[brendon-]

Hello snail experts. I saw a couple of these today. This was photographed with a magnifying glass and is currently smaller than a sesame seed. Is it possible ID it at this size? The spiral seems to be going clockwise leading up the the shell opening.

 

[greenguppy]

Looks like a baby white Malaysian trumpet snail. But I'm not an expert on that type of snail.....

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[Johntheskier]

Looks a lot like a baby bladder (pond) snail to me. I thought they were really cute when I saw the first one in my tank. Within a month or so there were many hundreds if not thousands and that was not so cute any more. They don't seem to harm plants and they do eat a bit of algae but they can very quickly become out of control. They are so small when they first hatch that they can get through filter media, become bigger (about the size of a pea) and cause problems with your filter. I controlled them by squishing the ones that I could easily reach (kind of strangely satisfying) and letting your fish or shrimp eat them or with assassin snails. All of the chemical means of getting rid of them will kill your fish and shrimp. Alum worked for me when quarantining my last batch of plants but be sure to check how alum will effect different plants. Good luck! Oh yeah also when you have many of them the seem to deplete the GH level or calcium level so they will be competing with your fish and plants. Double check that bit of info.

 

[greenguppy]

I was going to say bladder, but it has more curls in the shall than a regular bladder snail. Are there types of bladder snails that have more?

 

[Plinkploop]

It's honestly too small to tell, IMO. It's most likely a pond or a bladder snail. I'm all about the snails lol. Yea, yea, infestations... I've never had anything but having to remove some shells from die off once the excess organics are gone. Then I just have a few here and there. They're a good indicator for when I've neglected my tank. Good luck.

 

[brendon-]

Thanks for your sleuthing help so far!
Alright, it's 12 days later, and I think I have a slightly more developed photo for you all. May I present exhibit B: (single snail chilling on a piece of driftwood). Malaysian Trumpet? Pond snail? Other? Taken with a magnifying glass so this is as clear as I could get. I'd say it's about the size of a sesame seed now.

 

[greenguppy]

Yup what pinkploop said, a pond snail.

 

[Plinkploop]

12 days and still that small tells me it's most likely not a pond or bladder. Starting to look a little bit like a mystery snail.... Very interesting!!

 

[brendon-]

There are others, Ive only seen 2-3 at any given time. But yes, they haven't grown very large yet which surprised me too. I took 2 out total, but then just decided to leave any others I saw in until I was better able to ID them. The interesting part is that this tank has only ever had in-vitro plants with new filter media and new substrate. All of the equipment was bought new for this setup, and the fish I have in the tank were all quarantined prior to being introduced, then took a clean water dip right before being netted into it. I recently had a bout with seed shrimp in this same tank which I since have gotten to level out, and now these guys. They must have been some ninja hitchhikers. For a while, I was going crazy thinking they somehow came through my tap water, but now I'm just going with the flow.

 

[Plinkploop]

There are others, Ive only seen 2-3 at any given time. But yes, they haven't grown very large yet which surprised me too. I took 2 out total, but then just decided to leave any others I saw in until I was better able to ID them. The interesting part is that this tank has only ever had in-vitro plants with new filter media and new substrate. All of the equipment was bought new for this setup, and the fish I have in the tank were all quarantined prior to being introduced, then took a clean water dip right before being netted into it. I recently had a bout with seed shrimp in this same tank which I since have gotten to level out, and now these guys. They must have been some ninja hitchhikers. For a while, I was going crazy thinking they somehow came through my tap water, but now I'm just going with the flow.

Sometimes that's all you can do. I have had random snails and copepods pop up from no one knows where, worms too 😅 certainly is a mystery as to where the snails came from. I have had very good luck with tissue cultures. I've never had a new set up with tc have snails that weren't put in there. Not saying it doesn't happen, I've had trusted friends of mine show me snails shells in their newly opened tc, I've just never had it, personally, happen to me. I'd be interested in seeing what these snails look like when they are grown. If they aren't harming anything, they are growing slowly and they don't seem to be exploding in population I'd let them grow out lol but I love snails do I'm a bit biased there.

 

[Johntheskier]

The multiple twist spiral now makes me think not pond (bladder) snail. I'm guessing Malaysian Trumpet which I've herd some people love some people hate. But I believe they are hard to get rid of.

 

[brendon-]

Yes I’m hoping it’s not them.

 

[Johntheskier]

Maybe look into some kind of snail trap. Even something simple like putting zucchini on a small plate overnight then simply remove the plate. (make sure that you dispose of them in the trash or let them dry outside so they cant get into the water shed or sewers).

 

[brendon-]

Alright, these guys have stayed small, but I tried to get a better photo out of the tank. They are looking more like trumpets, but I'm holding onto hope, haha. I plan on re-scaping this tank in a couple of months. In order to properly remove them from the tank, would I bake my substrate in the oven, as well as the seachem matrix? bleach my sponges, and re-cycle the tank? I may not do any of this at all and just live with them, depending on how they behave.

I made a little snail trap out of an old in-vitro cup, I figured I could weigh it down with a stone and put some boiled vegetables in it. I have neocaridina and amano shrimp, so the goal would be to keep them out and just let the snails in. Should I put the holes facing down or sideways in the sand, instead of upright?

 

[Plinkploop]

Looks like mts, holes on the substrate.

 

[somewhatshocked]

If you're using sand as a substrate... why get rid of them? I purposefully add Trumpet Snails to my sand-based tanks because they keep things in great shape. Snails are an important part of planted tank and play a larger role than most ever bother to consider.

Seems like an extreme overreaction. If you keep their food source(s) in check, you won't have a population explosion.

 

[brendon-]

It’s more getting my wife on board with the new guests since it’s by our dinner table haha. I don’t have a sand substrate just a small portion of sand that’s only less than half an inch deep, the rest is aquasoil and crushed lava stone beneath that. But yeah so far they aren’t bothering me and are only occasionally around. I think im just proactively trying to get ahead of them potentially exploding. The tank is densely planted, so any debris caught within the hydrocotyle or stem plant bushes isn’t easy to access for cleaning. I’ve had snails in the past in other tanks which I was fine with, but this sighting surprised me only because I went out of my way with new equipment and all invitro and quarantining fish only for them to get in anyways. If anything, I won’t bother being so careful in the future haha. But yes I do get your point, and I’m a huge fans of ostracods now for the reasons you’ve pointed out.

 

[somewhatshocked]

One thing you can easily do if there is a population explosion is trap them and give them to another hobbyist. If you offer them as a Random Act Of Kindness & only charge shipping, they'll be snatched up the same day here on the forum. Since you're in/near a city, they'll possibly go locally.

MTS are easy to catch. Just drop a DIY trap (made out of a water or soda bottle) in overnight. Then send them to their new home. I use this method when I need to populate a new sand tank and it works well. Can also wait for them to pile up on any food you place in the tank but that takes more effort. (easy way for the win)

Edit: The trap you've come up with will also work but you have to be quicker with it at night. I've found they drop pretty quickly out of multiple openings if the lights turn on.

One thing I do with the bottle trap is add a bit of pool filter sand or whatever I've got handy so they can burrow in it after eating and don't try to escape the bottle.

 

[brendon-]

These are excellent tips. I love the idea of the sand within the trap, that makes a ton of sense imagining it in action. They have stayed at bay and are still the same size, or at least the ones that are brave enough to come out. So I think I’ll let them be for awhile and deploy some of these trap ideas if I need to share the snails. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Odin]

I have one that looks exactly like that. Most certainly not a pond snail. I don't think it's a Malaysian T either. The whirls are more spaced apart. Not a mystery, because it's to pointy.

I'm still trying to identify mine! I think it's cute.
(I also love and keep pest snails)