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ok guys, get this..

not once have i touched, looked at or even been interested in snails, but i have one!?

i have 10g tank with a variety of guppys and neons in the tank, i haven't added stock to the tank, or toucvhed anything in months, i have done weekly water changes,

but i noticed this very smail snail scouting the front glass under water.

does this happen often ? how does it happen,,

what should i do ?

Hey Stu.
How's it going?
It is very common to find unexpected snails in your tank. I bet it has real plants in it? Thats where the snail/s came from.
They were properly eggs that have hatched. There is no problem keeping them in your tank - in fact they can help to keep the tank clean and eat some of the extra food.
BUT
they can very soon take over so be careful. If you dont want them just get them out and squish them.

Another way to manage/ get rid on them is to get fish that eat snail but I am not sure which ones are suitable for a 10g. I got some clown loaches to solve this problen in my big tank but these grow too big for your tank.

I doubt that they are actually mystery snails though...what do they look like?

DASHMAN:88)

Last edited by dashman at 05-Jun-2005 04:55

Its better to be hated for who you are...
Than loved for who you are not

There's one type of little snail that frequently gets in your tank -- the Malaysian Trumpet Snail -- that is actually beneficial; they specialize in eating waste buried in your gravel, and don't get wildly out of control in their reproduction. They very often show up accidentally in a tank -- I had a bunch of them once myself, and you frequently see them in pet store tanks. They have a little shell, about 1/4 to 1/3 inch long, that is a spiral made into a thin, sharply pointed, tall cone -- kind of a helical dunce cap.

cool thanks guys,

and hey dash fine mate!


the tank doesnt have live plants in it.
although it had one about a month a go that i removed.
i'm glad i'm not the only one with this mystery snail thing cheers.

Here's an article with good pictures:
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug,%20Snails,%20Malaysian%20Trumpet.htm

Just about everyone seems to be a fan of this little snail -- it's the exception to the rule that snails are bad news.