# Pond Snails  - Keep or Cull ?



## george29 (3 Dec 2018)

Hi,

My 55ltr low tech tank is just 2 months old, but heavily planted with a beginners mix and all growing well.

There are no real signs of algae but I do have an abundance of little pond snails, max size about 5mm, some of which I have previously culled.

However I have 3 ottos and 6 dwarf corys so wonder if the snails will be taking too much of their food or are they really just complementing the fish and really keeping the tank clear of excess algae ?


----------



## Konsa (3 Dec 2018)

Hi
Snail will never out compete healty fish for food.
The snail population will grow only of there is a lot of left over food.In my tank 125l with a Brichardi cichlid pair with 3 generations of offspring (400 juveniles of different sizes) have noticed a rapid decline in my snail population despite the heavy feeding rourine I have now compared to when tank was fishless and no food going in at all.
I had a 25l snail farm fully planted with 300+ Ramshorn snails and others that was growing plants like crazy without any plant damage from the snails.
If they bother U take them out but I like having snails as part of my algae cleaning crew in all my tanks.
Regards Konsa


----------



## george29 (3 Dec 2018)

Konsa said:


> Hi
> If they bother U take them out but I like having snails as part of my algae cleaning crew in all my tanks.
> Regards Konsa



Hi,

Thanks, but no bother, happy to keep them a CUC,   just wasn't sure if they were good to keep as some places calls them pests.

Had thought about adding some shrimps as well but have 4 guppies who seem a bit boisterous and not sure if they would be safe as the ones I have seen in the shops like the Cherries look so small and delicate. Seems the Ammos are bigger but possibly get a bit too big for my 40cm cube ?


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (3 Dec 2018)

You can definately get a few Amano in a 40cm cube I had 2 in the same sized tank before now...


----------



## Konsa (3 Dec 2018)

Hi
Even here some people see snails as  pests.
Its a personal preference really.Cherries may do well  but U will need to have some hiding places till they establish the colony if U have boisterous guppies and add them at lights off .Once the shrimp are fully grown the guppies wont be able to do anything to them.
Male ananos are much smaller than females.U can easy have up to 4-6 amanos in 40cm cube.I have 5 about 4year old now and I moved them from tanks between 25l to 75l with no problems and with various tankmates.
Regards Konsa


----------



## Oldguy (3 Dec 2018)

george29 said:


> little pond snails


Depends on type. Great pond snail, Limmaea stagnalis,  Marsh snail L. palustris & Freshwater winkle, Viviparus fasciatus are bad news. Wandering snail L. pereger are OK which I assume you have.  Ramshorn snails - Planorbius sp. are excellent.

May find fish worry snails to death by nipping at their horns or tentacles.

Personally I like the smaller native (to UK) Planorbius sp.

As stated by others above populations are food dependent.


----------



## dw1305 (4 Dec 2018)

Hi all,





george29 said:


> max size about 5mm,


They might be Tadpole Snails (<"_Physella acuta">_).

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo (4 Dec 2018)

It also depends a bit on your Ca/Mg supply, if you have soft water no snail will realy grow into a pest.  Simply because there aint enough building blocks to build a house big enough and reach full life span. If you have soft water and add co² you make it even harder for them.

I find those creatures fascinating and over the years collected about 6 different sp. in 4 tanks and 3 tubs still waiting for the first pest.

The most difficult one to keep alive is the Viviparus, i'm to soft and too clean for them. They seem to be fond of extremely dirty waters rich in organic debri they die of starvation without extra attention. Never managed to keep them long term and reproduce sufficiently because i always forgot to feed them.


----------



## Oldguy (4 Dec 2018)

zozo said:


> collected about 6 different sp


Hi Marcel, Have you ever come across the white ramshorn P.albus I assume its a native to Holland. It is to the UK but never found any. However not always white.


----------



## Oldguy (4 Dec 2018)

dw1305 said:


> Tadpole Snails (<"_Physella acuta">_).


Are these the same as Physa fontinalis. Cant keep up with name changes. I'm about 30yrs behind the curve.


----------



## dw1305 (4 Dec 2018)

Hi all, 





Oldguy said:


> Are these the same as Physa fontinalis


They are a different species, but they look pretty similar. _Physa fontinalis_ has outgrowths of the mantle that extend over the shell (bit like fingers), and _Physella acuta_ doesn't.

The name used to be _Physa acuta._ I don't know why they've changed genus, a lot of taxonomy is based on DNA now, and taxonomists like <"clades"> with a single common ancestor, so that may be a the reason. * Just found the answer, it is differences in "penile morphology".

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo (4 Dec 2018)

Oldguy said:


> Hi Marcel, Have you ever come across the white ramshorn P.albus I assume its a native to Holland. It is to the UK but never found any. However not always white.



Hi Oldguy,

I guess not, i realy wouldn't know how to determine the difference.. I do have ramshorn, once had the Great Ramshorn P. Corneus, which depending on foodsource and water parameters can be pretty versatile in color from black to white to multi color.. I got them pretty big from the pond shop. But also these i can not realy maintain, they live a season maybe 2 and than are gone. Still have it's offspring but never grow big, maybe 15mm and live a few years than i find an empty shell.

Also have the little orange ramshorm, don't know it's exact sp. name and also this varies in color sometimes (partialy) white.

By now it is all mixed up all look the same to me and never grow into distinct adults

The only wild caught sp. i have is the Big Ear Radix (R. auricularia) the Radix Baltica and Lymnaea stagnalis sneaking in some hornwort and potamogetons i took from the pond in a local park, yet not found a wild ramshorn in there. 

The Lymnaea stagnalis is also a multicolor snail.. What i have in the garden is brown/green with specks. Everything indoor is White with specks.. I'm not sure why, i guess different algaea for diner..


----------



## dw1305 (4 Dec 2018)

Hi all,





Oldguy said:


> Have you ever come across the white ramshorn P.albus I assume its a native to Holland. It is to the UK but never found any


I've seen these, they are a small Ramshorn snail and you find them in weedy ponds that aren't necessarily particularly calcareous.  The ones I've seen have all come from relatively deep water.

The new scientific name is _Gyraulus albus.
_
cheers Darrel


----------



## Oldguy (4 Dec 2018)

dw1305 said:


> differences in "penile morphology".


Just the love the research that is done by some people. Could make an impact on one's CV.
Many  thanks GB.


----------



## Oldguy (4 Dec 2018)

zozo said:


> not found a wild ramshorn in there.


Thanks Marcel. The big  ramshorns are fairly common in our canals but when fully grown may have only a year or so left in them. I find empty shells and living snails side by side. Could be depredation, I don't know.


----------



## Oldguy (4 Dec 2018)

dw1305 said:


> relatively deep water.


Many thanks Darrel. I need to take a longer handled net with me. These days pond dipping is done on the fly when I'm visiting big landscaped gardens.
Cheers GB.


----------



## dw1305 (4 Dec 2018)

Hi all, 





Oldguy said:


> Just the love the research that is done by some people


I record Moths, and a number of them are only definitively identifiable by the sculpturing of their reproductive organs, it has some short hand, <"gen. det">.

One of my colleagues found that he was getting lots more visits to his research page than normal, eventually he found that Google had picked out the <"English name for _Parus major_"> as a keyword.

cheers Darrel


----------



## george29 (4 Dec 2018)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,They might be Tadpole Snails (<"_Physella acuta">_).
> 
> cheers Darrel



Looked up that snail and checked the ones in the tank under a magnifier  and think you are right, as yet to see any much larger than 5mm.




zozo said:


> It also depends a bit on your Ca/Mg supply, if you have soft water no snail will realy grow into a pest.  Simply because there aint enough building blocks to build a house big enough and reach full life span. If you have soft water and add co² you make it even harder for them.



Yes, its on the softish side 3deg KH  6deg  GH, so sounds like they are safe to stay in the tank.

Thanks all
.


----------



## Oldguy (4 Dec 2018)

dw1305 said:


> I record Moths


I've a very soft spot for the hawk moths. Admire those who can do the micro moths. The last moths I spent time on were carpet case moths. Spent a fortune on insecticides & pulled up & relayed every carpet in the house. As for the Google search engine, well say no more..


----------



## dw1305 (4 Dec 2018)

Hi all, 





Oldguy said:


> The last moths I spent time on were carpet case moths.


<"_Tinea pellionella">, w_e've had them in a couple of the bed rooms, they are difficult to get rid off, unless you get nylon carpets. 

We have sparrows, blackbirds and house martins nest around the roof, and I think that probably makes you more likely to get carpet moths. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## HiNtZ (7 Dec 2018)

Just keep them under control. When removing tank water for a water change suck loads up in the process.


----------



## Cheltster (7 Dec 2018)

Or bag up your spare snails and send them to me!


----------



## dan4x4 (8 Dec 2018)

I've had this before there was literally thousands in my tank. Like all over, they died out to only a few over time. Lack of food/nutrients possibly but it will iron itself out in my experience. 

I probably wouldn't bother squishing them as you could argue that they breed soo quickly that it really won't make much of a difference.

They do no harm though. I like them. I think shrimps will outcompete them for food aswell.


----------

