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FAQs on Freshwater Aquarium Snail Selection

Related Articles: Snails and Freshwater AquariumsInvertebrates for Freshwater Aquariums by Neale Monks,

Related FAQs: Freshwater Snails 1, Freshwater Snails 2, Freshwater Snail Identification, Freshwater Snail Behavior, Freshwater Snail Compatibility, Freshwater Snail Systems, Freshwater Snail Feeding, Freshwater Snail Disease, Freshwater Snail Reproduction,

A hermaphroditic species, the Ramshorn, loved/hated by aquarists worldwide.

Nerites Snails in Canada?  11/13/07
Hi guys and girls, as always I really appreciate your work and help!
<Good>
Wondering if you know where I can find Nerites Snails (Freshwater or Saltwater) in Canada? I have tried to get some shipped from the United
States, but they will not ship them up here anymore. My LFS have never even heard of them.
I once got a shipment from Arizona Gardens, and they cleaned the algae on my glass like nothing else.
Thanks so much for your help.
Deryck
<I saw them at the Big Al's locations in Toronto last year... Are there any locations near you: http://bigalscanada.com/storelocations/storemap.htm
Bob Fenner>

Re: Nerites Snails in Canada? Converting FW to BR... not all    11/14/07
Thanks, they had closed down a while ago, but looks like they are reopening!
I will give them a shot when they are open for business.
<Okay>
I still have a few freshwaters Nerites, I have researched and heard they may breed in brackish water. Think I can give it a shot to acclimate them to
brackish?
<Not if they're totally freshwater species. Please read here: http://www.google.com/search?q=freshwaters+Nerites&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7PCTA
The first couple citations>
Thanks again for your help.
Deryck
<Welcome. BobF>

Ramshorn Snails. Sel...    10/21/07
Hello,
I came across your site today and found it very useful. But after reading up on the snails, I was left with questions. Recently (maybe about 2-3 weeks ago) we got a 10 gal. fish tank and put in 2 live plants, 2 male guppies, 2 balloon belly mollies, and 4 neon tetras.
<Hmm... be careful with this selection of fish. Mollies often (if not always) get Finrot and fungus when kept in freshwater aquaria. But while adding marine salt mix makes them much much hardier, Neon tetras don't like salt at all.>
Within a week I found this big snail (he's big for popping out of no where, he's probably like 1/4 of an inch). He must have been an egg on the plants, because I inspected them very well and they didn't have a live snail on them. We Googled and found out it was a Ramshorn snail.
<Can't confirm that from your photo. Could be Planorbis sp. certainly, but Physa sp. "tadpole snail" is possible too.>
Suddenly I have counted up to 6 snails, and today I found a baby fish (I think its a tetra- but it is tiny, black with orange on it's head).
<Many snails will breed freely in aquaria. Controlling snail numbers can be tricky if you let things get out of hand. They primarily turn uneaten food and decaying organic material into snails: control the food and remove algae/organic wastes, and the snail population stabilises. The baby fish could be either a Molly or Guppy. Guppy babies are smaller.>
My question is where in the world are all these new creatures coming from?
<From their parents.>
I look at that tank everyday and have yet to see any eggs in there, but I keep getting new little snails.
<Snail eggs aren't always obvious, and some are viviparous anyway, i.e., they produce baby snails, not eggs.>
Where could the eggs be hiding?
<Usually on the glass, but can be elsewhere, even inside pipes and filters.>
I thought they liked to lay their eggs out of the waterline?
<No, that's Apple snails and their relatives.>
I attached a pic of the first one on the glass with some tetras in the background.:D
Thanks for your help!
Ashley
<Do take care to control snail numbers before you have problems. Snails are a fun addition to any aquarium, but in large numbers they can be unsightly. Some species eat plants as well. None are a threat to your fish. Cheers, Neale>

Snails, FW, sel., contr.   – 09/08/07
Hi crew,
The other day, Neale gave me some advice on keeping my sand 'safe' for my freshwater tank. It was suggested that Malayan livebearing snails would be good to keep the sand aerated and to eat debris, etc. It's just a small 6gal., and so far just two fish. So I've done some reading, but here's my questions.
If I get the Malayan snails, seems they'll reproduce prolifically; will they eat up all the algae? I'm worried that my Otocinclus won't have enough to eat if this happened. Also, being that they would reproduce so much, do they contribute to the bio or waste load much; or is it negligible? Thought I'd ask since my tank's so small. Lastly, would the water condition needs differ much from the Oto?
Thanks so much!
Vanessa
<Hello Vanessa, Malayan livebearing snails (Melanoides spp.) do have a bad reputation among some aquarists, while others consider them a blessing. I fall into the latter camp. Here's why. Melanoides turn organic material into snails. They don't eat gravel, they don't eat sand, and they don't eat live plants or fish, EVER. So if the Melanoides are multiplying, they only do so because there's "stuff" in the tank for them to eat. That might be uneaten food, it might be decaying plant leaves, it might be a dead fish, or it might be algae. Provided you keep the tank free of those things, the snails won't multiply very much because they can't. In a clean tank where all they have to eat is algae and tiny amounts of organic detritus, they just don't become a problem. They may be breeding, yes, but they're dying too, so you end up with a more or less steady population. It's in messy tanks where people have inadequate filtration and overfeed their fish and don't remove dead plant leaves that the snails become problematic. Even in large numbers though, they don't do any harm, and removing them isn't especially difficult. You can buy little snail traps for about $5-10 (it's called the JBL "Limcollect") and you could use one of these every six months or so if you thought things were getting out of hand. Some folks make their own lobster pot-type traps from small plastic cartons and the like. Since the snails crawl onto the glass at night, it isn't difficult just to turn the lights off early one night, and then wait for the snails to emerge, and then scrape them off with a net or suck them up with your siphon. It's no big deal. But really, I leave them to their own devices. No, they won't out-compete you algae-eating catfish, and no, they don't add much to bioload on the filter. On the plus side, they ensure there's no anaerobic decay in the tank and they help aerate (if that's the word) the substrate encouraging good plant growth in the same way earthworms do on land. They are also very good "early warning" monitors: if you see them on the glass in the daytime making a bee-line for the surface of the tank, it means you have a problem. As far as water chemistry goes, they're not fussy. In soft/acid water they tend to reproduce very slowly, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your needs. I'll also add that they are extremely pretty little animals. Take a look at one close-up: they have beautifully sculpted shells with red and purple markings. If they were rare and difficult to keep, aquarists would covet them... but because they're so easy to keep, we scorn them. Strange. I hope this helps, Neale.>

Goldfish and Suckerfish    8/7/06
Hi!
<<Hey, there. Tom this afternoon.>>
I currently have 3 small goldfish, and lately there has been some algae growth. Is this due to the cycle of the tank, because it has recently matured?
<<One of the signs of a cycled tank is algae growth so I would say this is more than likely the case.>>
I was wondering if there was any types of algae-cleaners that I could buy to put in my tank. I have read that the common Pleco will suck on the goldfish. Are there any other types of suckerfish that would get along with goldfish?
<<Your information on the Common Plecostomus is correct. Unfortunately, there aren't any of the so-called Algae Eaters that will do well in a Goldfish tank. Very few fish will, which is why it's recommended that Goldfish stay segregated with their own kind. What you might look into, provided it's aesthetically pleasing to you, is the Olive Nerite snail (Neritina reclivata). I'm not a "snail guy" myself but these critters are used by many aquarists to control algae (something they do very, very well by all accounts).>>
Thanks!
<<You're welcome. Tom>> <http://yatfs.com/new_page_11.htm>

Snails, Wherefore art thou?   7/30/06
Hi there.
<<Hi, Norma. Tom>>
Just a quick question. I have just cleaned the fish tank out and I found two small snails in the ornamental castle. I have discarded them. Have I done right and, where on earth have they come from?
<<Chances are that the snails you "inherited" wouldn't be overly helpful, or harmful, to your tank, so it's a matter of personal choice as to keeping them around. These, nearly always, "hitchhike" on live plants. A "bath" in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes prior to introducing plants into the aquarium will take care of the eggs/snails that have come along uninvited.>>
Thanks
Norma
<<You're welcome. Tom>>

Baby Snails  - 04/27/06
I have an 80 gallon tank that contains three Plecostomus, one rainbow shark and two Oscars.  I have not introduced any new fish in over 6 months.  The only thing I feed the fish is frozen brine shrimp gumdrops.  Recently I noticed what appear to be tiny baby snails.  They stay on the bottom of the tank or on the glass.  They have suction cups and small cone shaped shells, in dark brown.  Where did they come from?  Occasionally we fill the tank with a garden hose passed through the window.  Could this be where they came from? <they could have came from anywhere, they are nothing to be worried about!, IanB> <... Ian? Likely were introduced with some of the shipping water when you placed the new fishes. RMF>
      Thanks for your help.
      Sally Rosenfeld

Snails in Livebearer Tank - 2/4/2006
Hi Bob,
<<Lisa writing tonight.>>
I always wanted a healthy planted, livebearer, tank.
<Sounds great.>>
This is 15g tank with mollies, platies, swordtails.
It was cycled by "fishless cycling" , and I have not lost a single fish since last six months when this tank was set up.
<<Good stuff!>>
Well the problem is that the living conditions in this tank are so good that it is now having lots of unwanted guests "Snails".
I do not want to use chemicals.
<<I wouldn't either.>>
I read that loaches eat snails, but right now, they are not available at LFS.
Do bettas eat snails, <<Not usually.>> can they be put in this tank? Any other method? Picking them manually is very tedious and stresses the fish, which I want to avoid.
<<Search on WWM for tricks to catch them.  Know that where there are snails, there is snail food.>>
  Thank you
Sandeep Raghuvanshi
India
<<You're welcome. Lisa. Canada.>>

Snails Lots of snails  9/28/05
Hello! Your site has been helping me the site has been helping me a lot with my current aquarium "experiment".  Thanks for the time and effort spent doing this.
<It is for you...>
To explain a little bit about my experiment:  I have kept several community tanks during my life and even a 20 gal reef tank at the age of 12 through 15 that died abruptly when my little sis' decided that pennies would be a good decoration.
<Yikes... not good luck>
Recently I have taken a fancy to the idea of a more beautiful looking tank.  To achieve this I wanted to go small and heavily planted 5 gal.
20+ plants.  I am using a pH monitored CO2 system and a 4x overdriven 8 watt T5 5500K light. (by the way it needs to be trimmed at the very least once a week.)
<I see>
I have:
2x Otocinclus mariae
3x Aphyosemion australe 1m 2f
10x Caridina serrata (cherry red shrimp)
<Very nice>
I also have (uninvited): at last count, 450 baby Ramshorns and pond snails. I skipped the dip thinking that nothing bad could happen.
<Uhhh>
So I have built a snail trap with a 35mm film canister I bait it with blanched zucchini and pull out around 35 - 40 snails over the course of a day.  The holes to the trap are too small for the Otos and they sit staring at the canister all day like the cat stares at the tank.
<Heeeee!>
Now for the real questions:
My snail removal plan is to remove any and all adult snails.  I thank that part is done now.  And then to keep trapping for the babies until
they are gone.  I would like to know at what size these snails reach maturity and start reproducing, so that I can remove those (mature
ones) by hand as soon as I see them.
<Am guessing, but likely about the size of your fingernails...>
Also: After I get this mess cleared up I am interested in introducing Melanoides tuberculata, (Malaysian Trumpet snail) as a soil maintainer.
<A wonderful animal... but... just as improbable to remove...>
I am worried about their prolifictivity.
<Neat word!>
I was planning on baiting for the young of these once a week once they are established.  Would that be too often or am I risking another population explosion?
<As burrowing animals... Might I suggest a change in your experimental stocking? To Mystery Snails... easier to control population-wise... Bob Fenner>
Thank you much for any help.

Healthy Snail Search - 08/12/2005
Hi Robert,
<Actually, Sabrina here, in his stead>
I enjoyed your snail articles, and noticed you've mentioned farms in FL that supply parasite free snails.  Do you have any company names?  I'm having a heck of a time finding any on the net...  I'm looking for snails that reproduce and grow quickly, about the size of a dime.  Any recommendations?
<Try here:  
http://www.applesnail.net - in addition to more snaily information than I've ever seen anywhere, they also have a discussion forum, where you could perhaps meet others who have what you're looking for.>
Thank you,  Karen Sprague,  Baltimore, MD
<Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Garden Snails Aquatic? 7/22/05
Hi there, I love your site! I visit often and would like to thank you for all your very useful advice. I have a question for you. Today a friend of mine
at the local grocery store found a snail cruising around the back room, produce department and offered it to me for my fish tank.
<Be on the lookout when you buy your tomatoes next time...>
My problem is.. I don't know what kind of snail this is, and I have a tank in which I just added some aquarium salt to yesterday. ( which my guppies are very happy
about) So I'm worried the salt will harm it.
<Aquatic snails have no problem dealing with salt. However, it does not seem as if this one was aquatic. If it was found on dry land, leave it on dry land, don't stick it in water.>
I looked online and think it may be a garden snail, if it is, can it survive in an aquarium?
<Doubtful.>
Right now its in a fish bowl with some cabbage and a tiny bit of water, until I find out what to do with it. I'd like to keep it, the kids adore it. So any
advice on what kind of snail this is and how to care for it would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance. (Picture is attached.)
<I'm sorry, I didn't receive any photo, so I really cannot help you there. However, Google is magic: do an image search on Garden snails, see if it matches your snail. If so, switch to a web search and start reading! Mike G>
-Gina

Snails for Bug Tank
Hi, I just started a 10 gallon tank for predacious water bugs. Right now I only have ferocious water bugs (Abedus herberti) in there but I would like to add some other non-fish animals/bugs to my collection. I want to add a snail to the mix, but I am afraid that 1, snails will take over the tank, and 2, parasites from the snails will hurt the water bugs. The ferocious water bug supposedly will eat snails, which has led to another problem; I can only get a large snail for the tank. I live in southern New York and know of a pond where there are these really big snails (about 2 inches). I would love to put one of these in the tank, because I know the bugs won't eat them and they look cool. I was wondering what you thought about this. I've read that the parasites can be harmful to fish, but are they to water bugs?
< Bugs in general have a pretty short life span and probably over winter as eggs so I wouldn't worry about parasites on your bugs.>
And another question is: what kind of snails do you think they are.  And how do they reproduce?
< My guess is that are black mystery snails released from an aquarium. There are males and females. They will mate and the female will lay a clutch of eggs outside the water. Usually on the inside lid on the tank. They will stay there for about a month. After that they will hatch and fall into the water where they will become food for your bugs.>
They are large, usually black (that's all I've ever found), have a trap door, and are more blunt, not conical. Thank you so much for the help. Jeff Osborne
< You could always buy some snails at a local fish store. This way you will know exactly what you have.-Chuck>

ABOUT SNAILS
Do you think it's ok to put a snail that we find outside in our freshwater tank with our fish and if so, what should we feed it?
<tough to say from your general question. If the snail that you find is terrestrial... then definitely no. If it is aquatic but you live in a temperate climate, the answer is still no. The truth of the matter is that it is generally a bad idea to capture wild animals indiscriminately for captive care without correct identification of the species needs/husbandry and quarantine. There is a very real risk of introducing a fatal disease to your fishes by such random introductions. Kindly, Anthony>

Where did they come from?
I HAVE HAD AN AQUARIUM FOR TWENTY YEARS NOW. ONE DAY I DISCOVERED A SNAIL IN THERE. NEVER HAVE I NOTICED SNAILS BEFORE. WHERE DO THEY ORIGINATE FROM?
<If freshwater, from live plants mostly likely. If saltwater, from liverock.>
THE FISH FOOD WAS MY FIRST THOUGHT. ALGAE WAS MY NEXT. WILL THEY HARM MY FISH?
<No>
HOW DO I TAKE CARE OF THEM IF THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN THERE?
<They generally take care of themselves. -Steven Pro>
<P.S. Please do not write in all capitals.>

Re: SNAILS!!
HI Ronni, boy were you right...
<Drat, sometimes that’s not a good thing!>
This morning I woke up and there was a snail moving about on my driftwood- from your website it looks like a Ramshorn. Now it’s small, but hey, don't want it there.
<I don’t blame you!>
The driftwood did come with a note saying it was 'live driftwood'
<Oops, this may not be a good thing unless you want little crustaceans in your tank.>
and I've seen little mollusk looking creatures on it from time to time, and I think I actually caught another snail and pulled it out- it was black. However, I guess since I didn't QT plants (the Bacopa and the Mondo grass)- even though I washed it sooo well--I thought- there was a snail this morning  I tried to 'get him' but he was pretty quick
<My guess is that you probably got snails from both the plants and the driftwood.>
and I didn't want to upset the Amano (who as you predicted are ok--up and out munching on driftwood this morning)-
<Glad to hear this part anyway!>
So is it true that snails are like mice, you really never have just 1?
<Unfortunately yes. Freshwater snails multiply like crazy.>
If yes, how do I get rid of him? I looked at fish called Yo Yo loach, but they say it gets up to 5 6 inches, too big for my tank. Is there another smaller (like 2-3 max) fish to eat snails? Or should I let it go for now?
<There are several smaller fish that eat them but not really any that will work in your system (Bettas, Puffers, etc). I would go get one Loach, either a Clown or a Yo-Yo and let them do their job for a while. Fortunately, the Loaches do seem to grow fairly slowly so if you keep one for a few months and then trade it back in you should be fine.>
NEVER AGAIN no QT!!
<I’m glad to hear this but sorry that you had to learn it the hard way. But it’s better that you found out from snails than from a disease like so many people do.>
Also, my otos survived their first night-- they are small, smaller than the Rasbora and white cloud and the fish were circling around them and freaking them out, but everyone seems on today. I figure if otos make it through weekend, they won't 'die'- read they do sometimes.  If they are happy for about 2 weeks, then can I add either rummy nose tetra (2) or the cherry barbs?
<If possible, it would be best to wait about 4 weeks.>
And if I get a fish that eats snails, I guess I'll get it and omit the rummies- arghh.
<You’ll be able to add the Rummynose Tetras once your snail problem is taken care of and you trade the Loach back in.>
Thanks for help, have a GREAT weekend, Best Rosa
<Hope you have a great one too! Ronni>

Can I Release Snails into a Local Pond?
To whom it may concern:
<Hello there>
I searched via Google, but I could not find an answer to my question.  I apologize if it has been asked and answered previously.  I bought some plants for my fish tank.  Unbeknownst to me, some snails were attached to the plants. About one month ago, my fish died.  I am not going to buy another fish, so I wondered if there was a safe way (safe place) to release the snails.  Certainly, I do not want to kill them, but I do not want to keep a tank filled with snails.  Can you help?
Thank you.  Pete
<Can help. It may seem cruel, but please DO NOT release the snails (or anything live for that matter) into any natural environment... Not only for the sake of not causing competition with local species, but snails in particular are very common vectors (carriers, hosts) for many, MANY parasitic diseases... of fishes, invertebrates, even humans. Far better to place them in a plastic bag, put them in the freezer (this is painless) and dispose of them in the trash later. Bob Fenner>

Snail Stocking
Hello again,
Sorry to bother you with what's probably a simple question, but I can't seem to find a set answer on it anywhere else. I was wondering, is there any set rule as to stocking mystery snails in a tank? I know the '1" of fish per gallon' rule (and the surface area rule, and...) but how should mystery snails of this species be counted in regards to the tank's bio load/stocking levels?
<Well, honestly, I was not to sure either so I checked with Bob for both of our benefits. "I think about one per five gallons of any of the common species is "about right"."  You could also try starting with 1 per 5 gal, then slowly adding more and testing your water quality.>
So far the only advice I've been able to find is one individual who doesn't think they add much bio load since their nitrate levels haven't changed since adding two to their 10g Betta tank, and another who has about 40 small ones in a 1 gallon container with a 60gph filter and air stone.  
<I am willing to be 40 snails in a 1 gallon container will be hard to maintain in the long run.>
I know the snails produce a lot of waste, but they (at least the ones I currently have) also seem to do a good job of roaming the tank cleaning up leftover food and dead leaves (and have left my various live plants completely alone, other than occasionally using them as ladders) that might otherwise pollute the water. Also given they get some of their oxygen from the surface. (It's
weird watching one of them crawling up a wall, air siphon extended :) )
<CHARGE!!>
Thanks for your time and any advice you're able to offer, I'll likely pass it on to the two forums I posted this question on (Aquamaniacs and Applesnail.net) for the folks there as well.
<Hope it helps, keep a record of your trials and tribs for others benefit as well. Best Regards, Gage>

Snail Stocking Part Two
Hello again,
Thanks for the response, I've got two in the 10 gallon right now (I had a regular brown one in there, what I've seen called the 'wild-type' shell pattern, then saw a little blue one shoved into one of the 'Betta cups' at Wal-Mart the other day and decided it needed a home). The only other one I'm possibly planning to add in the future is maybe the one from my 6g African dwarf frog tank
if any water problems develop there.
So far no problems with the 10g since adding the second mystery snail, other than slightly elevated nitrates (25 rather than 20), but I think that's likely due to overfeeding of the bottom feeders, or my trimming back a lot of the anacharis that's in there. I'm going to try adding a little duckweed (I know, it
takes over tanks. I read somewhere about someone making a 'corral' with airline and airline clips to keep it within an area of their tank. So I'll see if that works.) to pick up the extra nitrates. Plus I heard there's a chance the mystery snails might like to nibble on it.
<Duckweed is an excellent way to suck up excess nutrients.>
I'll let you know if there's any problems with either level of snails in the future.
On a different topic, since WWM's amphibian area is a bit sparse right now, I thought I'd offer the following feeding idea, if you'd like to post it:  One of the biggest problems I had with African dwarf frogs was trying to get them to eat before their food (frozen bloodworms) fell between the gravel, resulting in hungry frogs and food polluting the water. So as a solution, I got a plastic water bowl from the reptile section of PetSmart and half buried it under the gravel. The plastic's a single piece of unpainted molded plastic, so I figure it should be safe to use. Now I just squirt the defrosted bloodworms (mixed with water from the tank) into the bowl with a turkey baster. The frogs swim
right over and start feasting, they've also taken to trying to nip at the turkey baster if it's in the tank since they've figured out that's where food comes from. Posted this idea on a few forums and the regulars seemed to like it, so figured I'd pass it on incase it's of use to any of WWM's regular readers.
<Great idea, I have heard of something similar for feeding Corydoras live worms that dig into the substrate before the fish get a chance to eat them.  Thanks for the info, best of luck, Gage>
Thanks again,
       -Chris

New Betta!  1/14/04
<Hi, Pufferpunk again>
Thank you so much for the advice!
<You're welcome, happy to help.>
Today I bought Tate, a blue and red Betta.
<My favorite colors for Bettas>
He seems happy and energetic in his new home, and he's eating 2 pellets of food twice a day. In a few days I am going to look for a snail to live with Tate. (I would have gotten one today, but none of them looked very healthy at that
particular store.)
<Yes, make sure you get a healthy one.  Nothing fouls a tank worse than a dead snail.  Phew!  If he doesn't move for a while, take it out & press lightly on the "foot".  If it has resistance, it's still alive.  If the body caves in, or it smells bad, it's not.>
Basically, I am wondering what I should feed the snail, and if I should move it into the tank the same way I would a fish. I've never had an aquatic snail before, so this should be quite an adventure.
<It wouldn't hurt to acclimate your snail.  Whatever your Betta eats, the snail will eat, just make sure he gets some.>
Thanks again!  -Kathryn
<Enjoy your fish!--Pufferpunk>

Canister filter Qs + tank setups
Hey WWM Crew,
<Jamie>
A big ol' Thank You! to Gwen for answering my last email (the one below this one). It helped me picture what's happening with the canister filter. I'm sure it'll all be crystal clear once I bring one home, lol. I'm also hoping that the plants won't become snail food, hehe. The snails are Pomacea bridgesii effusa Apple snails, the ones that do not eat live plants and safe for the planted tank. They haven't eaten any of mine for the year or so I've had 'em so I think I'm in the clear, lol.
<We'll see>
Anyway, I have indeed pondered more and more about my setup with the 20Ls. Since putting them together with one canister filter is not a good idea, I've been thinking what would. Maybe two Whisper power filters, but I am afraid that the water turbulence may be too much for both inhabitants and plants, and that they wouldn't bring up much of the snail mess.
<These are actually a good choice... not too turbulent...>
Then I thought maybe sponge filters would work but wouldn't I be compromising space for my plants and the snail mess might still pose a problem. Any suggestions??? I'm open-minded and all ears :)
<I would go with hang-on, outside power filters>
Also, I've looked over more of the Eheim canister filters and found the Ecco Comfort Plus Filter 2232 and 2234. Is this a good one or should I just stick with the Filstar for either the 30 or 33L??
<I prefer the Ecco products over the Filstar>
Sorry for all the questions, figured that while you're all available I should ask the pros everything I can ;)  And, as always, thanks for help, it is greatly appreciated :)
~ Jamie
<Bob Fenner>

Snails and Planted Tanks
Hi!
I would like to add a single already grown Pomacea bridgesi (mystery) and one Melanoides (Malaysian trumpet snail) specimen to my heavily planted tank. I'm afraid that they could already be fertilized when I bring them in the aquarium.
<Me too>
How much time can it take between fertilization and time to give birth/lay eggs? In other words, how long should I quarantine them to be sure they wont lay eggs or give birth in the display tank?
Thanks!
Dominique
<I would wait a good two months here. Bob Fenner>

Mollies and Snails
WWM Crew,
First, I must say your site has been very informative. I've learned so much! I have read plenty about Mollies etc, but I have a couple concerns re: my mollies.
I currently have 3 of them. 1 silver molly (M), 1 silver lyretail (F), and black molly (F). My concern is with the two silver mollies. I did read that it is not uncommon for the male to chase around the female trying to breed. However my male is NONSTOP harassing the other silver female (she's pregnant too), and rarely messes with the black molly. Is there a special reasoning behind that?
<Mmm, no... or not really. Some males are just like this... having more females, more "other" fishes, plants, other decor to break-up the physical environment... helps>
I am worried that he will just wear her out, but I don't want to stock my tank with more females as I am already taking care of 16 fry as it is. Any ideas on the best way to handle this randy boy?? hahaha
<Isolate him... at least for a while... perhaps in a floating, plastic colander if you don't have another tank>
Second question... When is it safe to put the fry back into the larger tank with the adult mollies without the risk of them being eaten?
<When they're "big enough" to not be consumed>
I have 2 that are about a month old, but I don't want to take them out of the net too prematurely. The others are only a day or two old. Do you judge based on size? or age?
<Size>
And lastly (are you sick of me yet? haha), about a week and a half ago I noticed a small snail in my tank. Have NO IDEA how it got there as I sure didn't buy one from the store!! Then, when doing a water change the other, came across ANOTHER one that was twice it's size. I'm assuming it was under gravel somewhere because there's no way you could miss it otherwise! How do I know if it's ok to keep in the tank and breeding of snails etc?? I do NOT want more snails!! I have looked at the info on this site re: snails, and haven't come across one that looks like mine. Is it better to wait till they're more grown to determine the type of snail? And just out of curiosity... any ideas on how snails got in my tank?
<Come in... with fish purchases in the water, some live foods... can be eliminated in a few ways, but not likely a problem... perhaps a help in keeping your tank clean... Not harmful to your fishes>
Is it possible they hitched a ride on the fish as tiny lil thingies on them? Sounds crazy but, I have no other clue as to their appearance! 
Thank you so much in advance for any help you can give! I will continue to research your site for more information. It's a great tool!!
Sarah
<Thank you for being part of it. Bob Fenner> 

 

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