Snail Identification?

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negative_tea

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 18, 2010
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I wanted some MTS and was doing some searching online for the lowest possible price on some when I looked across the room at my tank and noticed that some tiny little snails crawling along the side of my tank. i don't think that these are the snails that I wanted....but I can hope right?

Any idea what this little guy is?

I know the photo sucks sorry.

20101111220554.jpg
 
Nope, that looks like a common pond snail to me. MTS when young look like little needles almost. Or think of a freshly sharpened pencil, and break the lead off. That's a little bigger and about the same shape as the young ones.

You might try local fish shops. The Petsmart near me has a permanent infestation of them, and they will give some away to anyone that asks (they're considered an invasive pest). I grab 20-30 of them a week, since my crays like chewing them up. ;)
 
Some fish will eat them, depends on what you got. If they are common pond snails, they won't get much bigger than an eraser on a pencil. They'll help keep your glass clean of algae, and eat any leftover food on the bottom if the fish don't eat them. :)

Mostly depends whether you like them or not. If you like them then they can be cool. If not then they're just a nuisance. They add a little bit to the bio load of the tank, but unless you have hundreds of them, it's not that significant. Population can be controlled by not overfeeding. If you overfeed for a few weeks you will see a population explosion.
 
Well, I have a 55 gallon tank with a senegal Bichir, two black Kuhli loaches and some Guppies that I bred and have decided to use as feeders. I guess, the big question would be if these snails are bad for my bichir's health. I have heard many times that a pebble can cuase digestive blocking ultimately killing bichirs. Is this the same for the snail shells?
 
I don't have much experience with either of those fish so I'll have to defer to someone else. I'd think it should be ok, but I couldn't say for certain. The snails have very soft shells, easy for most fish to chew up and digest. MTS are about the only common snail I think with a hard enough shell to potentially cause problems.

I bet the loaches will eat them for sure. Clown loaches love snails, can't imagine Kuhli turning them down. Not positive if the Senegal would eat them or not.
 
None of your fish will eat the Physas sp. These snails are far too small to be eaten. They'll coexist just fine. You can control their population by baiting them with lettuce leaves and disposing them as soon as they come out in numbers or crush them and let your fish eat them. Extra protein. They're not that bad though since they do eat food leftovers and decaying plant matter. I would not try to eliminate them completely IMO. They're part of the ecosystem and it's time we accept that these snails have their own benefits to your tank.
 
Thank you guys very much for this useful information. I'm glad to know that these little guys are not harmful (especially since I kinda like them)!
 
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