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How big do snails tend to grow? =/

19K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  lostperspective 
#1 ·
I've got a few in my tank & they seem to be growing very quickly.
I don't know what kind of snail they are, they came in on one of my plants~
 
#2 ·
That would totally depend on the snail. Some can grow upto 2 inches. Commonly around a cm in diameter. Others can grow to the size of your hand. Most don't get very big at all or are eaten.

Likely, if you see a few snails in your tank, there will be a lot more to come. So the question isn't really how big they will get in size but how many they will be and what type they are.

Can you describe their markings? :)
 
#3 ·
The most common 'pest' species are as follows:

Physid




Planorbid (Ramshorn). May be brown, red, black, blue or anything in between, but the shell shape is always the same.




Melanoides tuberculata (MTS, Malaysian Trumpet Snails). They can range from brown to beige and have various patterns.



Lymnaea



Once you ID them, you'll find lots of info. online.
 
#4 ·
No answers on the snails? I also have a slew of them since planting tanks...are they OK to just keep them reproducing? I don't see any of my fish interested in them.......I put cucumbers in and WOW had way more then I thought!!!!! I know they are good for algae control are they harmful in any way?
 
#5 ·
They're fine for the tank and they will clean the glass and everything else in the tank. They just don't look very nice IMO.

They may eat at some soft leaved plants depending on the snail.

You can control the population with a slice of lettuce or cucumber and then remove it when you see some.


Some fish will eat snails, some preferably eat snails.

I don't recommend snail rid medications or any medication unless truly necessary.


Also, squish the ones you see. There may be lots but if you spend a few days looking for them and squishing then you're ahead of the game! :)
 
#7 ·
They're harmless..

I don't do anything about mine.. (My 5 gallon tank has hundreds of ramshorns...)

I hold onto them until someone wants to buy them. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. If you just cut down on their food source then their population will dwindle.

For the record, I've never seen a snail eat a healthy leaf. They only go after it when it gets bruised.
 
#9 ·
Their great to a point,
They can really ugly up a tank real quick with their numbers and they produce alot of waste,

I just barely got thru stripping a HUGH bunch of my tanks of the Pond and Ramshorn.
They were fine in small numbers but as they multiplied My plant life became devastated even annihilated in many tanks,
I had just had enough,


I was to a young guys house a few weeks back, He kept saying how great they were and how he had hundreds of them, Well he didn't, Not yet anyways, wait till he does.....and all he had in the tank was java moss and java plant which is two of the few plants they don't care for.

I was back to a friends house a month or so ago,
She had wanted These snails, Now she's literally over run with them and her tanks look awful, He plant life is nearly all dead, The few remaining tanks that have some plants are coated in black dots, Looks awful!
She's cursing the day she ever brought them back in.
She doesn't feed them either, But it doesn't matter, they'll eat anything available, In small numbers you don't notice the damage, But let those numbers grow,

I have my applesnails, Mayalsian trumpets and assassins which I have to feed and in the process you feed every other creepy snail there, So my curse snails multiple faster, But faster or slower they will reach the same level sooner or later if you don't use a means of control..
 
#10 ·
ok maybe wen i move my shrimps and maybe goldfish to a bigger tank in a week or so ill put 1 or 2 in but my lfs is getting some really nice varietys of snails in yeyy
 
#14 · (Edited)
Well the ramshorns around here are pretty much all like that.,
My plants were some of the most healthiest around here too,
Unlike alot I've seen, mine got really hugh leaves, were very nice.
Had alot of people buy from me simple because of how healthy they were.

You have alot but not as many as I had nor what I've seen in others tanks around here That have lost their plants due to these guys.

Already since I've rid my tanks of the rams, My plants are starting to flourish again.
This is what I had,


Floating plants like watersprite Their preferred method was to start at the roots, once the plant starts to be affected by the root destruction they move to the leaves & finish it off.
 
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