Snails, yes or no?

[Pati O’Pond]

I’m pondering the possibility of snails for my pond but there are so many factors. Is my pond too small? I don’t know how many gallons it is but it’s not big at all. Are pond snails relatively simple to care for? For example, fish care is too for me so anything below that I find acceptable. How many individual snails is a good start and where is a good source to buy them? Thank you for your responses!

 

[Souper09]

My pond has snails and it’s my third year with snails, Japanese Trapdoor snails, I got them for cleaning up some of the pond debris and just to add something more to the pond. They must hibernate in the winter, the first year I thought they had died because of the pond freezing over. This year on April 8th I had my first sighting of a couple of snails. The fish don’t seem to bother them, they just move around the vertical stones.

 

[sissy]

my koi ate them but snce you have no fish to control the population they may take over . My neighbor in her small water garden with no fish has 2 oysters and 2 clams and they clean the waer . I gave her my preformed pond that i had because she wanted a pond but no fish . The oysters and clams seem to be doing a pretty good job cleaning the pond water . I suggested them after watching a nat geo video on youtube about clams and oyster cleaning the oceans and read that that yu can raise fresh water ones as long as the water stays cool . Her pond is in shade almost all day , but the ground here is cool yet so not sure how they will do once it really gets hot outside . She does have a small fish tank areator I gave her also . The more air you add to a pond the better you are .You jusst need tp protect the aerator from rain and heat . I have always added extra air to my pond and water is clear . The fish in the pick is opver 5 feet down in the pond and the liner is covered by beneficial bacteria . Pond is 6 feet deep where he is at . The preformed I gave Janey is only about 2 feet deep . I grew up on a farm and we used air in our rain barrels to make manure tea for our farm to make the farm organic . I still use the same here on my yard and gardens and veggies . No chemicals for me ever and yard and trees doing great . I had a house and dirt in 2004 when I had the modular house put on my property . Basement held me up for a month and house got here to the dealer before the basement got finished . 3 acres of dirt and a house

 

[sissy]

The snais do good in ponds but not sure about a self contained water feature where water may get too hot . I retired to VA from NJ in 2004 after ford plant closed and I love it . 12 thousand a year taxes in NJ on 1 acre and have over 3 acres in VA and pay just over a thousand dollars here . Over 1/4 acre wooded and rest was cleared when I bought all 3 lots for 15 thousand . My only regret is my 1 son and my friends still live in NJ and I miss them

My pond has snails and it’s my third year with snails, Japanese Trapdoor snails, I got them for cleaning up some of the pond debris and just to add something more to the pond. They must hibernate in the winter, the first year I thought they had died because of the pond freezing over. This year on April 8th I had my first sighting of a couple of snails. The fish don’t seem to bother them, they just move around the vertical stones.

 

[Pati O’Pond]

My pond has snails and it’s my third year with snails, Japanese Trapdoor snails, I got them for cleaning up some of the pond debris and just to add something more to the pond. They must hibernate in the winter, the first year I thought they had died because of the pond freezing over. This year on April 8th I had my first sighting of a couple of snails. The fish don’t seem to bother them, they just move around the vertical stones.

Interesting! Do you feed the snails anything extra? Do they stink when they die? I have no fish myself, but it seems like snails are lower maintenance.

 

[Pati O’Pond]

my koi ate them but snce you have no fish to control the population they may take over . My neighbor in her small water garden with no fish has 2 oysters and 2 clams and they clean the waer . I gave her my preformed pond that i had because she wanted a pond but no fish . The oysters and clams seem to be doing a pretty good job cleaning the pond water . I suggested them after watching a nat geo video on youtube about clams and oyster cleaning the oceans and read that that yu can raise fresh water ones as long as the water stays cool . Her pond is in shade almost all day , but the ground here is cool yet so not sure how they will do once it really gets hot outside . She does have a small fish tank areator I gave her also . The more air you add to a pond the better you are .You jusst need tp protect the aerator from rain and heat . I have always added extra air to my pond and water is clear . The fish in the pick is opver 5 feet down in the pond and the liner is covered by beneficial bacteria . Pond is 6 feet deep where he is at . The preformed I gave Janey is only about 2 feet deep . I grew up on a farm and we used air in our rain barrels to make manure tea for our farm to make the farm organic . I still use the same here on my yard and gardens and veggies . No chemicals for me ever and yard and trees doing great . I had a house and dirt in 2004 when I had the modular house put on my property . Basement held me up for a month and house got here to the dealer before the basement got finished . 3 acres of dirt and a house

What a cool idea! I’m in RI so shellfish would be such a cute choice! I’ve been trying to keep the pond as Rhode Islandy as possibly so that there can be no chance of an invasive species incident. Not only that, but I think my pond stays relatively cool because I have it under an umbrella in the afternoon and gets some time with the morning sun. The only thing is that getting an air pump in there would be difficult because it’s sort of far away from the outlet on our patio.
What a gorgeous fishie! Thank you so much for responding. I’m so excited to about looking into freshwater clams and/or muscles!

 

[Pati O’Pond]

The snais do good in ponds but not sure about a self contained water feature where water may get too hot . I retired to VA from NJ in 2004 after ford plant closed and I love it . 12 thousand a year taxes in NJ on 1 acre and have over 3 acres in VA and pay just over a thousand dollars here . Over 1/4 acre wooded and rest was cleared when I bought all 3 lots for 15 thousand . My only regret is my 1 son and my friends still live in NJ and I miss them

I’m going to get a little thermometer and attach it to a string so I can find out the temperature. Maybe I can find one that looks like a little anchor! Or a lobster pot!

 

[sissy]

They have those types of thermometers at lowes hardware and even walmart . I saw something like that on ebay also . They have some really cute ones on ebay

 

[mrsclem]

I had closed out one of my koi ponds and converted it to a lily only pond. Within a few months, small snails had totally destroyed over half the lilies. I added a couple of gold fish. Snails are gone but now I have an over population of goldfish!

 

[Pati O’Pond]

I had closed out one of my koi ponds and converted it to a lily only pond. Within a few months, small snails had totally destroyed over half the lilies. I added a couple of gold fish. Snails are gone but now I have an over population of goldfish!

Your pond must be incredibly nutrient rich!

 

[Pati O’Pond]

They have those types of thermometers at lowes hardware and even walmart . I saw something like that on ebay also . They have some really cute ones on ebay

Yay! Thank you!

 

[Mgessert]

There are solar powered aerators that might work for your pond.

 

[Pati O’Pond]

There are solar powered aerators that might work for your pond.

Really?? Even for little tiny ponds? That’s fantastic, thank you!

 

[Mgessert]

Here’s one I got from Amazon.

Solar Air Pump，2.5W Solar Oxygen Air Fountain Pump with Air Bubble Stones , 3 Modes Solar Powered Air Pump Kit​

 

[Pati O’Pond]

Thank you so much!