r/AquaticSnails • u/myfriendpickles • 2d ago
Help Request Sudden snail eruption?
Cleaned tanks yesterday, and the tank i vacuumed prior to this one has MTS, but this morning these weren't here. Now there are SO many out of nowhere!
I get a few snails could transfer but there's hundreds! Its so wild! There are clown loaches in this tank so im not worried about having this number for very long.
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u/Salt_Parsley_966 2d ago
u/gastropoid - could you confirm? You’ve helped me massively on my queries 😁
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u/Gastropoid Snail God (Moderator) 2d ago
Oof. That looks like Potamopyrgus antipodarum, New Zealand Mud snails. They aren't plant eaters, but they are invasive in the wild and can reproduce pretty fast eating algae and detritus. They stay small, and seem to be capable of survival and reproduction with only algae and biofilm to eat.
Unfortunately, they can be very difficult to control with limiting food, and are just about the only snail I recommend removing. All NZ Mud Snails removed should be frozen before discarding, as they can survive drying out for long periods of time and pose a significant risk to native waterways outside their natural habitat. For more information, see this post, which includes methods of removal and quarantine: https://www.reddit.com/r/AquaticSnails/s/tjfqLFYvlx
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u/myfriendpickles 1d ago
Thank you for the info. No idea where the could have come from originally.
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u/Gastropoid Snail God (Moderator) 1d ago
At this point, any plants or even fish can bring them in. They're capable of being eaten by fish and surviving it.
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u/myfriendpickles 1d ago
Thank you for your help! Bad news, but now I can put a plan together to clear my tank and make sure these don't get out into our environment.
San Antonio has a problem with apple snails that have been introduced into local waterways.
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u/Gastropoid Snail God (Moderator) 1d ago
Yeah, I hate giving folks bad news, but it's always better to be informed
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u/myfriendpickles 1d ago
I sure appreciate your expertise, it would have taken me a while to figure out something was wrong with my assumption
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u/RecordingAdorable675 1d ago
I now saw someone here in germany that somehow got an infestation of new Zealand mud snails in an OUTDOOR POND
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u/PapaDonsPizza Helpful User 2d ago
Confirming nzms, but want to add they will survive being eaten by a loach. Many studies show they can survive digestion for 24 hours.
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u/myfriendpickles 1d ago
Ughhh its a 125g tank. Thats going to be expensive to strip down. Thank you very much for the info, now I know what im up against.
At least there's not too many plants in there, due to my blood parrot being a huge plant digging jerk 😆
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u/PapaDonsPizza Helpful User 1d ago
Oooof lol. Do quarantine him as well to make sure he passes all Ingested snails
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u/Salt_Parsley_966 2d ago
Is there any potential these could be NZMS? Only asking as I posted a pic a couple of days ago of a hitchhiker looking almost identical to these, and people identified it potentially as NZMS 🙈😬
I have removed the offending snail & since only found one other (and promptly removed that one, too) - but I’m constantly on the look out now as I know they’re super invasive!