Snails in filter

[hypnogogia]

Hello all, I just opened my main filter for the first time in about two months and I found loads of tiny snails inside it. Is this a problem?
What surprised me is that they have managed to get through to the very last stage of the filter. I’ve washed some out, see photo below.

 

[Zeus.]

I get snails and RCS in mine all the time, the way I see it id they are cleaning/eating the detritus in the filer otherwise their population would be low in the filter, so its a win win IMO as less detritus means better flow 😉

 

[hypnogogia]

Ok, thank you. The other surprise was that I was snail free. But recently added some RCS and bristlenose, so must have introduced them with that.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I get snails and RCS in mine all the time, the way I see it id they are cleaning/eating the detritus in the filer otherwise their population would be low in the filter, so its a win win IMO as less detritus means better flow

I have snails, Blackworms and Asellus in my filter. I look on them as <"a good thing"> for the reasons @Zeus. mentions

Strangely "snails in the biological filter"can be an issue in sewage treatment, where you don't have plant/microbe biofiltration. If you get high enough density of <"Radix peregra">, they can eat enough of the biofilm to <"compromise nitrification">.

..........Overgrazing by snails, identified as Lymnaea peregra has been controlled on one site by the annual treatment of an isolated filter with high ammoniacal nitrogen strength sludge dewatering liquors. On a second site suffering a similar problem the plastic media filter duty was changed from single filtration to being the primary filters in a double filtration system with existing stone media filters used for secondary filters..........

cheers Darrel