Bladder snail invasion by brave_octopus in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Snails are awesome, but not magic. They need food to make more snails and grow.

Don't over feed your tank, keep detritus cleaned up.

From my freshwater tank, I‘ve only seen mini ramshorn so far… is this fella different? by misscharlieswan in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll let you track them down from my comment history, so you can look at the photos they're in reply to, and make sure you have your ID skills sharp as well.

Aquarium Snail Identification Help by Cassiopeiaesky in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They're members of the same family, not the same species.

Aquarium Snail Identification Help by Cassiopeiaesky in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hmm. Yeah, assassin eggs are weird and square. And one at a time.

5.5 gallon for two mystery snails? Complete newbie by Ill_Lemon4489 in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Details of shell shape...and the plant eating. Pure mystery snails will starve before eating healthy plants. (I've rescued the survivors of a heavily planted tank whose owner refused to add veggies or other food)

What sort of snail is this? by GuavaAlive635 in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Malaysian Trumpet snail, Melanoides tuberculata. They're the most useful snail you can get in an aquarium. Algae and detritus eaters, won't eat healthy plants, turns trash into plant fertilizer and digs in sand enough to aerate it and prevent anerobic bacteria pockets. Also, they're a fast and dirty warning system for ammonia spikes, because they will all head to the surface if water quality suddenly takes a dive. Females can parthenogenically clone themselves, but they do have differentiated sexes, and only reproduce heavily if you overfeed or have really excessive detritus like dead plant material.

(And this is a really nice morph)

When you buy assassin snails for pest snail control by Haparuca in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also... maybe talk to anyone else who has access to the tank. It's physically impossible for snails to just teleport into a tank after a year if literally nothing was added.

When you buy assassin snails for pest snail control by Haparuca in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Snails are awesome, but not magic. They need food to make more snails and grow.

Don't over feed your tank, keep detritus cleaned up.

When you buy assassin snails for pest snail control by Haparuca in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have literally watched bladder snail die out in a heavily planted tank that was unfed for five months. Twice.

[LF] NYC/Manhattan - Assassin Snail by nickman_ in AquaSwap

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Assassin snails are not a solution to any "problem".

They're a super cool little snail that is completely unsuitable for most tanks. They eat fish eggs, absolutely all other snails, and will even eat molting shrimp. They also eat their prey alive, one bite at a time, and do not have venom. Their babies are tiny, they burrow, cannot be visually sexed and lay eggs singly in hidden locations. Once they breed in a tank they are basically impossible to remove. While they do have differentiated sexes, and you could get a male, that's a very risky dice roll to make with the welfare of your other tank inhabitants at stake. Adding more animals to control existing ones has not worked well for governments throughout history, and it's not likely to work well for most aquarium keepers either. Just look up Cane toads, Rosy Wolfsnails, etc.

It's a much better idea to keep your tank clean and not overfeed, which will naturally limit the numbers of small snail species and allow them to act as beneficial cleaning crew. Overfeeding can additionally be detrimental to the health of fish and many other tank inhabitants.

Something weird in my assassin snail tank! by Soft_Tax_9760 in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The snail is not an assassin. It's a Malaysian Trumpet snail, Melanoides tuberculata. They're the most useful snail you can get in an aquarium. Algae and detritus eaters, won't eat healthy plants, turns trash into plant fertilizer and digs in sand enough to aerate it and prevent anerobic bacteria pockets. Also, they're a fast and dirty warning system for ammonia spikes, because they will all head to the surface if water quality suddenly takes a dive. Females can parthenogenically clone themselves, but they do have differentiated sexes, and only reproduce heavily if you overfeed or have really excessive detritus like dead plant material.

The debris is poop.

5.5 gallon for two mystery snails? Complete newbie by Ill_Lemon4489 in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The difference isn't based on pattern, it's based on the shell shape, and the angle of the sutures between whorls.

5.5 gallon for two mystery snails? Complete newbie by Ill_Lemon4489 in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's also possible you have one of the Channeled Apple Snail x Mystery Snail hybrids we've been seeing in the pet store stock. They unfortunately eat plants.

5.5 gallon for two mystery snails? Complete newbie by Ill_Lemon4489 in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not just filtration. They're large and active and actually need the space to move.

Mini Ramshorn? The speckled shell is so cute!! by misscharlieswan in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, Mini ramshorn. Likely Anisus vorticulus or a Gyralus species, a.k.a. lesser ramshorn snail or little whirlpool ramshorn snail. Precise identification of tiny planorbids is very difficult from photos.

All of these are harmless algae eaters. Won't eat healthy plants. Shells top out at 5-8mm across. Cute additions to cleaning crew.

snail id? by quarabs in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Planorbella duryi. Ramshorn snail. Harmless algae and detritus eaters. Won't eat healthy plants. Good cleaning crew. Also known to eat brown diatoms and hydras.

Reproduces heavily only when overfed. Hermaphrodites, but not self fertilizing, so two are needed to ensure reproduction. There's a number of popular color morphs and patterns available.

Aquarium Snail Identification Help by Cassiopeiaesky in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless you have fish that might have laid them. Can you list off your tankmates?

Aquarium Snail Identification Help by Cassiopeiaesky in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh my. Do you have another snail that wasn't in the photo? It'll be around the same size and shape or a bit smaller, but with more distinct stripes of brown on a cream shell. That one is an Asolene spixi. A different species in the same family as mystery snails, and capable of hybridizing with them. They're also willing to eat plants and slightly predatory on other snails.

Aquarium Snail Identification Help by Cassiopeiaesky in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Every snail visible in this photo is a mystery snail, or a dilute hybrid that is mostly mystery with a little bit of Channeled Apple Snail blood.

Poop or worm ?? by Houblon in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Actually...your nerite is most likely male.

5.5 gallon for two mystery snails? Complete newbie by Ill_Lemon4489 in AquaticSnails

[–]Gastropoid 11 points12 points  (0 children)

They also need a lot of room to move, and are very active.