These have recently shown up in great numbers in one of my lotus ponds. They remain in the water but seem to roam around on all surfaces. Are these a threat to the plants? Do they just eat algae? Anyone know?
Thanks.
Water snails
Just noticed you haven't had any replies, sorry! Um, I guess there's not a single goldfish in there huh? Anywhere I have a fish big enough to eat them, the fish keep the snail number low enough they don't do any damage. I would think that in large enough numbers they would run out of food they prefer and start eating plants (just making an assumption here........and, uh, we know what you get when you make assumptions, right? lol) Which would make young lotus leaves a tasty meal?
By and large the impact of snails is benign.
There are times of the year when they might turn upon the new shoots of tender aquatic plants when there is a shortage of other food
Snails are a munchy part of the food chain for fish and turtles, usually going about the dull chore of eating algae and fading vegetation, turning unwanted stuff into benign mulm, which in turn forms benign clay over time.
In some parts of america aquatic snails are a vector for 'swimmers itch' which is carried from pond to pond by wildfowl. If you wipe out the snails every 30 days or so you can eliminate that lifecycle
In well established ponds, the snail population is usually held in check by a range of predators in the food chain, who rely on snails as part of their diet
If you see too many snails in a pond, it usually indicates oxygen levels on a pond are low, especially around dawn and snails are being forced to the surface.
Where it is easy to squish surplus numbers...
Regards, andy
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/
Thanks for the information. In fact, I removed the fish from this pond a couple months ago for unrelated reasons, and it didn't occur to me that that could be related to the appearance of the snails. Good to know they aren't the ravenous pests that their terrestrial kin are. Since I actually noticed them as I was reintroducing the fish it'll be interesting to see if their numbers decline over time. There are no snails apparent in the other ponds.
adavisus - I've a rotten problem with snails in a 75 gal. tropical aquarium. One article I read said those darn things HAVE to come to the surface every 24 hrs. for oxygen. Currently I am in the trapping and squishing mode. I need all the info I gan get to deal with this snail problem. If you can remember the source I really, really need it.
This message was edited Oct 9, 2007 2:58 AM
Hi Snapple,
No idea what your source is on the 24 hour thing, that would appear to refer to dissolved oxygen levels in the water being low at dawn, when aquatic plants have been absorbing oxygen through the night, this would force snails into shallower water making them easy targets for squishing. A decorators roller would turn those into fish munchies early in the day
In a well oxygenated aquarium with air pumps going, you would not see them doing that.
You might try placing a few bits of cabbage or lettuce in the water, that might tempt snail numbers to collect... Here, snails are rather thin on the ground, small turtles and snail eating leaches suppress them to insignificant numbers. I only get to see very small snail species which seem to just about survive the predator onslaught by being insignificant enough to be tucked among nooks and crannies...
There has to be some dinky small species of fish that specialise in pecking snail spawn, suitable for a 75 gal. aquarium...
Regards, andy
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/
Snails are a problem if they are the plant eating type.So you have to find out what kind you have. The snails in your pic look like planteaters to me. I removed every snail from my pond except Japanese Trapdoor Snails. This type of snail will not eat plants but eats leftover fish food and other pond waste. The books say to bring them in for the cold winter months,but here in Pennsylvania they will overwinter. I have hundreds of them in my pond now and they really add to the overall cleanliness.They are quite big and beautiful and I enjoy watching them as much as watching the fish.
I have 2 Clown Loach that take care of any snail problems. I've even put large snails in the tank to help clean, and they eat them too, leaving only the shell. The tiny snails that come in on plants, they eat shell and all.
I wonder if that's what is happening to my larger snails? I have found several empty shells in my aquarium tank...thought it was the water temperature, but I guess that would not explain the missing bodies Lol. I only have koi and goldfish though, would they do the same as a loach?
I have Koi and Goldfish too,but they don't eat the Japanese Trapdoors. I just pulled a handful up from the bottom of the pond today to see how they are doing and they are looking good☺
I don't have any goldfish or koi in my aquarium, but I have snails in my pond, and the goldfish don't seem to bother them. I even found a baby snail the other day, so they must be multiplying in the pond. I do know there are other fish that will eat snails, but I've seen the loach eating them.
I have had trap door snails which we call river snails in my ponds for 20 years,not the same ones of course. I first bought 6 and have never had to buy anymore. They are hermorphadites and have live babies so the life cycle goes on and on. My ponds never get murky except when I stir them up to clean the leaves out in the spring. Those in the aquarium are hard to get rid of. Sometimes you bring them home on a plant they are so tiny. hope this helps. BEV