Snail Life.

[LadyHatred]

How long can snail eggs live in substrate thats out of the water?

I ask because I added more of the substrate that came with my tank and saw a little tiny white snail shell that floated up to the surface. This morning, said shell is now half way down the back of the tank.

Is it possible that there are more of these little baby snails in the gravel? If so, would I be able to bleach or boil the whole lot of it to kill any that may be in there?

Cheers!
Aurora

[Zilla]

I suppose it would depend on the species of snail.

There is a article in the August edition of Tropical Fish Magazine about Malaysian Trumpet Snails and how they can survive through drought and other enviroments. They get into filters, power heads, ect.. Yuck!

Yes it's possible and how you deal with it is up to you. You could use bleach but you have to make sure you get all the egg sacs which are hard to see as they are clear and jelly-like.

The alternative is to do create a snail trap to see if you have more than just a few. Before lights out, place a piece of lettuce or some other type of veggieon the bottom of the tank then cover it with a small dish. In the morning, gently lift the dish and there should be snails grazing on the bait that was left the night before. If your tank is infested with them, you should have lots of snails which can then be tossed in the trash. Repeat cycle as often as needed.

Did you have snails in your tank before or did you recently add plants that had hitchhikers?

[LadyHatred]

Thanks for the reply. :)

I haven't bought any plants. The substrate came with a tank I bought a week ago off Craigslist.

I may just boil all the gravel just in case. I have no idea what kind of snail this is, its white and tinsy tiny. I also noticed that the rather large green shell that was in there is missing. I put it on top of the driftwood yesterday and it's vanished. lol There are no fish or heater or filters on the tank. Just water and decor.

[MrJim]

Maybe ya should save at least one, grow it out and see what it is~~might be some rare alien snail from Saturn or somethin'...

[Zilla]

Since there are no fish in the tank, I'd say have it and make sure they're gone before you add fish, if that's what you're going to do.