How Fast Do Snails Breed

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ProjectMayhem

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Tank is currently a 125l has 5 live plants.

Fish are 1 Clown Tiger Pleco, 4 x Danios, 1 currently severely injured.

I noticed a snail in my tank today, all the plants were washed very well before putting them into my tank after the first 2 days of set ups. So the snails would have had to survive a massive ammonia spike up at nearly 12. Since seeing the first snail I have seen 2 more. I've read they're very good for keeping the tank clean so I'm happy to keep them in, however I will only be slowly introducing fish and adding 2 clown loaches is way down on my list.

How quick do snails breed, a rough estimate on days, I will be putting in 2 loaches to keep their population in check while having enough of them to keep the tank clean.
 
Your tank's too small for clown loaches, and all loaches are social fish that need to be in shoals.

If you're not overfeeding, you won't have a snail problem; it's as simple as that.
 
Your tank's too small for clown loaches, and all loaches are social fish that need to be in shoals.

If you're not overfeeding, you won't have a snail problem; it's as simple as that.

That doesn't answer the question I asked, I'm only interested in how fast they breed, google has too many different answers.
 
Sorry :blush:

What kind of snails are they?
 
Sorry :blush:

What kind of snails are they?

Bladder snails, well they look like bladder snails, pointy shell spotted with long antenna. By the way the plants were bought from Pets At Home where it said the plants were treated for "hitch hikers" as a warning, this proves they're not.
 
Ah, well, I like snails! I have bladder, ramshorns, MTS and apples :D I just found out today that we have a P@H opened up near us; so I'll have to have pootle along (I've never been to one!)

Bladder snails, like most egg layers, produce something like 50 to 80 eggs a month
 
It really depends on their food source. As mentioned above, the more you feed (or overfeed) the tank, the more they will reproduce.

Secondly, I'd agree with not putting clown loaches in there. They need to be kept in groups and they WILL reach a foot long.... Cute now, HUGE later. Lol

That being said, lots of fish will eat baby snails. My cichlids eat them all the time.
 
Had this issue with loaches myself. I wanted 6 in my 16 gal. Only FM stopped me, as the lfs said they dont get much bigger than they were in the shop (3 inches)

Turns out the 6 i nearly bought would have been packed like sardines in a tin within 6 months!

I just found out today that we have a P@H opened up near us; so I'll have to have pootle along (I've never been to one!)

The Basingstoke one only seems to stock floating fish, and the plants are all dead.....

Equipment is pricey too. I wouldnt mind if the staff knew what they were talking about when they tried to sell me it. I wasnt aware a protein skimmer was necessary for a tropical aquarium? Ha!
 
These loaches won't grow bigger than 5 inches, they've been bread to be small, if they did I have a 90 gallon tank which could rehome them.

How many snails should I have before I introduce 2 clown loaches, I want them to eat the snails but not completely eradicate them.
 
Never introduce fish to solve a snail problem. You'll still have to feed them a proper diet of sinking tablets, etc. You're just needlessly adding to the tank bioload. Clown loaches must be in groups (2 isn't a group, 6+ is) and your tank is too small. If you've been told they've been bred to be small, someone is willing to tell you anything to sell them.

If you want to control your snails, try an assassin snail. I have three as very effective population control. But the biggest cause of snails is overfeeding the tank, which does no good.
 
I have 5 MTS and as far as I can tell they haven't reproduced at all in 1 and a half months.
 
If you've been told they've been bred to be small, someone is willing to tell you anything to sell them.
+1!
'Bred to be small' :rolleyes:
 
The breeding pair they came from are 10 years old and 5 inches so pretty convincing but as I say I have a bigger tank which can re-house them. Remember I don't want to eradicate the snails they can do a better job cleaning the substrate than my gravel vac, I just want the population controlled. Theres also only 5 fish in the tank 4 of which are danios, theres no risk of overloading because I only put fish in 2 at a time anyway, also the one who said I'd still have to feed them, I didn't intend to stop feeding them :p, the snails would just be a treat.

I now have 4 snails, they're just popping up lol.

Does anyone have a tank with snails and loaches which doesn't have an overload of snails and no eradication?
 
The breeding pair they came from are 10 years old and 5 inches so pretty convincing
I think you'll find that's called stunting, not 'bred to stay small'; there's just no such thing as a loach that's been bred to stay small. As far as I am aware there's only ever been one or two instances of clown loach breeding in aquaria; I have a feeling somene's having you on...

but as I say I have a bigger tank which can re-house them.
Even a 90g isn't big enough; you need a 125g/ 5'x2'x2' minimum.

Remember I don't want to eradicate the snails they can do a better job cleaning the substrate than my gravel vac, I just want the population controlled.
It's easy to trap them and take them out if you get too many, but if you don't overfeed that won't happen anyway, you'll get just a good amount for your particular set-up.

Theres also only 5 fish in the tank 4 of which are danios, theres no risk of overloading because I only put fish in 2 at a time anyway, also the one who said I'd still have to feed them, I didn't intend to stop feeding them :p, the snails would just be a treat.
Had you thought about a shoal of zebra loach Botia striata? They can easily fit in a tank you size and they do a great job of eating snails. Far more suitable for your set up, I would have thought.

Does anyone have a tank with snails and loaches which doesn't have an overload of snails and no eradication?
I'm not sure what that sentence means :crazy:
 

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