Help!!! My tank is infested with ?????

[dwoon]

Hi All,

My 2 months old tank has started growing some whitish spots on the glass some 2 weeks back. It has been getting worse and I now realise that they are also growing on my moss and plants.

Could somebody kindly advise me as to what it is and how to get rid of it. My last hope is to overhaul the tank and start afresh but am afraid for my shrimps should I put them into the pail for an extended period while cycling the newly setup water for a couple of weeks.

Would appreciate if I could get some feedback or advise whether this can be treated with medicine. That would be the best as my current water need not be wasted and I need not to completely overhaul the tank and start afresh.

BTW, these spots can be easily dislodged by wiping and they will float and be suspended in the water.

Attached are some pics.

Thanks & regards.

[Justikanz]

Looks like ramshorn or pouch snail eggs, I think!... You have snails in the tank now? Just wipe them off, unless you want a lot of snails...

[dwoon]

But I don't really have that many snails in my tank to begin with. I mean these white spots/patches are really alot. What I've shown is only a small section for close up. I only have the occasional small little bugger to get rid of.

you sure they're snail eggs?

[Justikanz]

They do look like snail eggs from the photos... Do you have a better resolution pic? To confirm they are eggs, feel them with your hands... There should be a jelly like substance surrounding the eggs and the eggs should have a black/dark center. The center should turn pale and then you should be able to see the snail shells forming before they hatch... But they are rather tiny... The eggs are also in clusters of about 10-20 eggs per cluster...

[dwoon]

I just tried touching them. They don't feel slimey though they do look jelly like.

There doesn't seem to be any black or dark centre. And there's probably hundreds of them spots/patches all over the tank walls and on my plants.

So far, no outburst of snails except for the 2 or 3 I caught the other day.

Does that mean I'm expecting a sudden influx of snails?

Here's a larger pic which hopefully you can see better.

Thanks.

BTW, if indeed they are snail eggs, how to get rid of them?

[Justikanz]

Hmm... How do they feel? They should been rather hard, but can be pressed down if pressed hard and they should break off into the water. The eggs should have a center. If they are eggs, yes, you will soon have a lot of snails...

Alternatively, they could be fungi... But seriously, I had never seen fungi growing on glass... If they are fungi, there should be some hair like stuff...

Wait for a week or two and you should be able to confirm whether they are snail eggs... Do you have shrimps? If they are snail eggs, you can just wipe them off, making sure to destroy each egg... Please remove them physically from the tank. If you have no shrimps, you can purchase those snail killing stuff sold in LFS...

Btw, what fish do you have in your tank?

[dwoon]

Its a shrimp tank I have there.

No, the jelly bits are not hard at all. In fact, when I pressed onto a few, I could hardly feel anything.

No hair like stuff, but if you look at the pics i've posted. (Click to enlarge) You'll see that they are formed with little fragements that form some pattern.

oh well........ its already 2 to 3 weeks since they formed. How long does the snails take to hatch?

[Justikanz]

You should not be able to feel much in water but should be able to feel something when out of water... Not too sure how long they will hatch but I doubt they take more than a month...

Anyway, when the more experienced guys are online tomorrow, they might be able to provide more insights...

But I would still say they are snail eggs...

[vinz]

I can't be sure, but sure looks and sounds like snail eggs to me too. Well... any meds/chems that kill snails will kill shrimp too, so the best bet is small snail eating fish. I'm wondering if otos would clean that off... the jelly substances is probably pretty yucky tasting. Get 2 to 4 otos for that tank.

If that does not work, try getting a few small chain loaches... they'll polish off the baby snails when they hatch.

The otos and chain loaches shouldn't bother the shrimp... but if you intend to breed the shrimps, remove the fishes once the snail problem is over because they'll prey on the baby shrimps too.

[dwoon]

Wah lau... so many diagnosed as snail eggs.

Would it be simpler to overhaul the tank then? Take out all shrimps and plants.

Basically start afresh.

[whoosh]

Fastest way:

Take out livestocks and put them in pail, drain some tank water but be sure to remove the whitish stuff. Boil a pot of water and pour into tank, wait for it to cool down then remove water. Put back livestock and walah all solved.

[Justikanz]

Dun need so drastic lah...

I would say snails are not really harmful... As long as their population is controlled and they dun grow out of hand... The ramshorn snails actually look good when they grow big... The snails will help you to finish whatever your shrimps can't...

Try to manually remove as many of the eggs as possible. If there are too many adults, you might wanna consider adding predators but that would mean you have to remove them when the snail population is controlled or else they will feast on your shrimplets...

[vinz]

Fastest way:

Take out livestocks and put them in pail, drain some tank water but be sure to remove the whitish stuff. Boil a pot of water and pour into tank, wait for it to cool down then remove water. Put back livestock and walah all solved.

Errr... what about the plants? Veggie soup?

If you remove the plants too, then when you put back the plants the snails that were hiding in them will lay some more eggs.

[vinz]

Wah lau... so many diagnosed as snail eggs.

Would it be simpler to overhaul the tank then? Take out all shrimps and plants.

Basically start afresh.

The simple answer has been given... put in some fishes to eat up the snail population.

I wanted to suggest a dwarf puffer, but I'm not sure what it'll do to the shrimps. Some of the other members may know if it is compatible. That fish will wipe out the snail population... but you must remove it after that.

[dwoon]

But I've no snails at all.......... at least not yet if those are snail eggs....... puffer can eat those jello stuff?

[vinz]

If you have no snails, those can't be snail eggs. They don't grow on their own. An adult snail must lay them. Are you sure you have no snails? The usually hide in the day and come out at night.

On the other hand, if there are so few snails that you can't see any at all, I don't see how those few snails can lay so much eggs.

So, our diagnosis may be wrong. Well, if it's not harming your plants now shrimps and is nothing more then a eyesore then leave the tank be at the moment. Just clean them off and then siphon/net out any that floats in the water. In the meantime, let's see if you/we can figure out what they are, then attack the root cause.

To avoid them staying in the water when you clean them, drain 3/4 of the water first. Then wipe them off the glass. If you save the water in a pail, you can always put back some, so that you don't shock the shrimp with too much tap water.

[vinz]

Ehhh... was re-readind the thread... I'm not sure if you understood Justikanz description of snail eggs correctly. Just to be sure...

Each cluster of white spots should be encased in a single "dome" of transparent jelly. It is visible to the eye on close inspection. It's like frogs eggs, except there are many white embryos in them instead of one black one, and it's flat half sphere stuck to the wall. If they match this description, then it's a good chance it's snail eggs... or something similar to snails.

Try to check on the tank after lights out. Or switch off the lights early. See if you can spot more snails.

Are you feeding the tank?

What plants do you have in there other then moss? How big is the tank? What's your normal water change?

[Justikanz]

I would say observe them for a week or so more... And like Vinz says, observe after lights out... There can't be snail eggs if there are no snails... And let us know more of your tank...

If they are not harming your system/animals now, it is ok to wait and see rather than do something drastic without knowing what is wrong or worse... do something wrong!...

Cheers!

[dwoon]

Thanks for all the advise. My tank is 1.5 x 1.25 x 1.8ft. It has mini moss and errr....... dunno what sorta plants. Maybe will take a pic later and post. Yes, I feed the shrimps algae wafer. Got more & more slug like worms as well as those very thin thread like worms that squirm like mosquito larvae. Some mites as well.

Have not seen any snails when lights are off. Those 2 to 3 snails I took out some 3 weeks back were about only 1mm in size. Don't think they were adults. The patches are something like a half dome though yet not exactly as its not pronounced....... not sure if those dots are the white embroyos you refer to but if they are, must be at least some 50 to 60 in one dome/patch.

ok, will continue to monitor first. After all, they've been there for 3 weeks or so now and does not seem to harm my shrimps.

ANy idea how long does the eggs take to hatch? If its quite fast, then unlikely to be snails as 3 weeks now and they've not hatched.

[vinz]

Slug like worms... could be planaria. Planaria is not a good thing to have. Search the forum for more info to id them and how to deal with them.

I'm searching the web for images of planaria eggs, but no results. Only helpful detail is that the eggs are in capsules and takes weeks to hatch.

Worms in your tank is generally a sign of excessive food.. especially planaria. I suggest you stop feeding completely until the worms dissappear. The shrimp will find plenty to eat amongst the plants, there's no real need to feed them much. The planaria and other worms should disappear quickly. Put in a few small fishes like small tetras or dwarf gouramis (sparking is a nice one)... they'll get rid of the other worms real quick too. Clean the glass as I described to remove as much of those eggs as possible.

If you intend to breed the shrimp, once the worms dissappear, get rid of the fishes else the baby shrimps will become fish food.