Tiny shells on my tank wall?

[Banicks]

G'Day all,

I have started to notice tiny tiny shells on my tank walls. Sometimes they're there, other times I can't see any.

I had a look for pictures, and the closet shell aesthetic I could find is the image below.



Does anyone know what these are?

[audjree]

those are most likely snails. do you have any live plants? i've heard stories where snails usually hitch a ride on plants people bring home.

most people squish them if they're small enough during a water change, but you can keep a couple for your tank. usually, they can take over a tank because they populate so quickly, so it's best to control them as best you can.

[Banicks]

Ah yes, I have an Anubias on driftwood from my fish store. They must have hitched on in that way.

I shall keep an eye on them. At the moment they are hardly even the thickness of my fingernail, would keeping a few assist a cycle? What will the negatives be when they start to populate - ammonia increase?

[Micho]

Yeah like audjree said if you bought new plants, they probably hitch hiked from the plants. :>

[Princess Penny]

Originally Posted by Banicks

What will the negatives be when they start to populate - ammonia increase?

I would imagine so. I think that rinsing plants you buy from the store when you get home before putting them in your tank is supposed to help keep little hitchhikers from getting in, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Can't imagine it would hurt the plant though, unless the water was really hot or you have really hard water or something.

[Sakura8]

Another negative is just that you'll end up with so dang many. Hitchiker snails can breed asexually so all it take is one to make 20 in a matter of weeks.

[Princess Penny]

^ Yikes, that is crazy. Attack of the snails!!! XD

[Sakura8]

Yup! They're insane that way. Little tiny shells moving up and down the tank walls. If you have natural colored gravel like I once did, you can't even tell they're snails until they start moving. But then they get bigger and breed and breed and breed . . .

[GreenTea]

nightmare mode..

[BlakbirdxGyarados]

About half my bettas will actually eat those tiny snails. Not the shell, but the squishy part of the animal... Jade swallows the shell whole, sort of moves it around inside his mouth a bit, then spits it back out empty.

The times you don't see them might be when your betta just up and chomped a few. When they go up the glass at the water line, they just look like little betta pellets.