your snail (and other inhabitants) to take care of. That's why you shouldn't have too high acidity levels in the water. That breaks down the shell of the snail, making it weak. You could also put calcium into the water as an additive. That's not recommended on my part since every time you put something chemically into the water, you run the risk of getting a bad balance in the water parameters. Which could be damaging. It's easy to overdose those chemicals and it's better to let nature do a balancing act for your fish tank. You could also give the snails vegetables like spinach, broccoli, and kale. Be sure to make them softer by blanching the leaves. These vegetables are containing a lot of calcium and are perfect for our little helpers in the fish tank with their calcium needs. Not all snails eat alagae and leftovers though (but still neeeds calcium). Some actually eat other snails! The Robber snail is a species of snail-eating other snails and also leftover food. It's most common to keep the robber with other fast-growing snails to be sure to keep the population down so the snails are not taking over the fish tank completely. Give these snails sufficient food though! They live off other snails but still need other types of food too since they are omnivores and not just carnivores. A balanced diet is the best, not only for us but for robber snails too! The Reproduction of Snails Snails reproduce, very quickly! Once you get a snail, you will see that they are reproducing fast and almost taking over your fish tank. The reason for the quick reproduction is that the snails are putting eggs that hatch. The number of eggs could be a lot. Sometimes up to a hundred at a time. Another reason for the quick reproduction is that most snails are hermaphrodites. They don't need anyone from the other sex, since there is just one sex. They fix everything by themselves. If one snail can reproduce by itself and can lay a lot of eggs, the amount of snail will quickly become more and more and in no time they will be in a very large amount in the enclosed environment as the fish tank is, There is one factor you can affect while fighting the reproduction rate of the snails in your fish tank. You could limit their food supply. The snails need food and there are too many snails compared to the amount of food available the snails will die before they can lay eggs and the reproduction rate will go down. That is to a point where there are a balance between the amount of food for the snails and the number of snails in the fish tank. Then the number of snails will be stable and not tanking over your tank. Another way to keep them balanced, or rather get rid of them, is to get a snail-eating snail. It's a snail, like a Robber snail, eating other snails. "But won't the robber snail overtake the fish tank instead?" You may think. But no, that's not the case. The robber snail is a slow reproducer since it's not a hermaphrodite. The time for their eggs to hatch is about 3-4 weeks. And when they hatch they will be in the substrate growing for months before they can come up and live in the fish tank eating other snails. Another snail-eating alternative is to get snail-eating fish like the Clown Loach. They are very peaceful and are suited in a community tank. Just be sure the size of the tank and other conditions are met with the fish. The Clown Loach needs at least a 140 gallon (540 liters) fish tank since it will get quite big so, don't put it in a small tank! How to Remove Unwanted Snails While getting snails you will most of the time get some unwanted snails while buying plants for your fish tank. There are usually some eggs on the leaves of the plants and they hatch into your fish tank and the reproduction of snail begins. To try to get rid of unwanted snails off of plants you should be sure to inspect every leave and every little crook and cranny of the plant to look for eggs. They look like a little slimey ball with some dot inside. If you locate the eggs, you just remove them mechanically by hand and throw them away. Don't throw them in the sewer since they could damage the ecosystem if they can get into the water. Instead, throw them in the trash. This is just preventing them from getting into the fish tank. But, it's easy to miss some eggs and they will get into the tank and later on be an infestation problem. If the infestation has already begun, you could try to remove the snails by putting a leaf of kale or spinach into the fish tank and wait a couple of minutes. The snails will rush in their speed towards the buffet of good food. When they start to feast on the leaf you just simply remove the leaf and throw it away, with the snails on the leaf. This method is best practiced if you start seeing snails reproduce uncontrollably. If they have already overtaken the fish tank, you have to do this a lot. If that's the case you should take a look at how much was with what you feed your fish. It could only be a lot of snails if there is a lot of food for them. Simply lower the amount of food you give your fish to an amount they will eat within 2 minutes. You could also get snail-eating inhabitants for your fish tank eating the snails and controlling the amount of the snails. The last resort is to chemically remove the snails. Why I say this is the last resort is, as stated earlier, that it could cause a devastating imbalance in the water. Potentially wiping your whole fish tank out. The chemicals are destroying all snails at once, making their shells and the breakdown of their body all at once. This releases all the substances at once instead of once in a while when one snail is dying once in a while. The increased nutrition releasing into the water could cause a spike in one substance causing an imbalance in the water. This option could lead to the death of all your fish. Not recommended! Common Species It's not possible to get a snail from outdoors and put it into your fish tank and think it's going to live or thrive in there. Some species are suitable in a fish tank. Just be sure you can get them in your area. As you will see, some species are not able to get into some areas in the world. Get your snails from a fish store. It's the safest bet to get a species that is not endangered or run a risk of it infest our coasts. They don't cost much to buy either. Ramshorn snail is a very common snail to have in a fish tank. They come in a lot of different colors. They are hermaphrodite and not hermaphrodite. That sounds strange but they can put eggs without a partner but with a partner, they will produce more eggs. They will reproduce quickly in the fish tank. If the tank is badly maintained they will reproduce super quickly and investigate the fish tank. You will often see these snails surfing upside down at the surface of the water. That's because they have lungs and need to go up to the surface to be able to breathe. The ramshorn snail is easy to keep and can be kept in most fish tanks. Not together with apple snail though, since the small ramshorn snails tend to crawl in between the apple snail's shell. Apple snail is also a very popular species of snail in the world, but not in the EU. They are forbidden to be sold in the EU. 2012 the EU stopped the selling of the apple snail since it has infested a part of Spain. The infestation is running the risk of getting the ecosystem of the coast out of balance. That is risking killing and extinct, naturally living creatures around the coast. How long the ban will be in effect is uncertain. In the rest of the world, it's a quite common type of snail. They eat (almost) literally everything in the fish tank. The apple snail is not hermaphrodite and the snail puts its eggs above the waterline. After 2-4 weeks the eggs hatch and the baby snail are dropping into the water. You should not have more than one apple snail per 3 gallons (10 liters) water in the fish tank. They come in a lot of different colors. Those are bred into different colors. Nerite snail is also a common type of snail, popular with fish keepers. The cause of its popularity is that it's a very good algae-eater. Although it's a good algae-eater, the number of algae is most of the time not sufficient enough for them to survive. The nerite snail needs to be fed other types of food too, like algae wafers. To reproduce a nerite snail, you need both a male and a female snail. They put their eggs everywhere in the fish tank. However, they will not reproduce in a freshwater aquarium. They only reproduce in brackish water. There should be no problem keeping adult nerite snail in freshwater. They are active at night which makes them not an eye-sore when looking into a light-up fish tank. Also, they are mostly dark color making them hard to see in the mostly dark-colored substrate. Conclusion The reason to have snails in a fish tank is mainly to keep them cleaning the tank. Making the fish tank be more clean and nice looking. They are cheap to buy and even free sometimes. It's very easy to get a snail as an unwelcome inhabitant in the fish tank. But everyone should welcome snails into their fish tank since they are excellent cleaners of algae and debris. If the snail you get is unwanted, there are measures of removing them, and instead, buy a snail to put in that you like and do the same work for you. Some snails are small and barely visible while others are quite big and bright so they might be an eye-sore. With a little bit of work, you should be able to get control over the snails in the tank, making them less prone to reproduce uncontrollably. You could also remove the snail population in your fish tank and replace it with other types of snails that you want. The snails come in a lot of different sizes, shapes, and colors so you can and should customize the snails in your tank, as you do with the fish you choose. To have a cleaning crew is always a good thing! They keep the fish tank healthy. The problem for most is the look of the cleaning crew. The trick is to just be picky and choose the best-looking cleaning crew for your fish tank! Related Questions Will Snails Help Cycling a Tank? The snails are not helping with the cycle of the tank but they will produce a low amount of waste which makes them suitable to put in during the cycle. When Should I Put Snails In My Aquarium? You can put in snails when there is a sufficient food supply for them. Most need algae and others need other supplies of food which is deciding when to put in snails.