fishtime!
New Member
Hello! I'm setting up a planted tank and things are going pretty well - I've had a few snails hitch hike on the plants I purchased, which I was kind of hoping for so they could help keep the tank clean.
I was wondering if anybody could identify the snails? There seem to be two kinds - one with a spiral shell, and one with more of a conical shell and a pointy tail.
As I understand it, some snails are detritovores and will only eat dead/decaying matter, while others will eat anything they can. I'm seeing some holes in my plants (pictured below) and was wondering if anybody knew if one of my snails is doing this, and if they will decimate my plants if I let them keep going.
Thanks!
Tank information:
Size: 20 gallon tall
Decorations: driftwood and dragon rock
substrate: bottom layer is fluval biostratum, top layer is sand
water parameters: pH : 6, ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate: ~10
tank inhabitants: only snails so far
![Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.13 AM.png Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.13 AM.png](https://www.fishforums.net/data/attachments/179/179996-99198d33d2f1c61aa2a00221cc622a6e.jpg)
![Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.18 AM.png Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.18 AM.png](https://www.fishforums.net/data/attachments/179/179997-41adc4753bb2e79274ec6124c55a9009.jpg)
![Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.23 AM.png Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.23 AM.png](https://www.fishforums.net/data/attachments/179/179998-eb58b3a6ecbce2f325806902621a8119.jpg)
I was wondering if anybody could identify the snails? There seem to be two kinds - one with a spiral shell, and one with more of a conical shell and a pointy tail.
As I understand it, some snails are detritovores and will only eat dead/decaying matter, while others will eat anything they can. I'm seeing some holes in my plants (pictured below) and was wondering if anybody knew if one of my snails is doing this, and if they will decimate my plants if I let them keep going.
Thanks!
Tank information:
Size: 20 gallon tall
Decorations: driftwood and dragon rock
substrate: bottom layer is fluval biostratum, top layer is sand
water parameters: pH : 6, ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate: ~10
tank inhabitants: only snails so far
![Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.13 AM.png Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.13 AM.png](https://www.fishforums.net/data/attachments/179/179996-99198d33d2f1c61aa2a00221cc622a6e.jpg)
![Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.18 AM.png Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.18 AM.png](https://www.fishforums.net/data/attachments/179/179997-41adc4753bb2e79274ec6124c55a9009.jpg)
![Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.23 AM.png Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 10.17.23 AM.png](https://www.fishforums.net/data/attachments/179/179998-eb58b3a6ecbce2f325806902621a8119.jpg)