Clean up crew

[Meg0000]

Hi tomorrow I am going to my LFS and I would like to get some type of clean up crew because one of my two nerite died. I would like something that can eat dead leaves and fish poop. Would ramshorn snail be a good idea and how many? I would have got shrimp but I have a paradise fish that would eat them. (It is a 10 gallon aquarium)

 

[TheTenthDoctor]

Personally I like ramshorn snails I’d get about 4 to start with they will multiply fast and you can weed them out when that happens

 

[Guppy10]

Yes yes.rams horns and Mts malasian trumpet snails breed like mad but Mts are nocturnal n burry themselves so they provide a natural way to irrigate. yr substrate. Nerites are great if you want to see the cleaning guys. If not then by a pack of Mts x10 ramsx10 for cheap or see local shop n they woul give them away. My choice would be more nerites, tho the trumpets do a great job tho look boring.

 

[Meg0000]

Personally I like ramshorn snails I’d get about 4 to start with they will multiply fast and you can weed them out when that happens

Great, I also think 4 would be good to start with

 

[Meg0000]

Yes yes.rams horns and Mts malasian trumpet snails breed like mad but Mts are nocturnal n burry themselves so they provide a natural way to irrigate. yr substrate. Nerites are great if you want to see the cleaning guys. If not then by a pack of Mts x10 ramsx10 for cheap or see local shop n they woul give them away. My choice would be more nerites, tho the trumpets do a great job tho look boring.

I love nerites but they don't eat decaying things so that is why I tought ramshorn might be good. If I can get another color of nerite at the store I might rethink about it because some are really pretty.

 

[Barry Tetra]

Nerites are good for cleaning.

 

[Retired Viking]

I have 7 nerites in my 55 gallon tank and they do a good job. There are also a few pond snails that I leave alone also unless they start breeding like rabbits again. I have 2 nerites and a ramshorn (hitchhiker) in my 30 gallon shrimp tank. I am happy with both the nerites and ramshorn snails.

 

[howard_hopkinson]

I have 6 nerites in my 240l tank and they do an amazing job of cleaning up.

 

[Meg0000]

I will see what they have at my LFS today and show you what I got also I rescaped my aquarium yesterday and I would like to post a picture . I needed to change it because the way the wood was placed, it created a little cave and my nerite got stuck.

 

[Meg0000]

My LFS told me to use cuttlebone for the shell of my snail but it never seemed to work. Should I crush it in the water or juste put more piece in the water to add calcium?

 

[utahfish]

My LFS told me to use cuttlebone for the shell of my snail but it never seemed to work. Should I crush it in the water or juste put more piece in the water to add calcium?

Depends on what your GH is and what other fish you have.

 

[Meg0000]

Depends on what your GH is and what other fish you have.

I don't know my GH but paradise fish don't really mind

 

[Meg0000]

I got another nerite, they didn't have ramshorn snail so the choice was easy. It has an interesting pattern on the shell and it is already so much more active than my other nerite!
Here it is

 

[Essjay]

If you have very soft water, there won't be much calcium in the water so the snail will need cuttlebone to provide enough calcium for its shell. But if you have hard water or even soft water that's not very soft, there will be enough calcium for the snail without the cuttlebone. That's why utahfish asked about the GH.

 

[Meg0000]

If you have very soft water, there won't be much calcium in the water so the snail will need cuttlebone to provide enough calcium for its shell. But if you have hard water or even soft water that's not very soft, there will be enough calcium for the snail without the cuttlebone. That's why utahfish asked about the GH.

I think I have soft water because I had mystery snail for 4 months and the shell always looked bad