Snails

[AquaBarb]

Looking for some snails for one of my tanks.

I like Nerites and Malaysian trumpet snails.

Would anyone recommend the MTS's? Any other suggestions would be welcome (just no plant eaters)

Cheers

 

[Back in the fold]

Just be sure you really want them in there. Once snails check in they never check out.

 

[AquaBarb]

Just be sure you really want them in there. Once snails check in they never check out.

Yeah im aware they can become pests but i dont over feed and i like what they can bring to your tank

 

[seangee]

I have MTS in 2 of my tanks. They are great for aeration and cleaning up. I have seeded 3 tanks and on each occasion only started with 4 MTS. They do multiply dramatically if you overfeed or when the weather is hot. I tend to go on a major culling spree at least once a year, usually in autumn as my tanks get up to around 30C over the hottest part of summer and they breed like crazy when its hot.

I have a single nerite in the nano. Apart from being quite attractive he is all over the tank and pretty active. I assume its a he because I have never seen eggs. I believe the eggs are pretty unsightly and hard to remove. They won't ever hatch but that doesn't stop the females from laying them - even if there are no males about.

 

[AquaBarb]

I have MTS in 2 of my tanks. They are great for aeration and cleaning up. I have seeded 3 tanks and on each occasion only started with 4 MTS. They do multiply dramatically if you overfeed or when the weather is hot. I tend to go on a major culling spree at least once a year, usually in autumn as my tanks get up to around 30C over the hottest part of summer and they breed like crazy when its hot.

I have a single nerite in the nano. Apart from being quite attractive he is all over the tank and pretty active. I assume its a he because I have never seen eggs. I believe the eggs are pretty unsightly and hard to remove. They won't ever hatch but that doesn't stop the females from laying them - even if there are no males about.

Im thinking of having Amano shrimp and snails for bottom dwellers this time around. Are the MTS easy to cull? And are they always out and about or hide alot?

 

[seangee]

Are the MTS easy to cull? And are they always out and about or hide alot?

You don't usually see them when the lights are on unless there are too many. I usually wait until half an hour after lights out and scoop whatever is on the glass into a jug and pick out any I see on the substrate (using the room light to see). I spend around 5 minutes a night until there aren't enough to be worth the effort - usually 2-5 days depending on how many there are.

 

[Byron]

The Malaysian Livebearing Snail (also called M Trumpet, and other names) is probably the best snial for an aquarium. They tolerate very soft water (many snails need harder water, not these), and they burrow throughout the substrate like nothing else (except worms, and you don't want those). They are safe with all plants and fish.

Their numbers will be according to their food supply. Remember they eat all organics, including fish excrement, so there will be plenty of food in most tanks, hence the numbers. But they are doing a real service, breaking these organics down faster for the bacteria, so in the end, your tank is "cleaner." They do not contribute additionally to the bioload because they only eat the organics that are already there contributing to the bioload.

 

[AquaBarb]

You don't usually see them when the lights are on unless there are too many. I usually wait until half an hour after lights out and scoop whatever is on the glass into a jug and pick out any I see on the substrate (using the room light to see). I spend around 5 minutes a night until there aren't enough to be worth the effort - usually 2-5 days depending on how many there are.

Wow they sound like they do proper breed then if you have to cull them that much.

Not sure whether not seening them much will swing me more too the Nerite's. Could do with the colour and active nature of the Nerites but the not laying unslighty eggs and good cleaning of the MTS's

 

[AquaBarb]

They tolerate very soft water (many snails need harder water, not these)

Just checking they are still ok in moderately hard water (215ppm) arent they Byron?

 

[Byron]

Just checking they are still ok in moderately hard water (215ppm) arent they Byron?

Yes, they are OK in any parameters. I suppose boiling them would kill them, but they are hardy...they even survive being frozen solid in a bucket of gravel left outside during freezing weather.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Yes, they are OK in any parameters. I suppose boiling them would kill them, but they are hardy...they even survive being frozen solid in a bucket of gravel left outside during freezing weather.

Now why did you do that?!

 

[Byron]

Now why did you do that?!

I didn't. But I read an article on MLS a while back and it was discussing their hardiness, and apparently someone had some old gravel in a bucket on the back porch that had come out of a tank (and wasn't washed) and it froze solid over winter. In the Spring when it thawed, they were astonished to see the MLS moving about. So they had survived being frozen.

 

[AquaBarb]

Yes, they are OK in any parameters. I suppose boiling them would kill them, but they are hardy...they even survive being frozen solid in a bucket of gravel left outside during freezing weather.

Very hardy indeed then! How do people get rid of the snails if they have to cull them?

 

[Byron]

Very hardy indeed then! How do people get rid of the snails if they have to cull them?

Collect them and crush them outside the tank so as not to make a mess. I've never done this, and I have had hundreds in some tanks, but I know they are there because the food is there and they are making things better by eating it.

 

[AquaBarb]

Collect them and crush them outside the tank so as not to make a mess. I've never done this, and I have had hundreds in some tanks, but I know they are there because the food is there and they are making things better by eating it.

Oh right thats good to hear. I do like the trumpets but was worried id be over run even tho i dont over feed. Proper little working snails. I was going to ask whether getting a few Assasins might cull the numbers down a little but if leaving the MTS's doesnt cause harm theres no point really.

Could i add these pretty soon or do i need to wait a while for things to build up?