how i got newborn cone snails in my fresh water tank?

Question
I have a 10 gallon tank holding 3 silver dollar fishs and 3 daino fishs. I found this morning 9 tiny cone snails on the side of the tank and few on the bottom. Where or how did I get them? All the fishs were bought at the Petco store. Is this some kind of infections and or should I be worried? I noticed they're eating the orange stuff off the glass inside.I have had the silver dollar for 3 years now and the others I just got them in Jan. Could you give me an idea how or where I got it and why may have gotten them in there?

Answer
Hi Cindy,
Sounds like you have Malaysian trumpet snails in your tank. the are small cone-shaped snails that frequent get into your aquarium by means of hitchhiking along with fish bag water or aquatic plants. They are no cause for concern, they are helpful little animals, scavenging for bits of food and nibbling algae as they crawl along. They also spend a lot of time in the gravel also.

Sometimes Malaysian trumpets can overpopulate a tank with their numbers but even then they aren't much of a severe problem. The easiest way to control their population is to make sure there isn't any leftover food in your aquarium that could feed the snails and cause a population boom.

But otherwise they are helpful little critters that can help balance a tank although just make sure you keep up with your regular frequent water changes w/ gravel vaccumings.

For more info about these snails and pictures you can read here-
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug,%20Snails,%20Malaysian%20Trumpet.htm

Best wishes,
Karen~