eddie0808 Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Hi! I'm quiet new to the aquatic pets, and my first pet turned out to be Red Rili shrimps! Today I noticed a little snail in my 5 Gallon tank, and through my research it seems to be a pond snail. When I looked through the web i did not get a clear answer to whether or not I should just kill the snail or keep it. What are your thoughts on keeping/killing the pond snail? Oh more about my tank, 5 Gallon, sponge filter, 7 Red Rili shrimps, 2 beds of monosolenium pellia and some decors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 I like many snails this being one of them. However I do like MTS (malaysian trumpet snail) the most. I'd suggest to kill the pond snails and grab a couple mts for your tank. Mts typically stay in the substrate and help churn things around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwg814 Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 They will over populate in your tank soon. You should get rid of it when you have chance! oh wait. They already appeared in your tank. I am afraid its too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcademyElite Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Pond snails are the worst. They will eat your plants explode in population and then die as the food disappears. the only way to get rid of them is with chemicals or speciality snails or some loaches will eat them. If you can get rid of them NOW! If you like snails get yourself a small batch of assassin snails they will leave your plants alone and eat the pond snails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremoose Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Place a piece of zuchinni or something in the tank overnight, in the morning it'll be covered with pond snails. Then just discard the chunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 The only reason snails get to out-of-control populations is b/c the tank is overfed. The shrimp are more motile than snails, and will quickly get to and consume the food they need - with only 6 shrimp in a tank, you don't need more than a miniscule amount of food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronChefItaly Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 I have a planted tank with 4 mystery snails and 3 different types of smaller ones which i never bothered to identify (came from plants i bought). I hear rumors of them overpopulating and destroying plants but i've found they are quite useful for algae maintenance and do not cause any grief. I actually quite like them and they do not bother any other critters like my cories or amano/ghost shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcademyElite Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Pond snails will eat plants when the excess food runs out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekbottom Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 I have several planted tanks, and everytime I start a new one I move pond snails in. In my experience they explode at first in conjunction with new tank syndrome and while I'm getting things adjusted and in balance. Once the tank has settled the population balances out. I've never experienced pond snails eating my plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie0808 Posted September 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 I've heard some people saying that they eat dead plants, do they eat live and fresh plants as well? What about the moss that I have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekbottom Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Pond snails are scavengers and will eat whatever they can find that is dead. Dead plants, dead fish, dead shrimp, extra food, dead algae. I've never noticed them eating my live plants or moss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 I've heard some people saying that they eat dead plants, do they eat live and fresh plants as well? What about the moss that I have? Only AFTER everything else is gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) People give pond snails a bad wrap. They are just fine if the tank is not overfed. If any snail gets out of control it is who is looking after the tank not the snail. Pond snails are scavengers and will eat whatever they can find that is dead. Dead plants, dead fish, dead shrimp, extra food, dead algae. I've never noticed them eating my live plants or moss. +1 I have 24 plant species in my tank and the pond snails do not touch anything. Edited September 17, 2013 by ckmullin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremoose Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 For the record: I don't mind pond snails at all. Some people are incredibly anal about NO pest snails in their tanks but I have no problem with them.. Does it really bother people to have a population of snails in their tanks that controls potential harmful waste in the tank? Oh oh, and they're FREE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 For the record: I don't mind pond snails at all. Some people are incredibly anal about NO pest snails in their tanks but I have no problem with them.. Does it really bother people to have a population of snails in their tanks that controls potential harmful waste in the tank? Oh oh, and they're FREE. +1 I have several species of snails and they do rid the tank of algae and do a nice job of keeping the glass clean. I have never seen evidence of the pond snails eating live plants. Embrace them, the do a lot of good for the harmony of the tank. My suggestion would be to replace them with a nicer looking snail. Nothing prettier than seeing a tank with red ramshorn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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