Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I posted earlier about some wiild tilapia I caught and the strange teardrops appearing on the bottom of the tank. I was able to siphon a couple of the teardrops and behold they were small snail shells, no snails alive I could see, just the shells. Did the tilapia I catch eat a bunch of snails before I caught them, then eliminated their shells?
I was going to release the fish into my big tank today, but now I'm worried that these snails may be a parasite? I caught one of the bigger tilapia and checked it out closely and didn't see any snails externally on its skin, gills or in its mouth. I've sucked up 20 or so of the snails and I haven't seen any of them move so I assume they are dead.
Did the tilapia just eat the snail and poo the shell out?
I'm worried about putting them into my tank and getting a snail outbreak, but I don't think they are alive. Can snails live inside fish as a parasite?
So for now they are still cramped in their 10 gallon tank. I'm going to try and clean all the shells out today and see if any more appear.
Boy I sure do wish I could find a source of farmed fish to use, but I'm at wits ends till I fly over to Oahu where I have several contacts for fish. Getting them on the plane over here will be another story (TSA 3oz liquid limit), but I'm trying to get up and running.

Peace,
Cory

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the snails. I've had lots of snails in my system but other than clogging pump filters or traps, they haven't caused any problems. I think my catfish eat them happily and I don't seem to have nearly as many snails now as I used to.

Fresh water snails can be a host for worms that will eventually infect your fish if they are carriers.
http://www.dunnsfishfarm.com/redear.htm
Dunns sell these fish for the purpose of keeping snail numbers down to help break the worms life cycle.