# Snail ID??



## CraigL83 (Jun 6, 2008)

anyone know what kinda snail this is? I have a few in my tank that i think came in on the plants and i wanna know if i should try to eradicate them before they grow to parasitic proportions.. this is one of the largest ones in the tank so id assume this is the adult size... and just as a size reference, that is the tip of my index finger.









Thanks in advance
Craig


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

That looks like a darker version of the pond snails that are trying to take over my tanks. They do eat plants, especially the nice new tender leaves, and they multiply like crazy. Try to eradicate them before they get too well established.


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## CraigL83 (Jun 6, 2008)

thanks for the response... for plants i have HC, blyxa japonica, and E. parvula. I havent really noticed them doing any damage to the plants but i dont wanna risk it since i finally got my algae issues under control!


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I didn't notice damage when I first saw the snails. It was only after there were so many of them that they had cleaned up all the "easy" food (leftover fish food, decaying plant matter, etc) that they turned to the healthy plants. They've left holes in the new leaves of my anubias nana petite, crypts, floating plants, Polygonum sp. 'Kawagoeanum', and various others. As you can imagine it's incredibly frustrating to watch plants being devoured by snails, and yes, I've seen the little monsters in action. Now that I know they're bad news it's too late because they're so widespread it's hard to get them under control. I trap them, squish them, and there's still more. I'm thinking of getting assassin snails to help reduce the population. Good luck keeping them from taking over!


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## purgatori27 (Nov 10, 2007)

I don't believe it's a pond snail (but it's close). It's a bladder/pouch snail. They stay slightly smaller than female pond snails, are darker, and have thin "antennae". Pond snails have a triangular antennae, are usually lighter in shell color and whitish body color (and using your finger as a reference, the female is as wide as the middle...not the very tip of your finger). Female pond snails get larger than any bladder snail. The egg sacs differ as well. Pond snails lay up to 1/2 inch long jelly like sac of eggs all over your plants, and bladder snail egg sacs are shorter and more flat and round like a Ramshorn egg deposit. Assassin snails won't fix your problem the way you think they might. They really do prefer Ramshorn in my experience (I have a couple dozen Assassins). My daughter bought a pair of "freshwater" puffers from Walmart a few months back. Turns out they are brackish water Green Spotted Puffers, but there are Dwarf Puffers that are completely freshwater fish and only grow up to an inch long (and aren't that aggressive toward each other). My point is:
I used to have tons of Bladder snails and pond snails. Now I scavenge my tank searching for them to feed to these awesome little guys. They suck the snail right out of the shell faster than you can blink, and they are always hungry. In fact, you have to consciously remember NOT to overfeed them so they don't explode! I also have Clown Loaches and Crayfish that make short work of these snails, but NOTHING gets rid of them better and safer than a puffer!


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