# Does a snail tank need a filter?



## Rainbo

4 tiny snails sneaked into my house when I got my MTS, these tiny things were not MTS so they did not get placed in my aquarium. Instead, I placed them in a 32 oz Rubbermaid container with some gravel, a few aquarium plants, and treated water, then wished them good luck because the water is not heated. I wrap the container at night to try and maintain the temperature of the water and not have it drop too much.

2 weeks later and 3 of the snails are still living. One got thrown out because he played dead by floating on top of the water, I didn't learn that he probably hadn't died till 2 of the others pulled the same stunt... Anyway, I want to move them to a larger tank, one that's heated, but really don't want to bother with a filter unless I have to. 

Do snails require a filter? I don't mind doing water changes, I already do them with the container I have them in. I do plan on putting some plants in there with them to help a bit with the water quality.


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## ryry2012

They don't need a filter. I had extra salvinia minima in a 2 gallon container for a couple of months. I changed water only twice. Bladder snails were doing fine and reproducing there.


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## Rainbo

ryry2012 said:


> They don't need a filter. I had extra salvinia minima in a 2 gallon container for a couple of months. I changed water only twice. Bladder snails were doing fine and reproducing there.



Thanks! 

I think 2 of these are ramshorns, and I suspect that the 3rd is a bladder snail. In another week maybe they will be big enough for me to tell for sure. When they first got here they were around the size of an NLS pellet.

As long as they are not in my main tank they can reproduce till their hearts are content.


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## ryry2012

Ramshorns are the best algae cleaners...!! They reproduce pretty fast, but it's easy to spot babies. I prefer them to nerite.


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## Rainbo

Looks like all of the little guys are ramshorns and they are growing like weeds, I can't believe how fast they've grown! One's a pale color, the shell's still mostly translucent, with a red body, they other two are speckled with dark bodies. They are neat little things and seem to enjoy gliding across the top of the water.

I'll be getting them a 1.5 gal tank in a few more days, but am going to have to wait for the heater till next month. At least the larger body of water will cut down on temperature fluctuations and I'll continue to wrap the tank at night to further cut down on them. Now to decide if I want to put soil in the tank in case I need a place to put excess MTS or to just do gravel....


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## Rainbo

Since the Ramshorn trio seems to be outgrowing their Rubbermaid home I've ordered them a new tank and it should be here either Sat, or Mon. This is the tank I choose for them https://www.chewy.com/tetra-betta-led-half-moon-kit-11/dp/132406 , and I'll get them a heater next month, I'm not in that big of a hurry considering they've not only been living without a heater for a month now but seem to be thriving. 

I know it's not the best tank but considering their current home it'll be an improvement. I may eventually get them a 3 gal, and keep this one gal one for a hospital tank.


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## ryry2012

You are going to spoil them  


If you can get moss or plants like hornwort, they will to be very happy. You can keep them floating. Don't worry about getting a heater any time soon. I got my ramshorns from ColledgeBettas. She said they had been in a tank without a heater and survived the winter.


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## Rainbo

ryry2012 said:


> You are going to spoil them
> 
> 
> If you can get moss or plants like hornwort, they will to be very happy. You can keep them floating. Don't worry about getting a heater any time soon. I got my ramshorns from ColledgeBettas. She said they had been in a tank without a heater and survived the winter.


I think they're already a bit spoiled, they have gravel in the rubbermaid container along with some pieces of anacharis and some guppy weed. When they were tiny I figured they'd appreciate the cover the plants provided.


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## Rainbo

Well the trio's new tank got here and they are happily moved in. Now to see how long they remain a trio LOL.

Here's some pictures of them and their new tank along with a "baby" picture. They've grown so much in only a month!

1st picture is the baby picture, second picture is of 2 of them from today the third is hiding in the anacharis, and the 3rd picture is the whole tank.


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## Aqua Aurora

Oo blue ramshorns nice. if you can breed them people will pay for the babies-Blues are less common than the pink or brown ramshorns.
'Pest'snails like bladder, pond, ramshorn, and malasian trumpet snails are all pretty indestructible, which is why they're considered 'pests'


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## Rainbo

My trio is soon going to become a herd. In case anyone is wondering it takes, at maximum, a month for ramshorns snails to go from teeny, tiny, babies to adults capable of reproducing. 

When I did a water change today to get rid of white floating strings I spotted 3 clutches of eggs stuck to the side of the aquarium which were not there when I did a water change yesterday, and another clutch stuck to one of the anacharis. I got rid of 2 of the clutches on the side of the glass and left the other two. 

Now I'm wondering how long it'll take the eggs to hatch?


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## DianeA7X

It doesn't take too long for them to hatch. I haven't had ramshorn snails in maybe 3 or 4 years so I don't remember how long it was before they hatched but don't think it took too long either. Since I got assassin snails I haven't had ramshorn. Been over 2 years since I last saw them and had my assassin snails. Yes they are surviving this long without any pest snails. Mind sending some my way? lol.


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## poisonousgiraffe

DianeA7X said:


> It doesn't take too long for them to hatch. I haven't had ramshorn snails in maybe 3 or 4 years so I don't remember how long it was before they hatched but don't think it took too long either. Since I got assassin snails I haven't had ramshorn. Been over 2 years since I last saw them and had my assassin snails. Yes they are surviving this long without any pest snails. Mind sending some my way? lol.


Diane, if you really want some ramshorns, I can send you some of mine. I also got hitchhikers on some plants in my 20 gallon, and the population recently exploded. The tank doesn't have any algae, but they've started on my plants because they're still hungry I've been pulling them out and putting them in a five gallon bucket with water I siphoned during a water change, and I kind of don't know what to do with them.


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## DianeA7X

poisonousgiraffe said:


> Diane, if you really want some ramshorns, I can send you some of mine. I also got hitchhikers on some plants in my 20 gallon, and the population recently exploded. The tank doesn't have any algae, but they've started on my plants because they're still hungry I've been pulling them out and putting them in a five gallon bucket with water I siphoned during a water change, and I kind of don't know what to do with them.


Sure. =)


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