Helper FishyMandy Posted March 7, 2016 Helper Share Posted March 7, 2016 They have made themselves at home in my pond..seem to spend most of their time just above the surface on the edge or floating around on the frogbit. I think they are pretty... Anyone know what they are? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helper Arctic Mama Posted March 7, 2016 Helper Share Posted March 7, 2016 Little pond snails. They breed like crazy and are considered pests in tanks but they're quite helpful to an outdoor pond ecosystem and harmless to plants by and large. They're just unsightly on glass. Some species of pond snail, especially the ramshorn/spiral shelled ones that are tiny, tend to eat foliage and cause damage. But this particular type I've only ever seen settle on decaying matter and fish food. Cool fact - I had a few albino ones in with the initial set of hitchhikers in a two gallon nano tank of mine. Within a few months almost half the snail population (about 200 if I had to guess, it was infested and I didn't exterminate them) were albinos. It was a betta tank with plants and the snails hurt nothing, but watching changes in their shell shape and overall morphology in a few generations of breeding recessive individuals in a limited gene pool was super neat! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helper Arctic Mama Posted March 7, 2016 Helper Share Posted March 7, 2016 http://www.molluscs.at/gastropoda/index.html?/gastropoda/freshwater/lymnaea.html 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helper FishyMandy Posted March 7, 2016 Author Helper Share Posted March 7, 2016 Cool! The other Pond snails I'd seen looked a lot different and smaller to these so I wasn't sure! I've seen a few in there that look like ramshorns as well. I love snails so I'm find with them making their home there lol 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Daniel Posted March 7, 2016 Regular Member Share Posted March 7, 2016 Any local waterways nearby, Mandy? The pond snails in my tank are different to the ones in our garden fountain. They resemble the ones I've seen nearby in local creeks and lakes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helper FishyMandy Posted March 7, 2016 Author Helper Share Posted March 7, 2016 Hmm the closest I think is about 5-10min drive away. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter Daniel E. Posted March 7, 2016 Supporter Share Posted March 7, 2016 Little pond snails. They breed like crazy and are considered pests in tanks but they're quite helpful to an outdoor pond ecosystem and harmless to plants by and large. They're just unsightly on glass. Some species of pond snail, especially the ramshorn/spiral shelled ones that are tiny, tend to eat foliage and cause damage. But this particular type I've only ever seen settle on decaying matter and fish food. Cool fact - I had a few albino ones in with the initial set of hitchhikers in a two gallon nano tank of mine. Within a few months almost half the snail population (about 200 if I had to guess, it was infested and I didn't exterminate them) were albinos. It was a betta tank with plants and the snails hurt nothing, but watching changes in their shell shape and overall morphology in a few generations of breeding recessive individuals in a limited gene pool was super neat! You would not still have any of these would you? I'd love to see a pic. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helper Arctic Mama Posted March 7, 2016 Helper Share Posted March 7, 2016 I'm sorry! I nuked that tank a few months ago and didn't keep anything from it. I wish I'd thought to take some pictures at least! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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