# Is this bacteria or snail poop?



## PlantMauller

I have, what at first I thougt to be snail poop, on just about everything in my tank. It's on the leaves, rocks, etc. Is it bacteria, rolled up little pieces of soil, snail poop? Anyone know?

(I have an El Natural setup...potting soil substrate, gravel, etc)

I have attached some pictures but have slightly better pictures on my blog:
http://aquaticamatuer.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/day-5/


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## SimplyOrange

what do you have in your tank besides plants and snails?

i see alot of shrimp poop on my driftwood, rocks, and plants.


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## Homer_Simpson

I am no expert on poop, but that looks like poop to me. I see a lot of this in my 40 gallon tank due to the fact that I have ottos and a SAE that poop while in mid water and the poop lands on the plant leaves. Does it fall off if you brush it off or does it look like it is permanently stuck on the leaves or part of the leaves. If it does not brush of and appears permanently stuck on the leaves, it could be green spot algae. If it looks like it is part of the leaves and you are seeing similiar patches on all the leaves it could indicate a problem with your plants(some type of deficiency but I doubt this as the soil should be able to provide the required nutrients). 

I am just guessing here and am not telling you that this is absolutely the answer.


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## PlantMauller

I don't have any fish in the aquarium yet. Just plants and the snails that came on them. It's actually a fair amount of snails. I plant to do my first major trimming this Saturday and I will physically remove some of the snails.


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## Mr Fishies

To quote Homer_Simpson, "I am no expert on poop" either...but that looks a lot like snail poop to me. Especially if it's just sitting there and you can "fan" it off the leaves and stones with tongs or a net or something.


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## Volenti

I second the snail poop option.


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## SimplyOrange

i've never seen a snail in mid poop before. lol.


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## Dr. Demento

Dude, if that was bacteria, I'd get a HazMat suit on before I stuck my arm in there :faint2:. Also, your water column would look like chicken broth, if you were growing sufficient bacteria to form visible colonies.

I, too, vote Poop!! Wait, that sounds like my next campaign slogan!!! Dibs!


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## dwalstad

PlantMauller said:


> I don't have any fish in the aquarium yet. Just plants and the snails that came on them. It's actually a fair amount of snails. I plant to do my first major trimming this Saturday and I will physically remove some of the snails.


Here's a situation where snails have been helpful.

The snails have cleaned the leaves of bacteria and algae, which can be problems in new startups. If I had my pick, I would most certainly prefer a few snail feces rather than see my plants blanketed with a coating of algae and bacteria.

This problem will subside over time. Right now, though, I would be grateful (and kind) to your snails.


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## PlantMauller

dwalstad said:


> Here's a situation where snails have been helpful.
> 
> The snails have cleaned the leaves of bacteria and algae, which can be problems in new startups. If I had my pick, I would most certainly prefer a few snail feces rather than see my plants blanketed with a coating of algae and bacteria.
> 
> This problem will subside over time. Right now, though, I would be grateful (and kind) to your snails.


I do feel the snails are good little gardeners. I just wanted to make sure what I was noticing all over the tank wasn't something I should be concerned with. I do have a good # of snails and I actually can see the snail eggs in a few places. To keep the little gardeners from getting out of control I'll just physically remove a few each week...and it's true...I have not had a problem with algae at all, even though some of the plants I purchased to start the tank with had a little algae on them!


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## dwalstad

PlantMauller said:


> I do feel the snails are good little gardeners. I just wanted to make sure what I was noticing all over the tank wasn't something I should be concerned with. I do have a good # of snails and I actually can see the snail eggs in a few places. To keep the little gardeners from getting out of control I'll just physically remove a few each week...and it's true...I have not had a problem with algae at all, even though some of the plants I purchased to start the tank with had a little algae on them!


"little gardeners" What a nice tribute to snails!

Although all my tanks have snails, they don't seem to get out of control. I think that when the food gets low, the population must stabilize-- or something?

When cleaning the tanks and removing excess plants, I do remove some snails. It's just one more way of pulling nutrients out--- without having to change water.

It pleases me that you value your snails!


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## onemyndseye

*Waves at everyone*

Hi all.....long time 

"..... I think that when the food gets low, the population must stabilize..."

Dianna,

I too have observed this in all my tanks as I NEVER do anything to "control" or curtail the population of snails. Why would I want to harm or remove something that does 80% of the tank cleaning for me 

I've even experimented with this idea and observed how the snails react to the amount of food available....and time and time I have observed your statement in effect.... 

Lots of available food = Lots of snails to help eat it
Little available food = Very few snails.

To my eyes in direct proportions 

and I have never observed anything that would lead me to believe that an overpopulation of snails is a bad thing. More competition for food maybe.....but thats about it.

Most people that have MTS would probably be shocked to find out just how many are lurking around in their tanks provided that the tanks are well fed....

During the last days on my 30gallon with Onyx sand the water became really muddy a...about the color of tea - very little light getting through. But upon looking closer I noticed the subtrate to be moving  A Closer look found the substrate to litterally be COVERED in MTS. I never had a clue - never seen more that a handfull at a time.

"... When cleaning the tanks and removing excess plants, I do remove some snails....."

Id say this is true for me as well.... I dont go looking for snails to remove but I dont chase down the ones that are clinging to the plants either..

I couldnt imagine a tank without snails....My keeping Native Redear Sunfish ended mostly because snails couldnt survive in that tank due to quickly being eaten by the sunfish (usuaoly before they even hit the ground..... I though MTS might would live - WRONG  Their shells are apparently not THAT hard 

Take care,
-Justin


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## dwalstad

Justin,
Interesting letter. Thanks for writing!


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## Red_Rose

That's definitely snail poop. I have a lot of snails in my tank and their poop looks exactly like that.

I agree with some of the posts here that they are good gardeners. I love watching them get around the tank and I especially love it when my Apple snail decides to do some "para-snailing". lol


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## newbie314

I've pulled some snails from the 20g -long and placed them in the 2.5G betta tank.
The guy keeps eating them, since I noticed that the population was lower.
Maybe the waters too hard. I'm going to have to remove the shell.

One problem with the snails is that it can be hard to feed my shrimp/crayfish. Sometimes the snails are faster than the shrimp (well they are all over the place).

But boy is the tank clean. On top of other things to keep the tank clean (Duckweed )


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