Looking For A Snail

[jordan.m]

Hey all,

I have a bit of an algae problem on my rocks and the walls of the tank... I have heard good things about snails (most notably George Farmer's nano tank) but I'm afraid of ending up with 400 snails in my tank.

What is a good algae-cleaning snail that is not likely to reproduce by the hundreds?

Thanks,
Jordan

 

[George Farmer]

Nerite snails are excellent algae eaters and don't breed in the aquarium. Some report laying of eggs that can be unsightly and stubborn to remove, but I have no experience of this personally.

 

[jordan.m]

Do they eat plants?

Also, where can I get Nerite snails?

 

[Themuleous]

They shouldn't eat the plant, well they haven't in my tank anyway. You can either get them from Aquaessentials.co.uk or snailshop.co.uk. I've had excellent service from both

Sam

 

[jordan.m]

Question: Do most snails feed on plants or not really?

 

[Dave Spencer]

This site is in England, but the information is still relevant.

WHOOPS, forgot the link:

http/www.snailshop.ashopcommerce.co.uk/c...cal-snails.html

 

[jordan.m]

I got a black mystery snail, hopefully he won't eat my plants!!

 

[mikey12421]

I got a black mystery snail, hopefully he won't eat my plants!!

Hey Jordan,

I have a heavily planted twenty gallon with three mystery snails (aka known as apple snails). They don't eat live plant matter (although they will eat some dead or dying plant matter, which I think is a good thing), and they are not hermaphroditic (meaning they have to have both a male and female snail to produce eggs).

If you're like me and have more than one, and they do breed, you can prevent yourself from having snail babies by not allowing much space between the water line and the canopy on your tank. Apple snails need a warm, moist but not wet place to lay their eggs, so if you deny them a place that fits those specs they won't reproduce. Occasionally mine have crawled out of the tank during the night and laid eggs on the side of the hang-on back filter, and then crawled back in the tank. I then just scrape the eggs off with a paper towel (although i doubt that area is moist enough for the eggs to stay viable).

hope that helps!

Mike

 

[jordan.m]

Cool, thanks for the great info Mike!

After adding your snails, did you notice a significant difference in the cleanliness of the inside of your tank? If so, how long did it take?

Jordan

 

[afishdude]

I got a black mystery snail, hopefully he won't eat my plants!!

Hey Jordan,

I have a heavily planted twenty gallon with three mystery snails (aka known as apple snails). They don't eat live plant matter (although they will eat some dead or dying plant matter, which I think is a good thing), and they are not hermaphroditic (meaning they have to have both a male and female snail to produce eggs).

If you're like me and have more than one, and they do breed, you can prevent yourself from having snail babies by not allowing much space between the water line and the canopy on your tank. Apple snails need a warm, moist but not wet place to lay their eggs, so if you deny them a place that fits those specs they won't reproduce. Occasionally mine have crawled out of the tank during the night and laid eggs on the side of the hang-on back filter, and then crawled back in the tank. I then just scrape the eggs off with a paper towel (although i doubt that area is moist enough for the eggs to stay viable).

hope that helps!

Mike

Wrong!, mystery snails DO eat plants. there primary food sorse is dead plants and fish food on the bottom. not alge (some do and some dont but mostly they dont...imo). they will eat live plants if there is no other sorse of food. as mine tore up my 10g because i never feed them. ate all the grass plants and the leaves off my sword plants.


edit: mystery snails love cucumber. if he looks hungry drop a small square of that in and he will be on it for hours.

 

[jordan.m]

So why is he stuck to the side of my tank, scraping away with his mouth?

 

[mikey12421]

So why is he stuck to the side of my tank, scraping away with his mouth?

I have never had a problem with my mystery snails eating live plants, even when I don't feed them. But everyone has a different experience I guess. I did a little research and it looks like the authorities are split - some say that they do eat plants and some say they don't. All I can tell you is what I've experienced - I have seven apple snails among two tanks and they don't ever eat my live plants. The only problem I've had is that they break off the fragile glosso stems when going after the algae.

 

[shaz3271]

it all depends on what species you have

some apple snails eat plants and some dont, the ones that dont can sometimes starve to death in a planted tank if there is no other food available.

the mose common apple snail that wont eat plants is the pomacea bridgesii ,imo good algea eaters

the most common apple snails that will eat plants is the pomacea canaliculata, imo not good algea eaters

these snails look very much the same when small but the canaliclata grow much bigger .

i keep and breed bridgesii and i think they make a good algea eater in any aquarium (under the right conditions)

sharon

 

[mikey12421]

it all depends on what species you have

some apple snails eat plants and some dont, the ones that dont can sometimes starve to death in a planted tank if there is no other food available.

the mose common apple snail that wont eat plants is the pomacea bridgesii ,imo good algea eaters

the most common apple snails that will eat plants is the pomacea canaliculata, imo not good algea eaters

these snails look very much the same when small but the canaliclata grow much bigger .

i keep and breed bridgesii and i think they make a good algea eater in any aquarium (under the right conditions)

sharon

Thanks Sharon,

I found that info just as you were posting. I have bridgesii, not canaliculata. All the info I've seen is that most of the time lfs's will be selling b, not c. But of course most lfs and pet stores don't have a clue what they are selling, so I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[puddle_inc]

i can sell you ramhorns, or pond snails. pond snails will be better for algae. but i am afraid if they do have babies that you would kill them all once the tank is clean? i can sell you ramshorn snails, i have tons of young ones. they don't have babies near as bad as the pond snails.

the ramshorn snail only have eggs every once in a while and there easy to manage. but they are not as good algae cleaners as the pond snails. but they would be your best bet. how much are you wanting to buy?

the pond snails RARELY very rarely eat plants. the ramshorns may eat some, but not too much. most apple snails and snails of that species eat mostly plants and dead things. they aren't usually the best choice for algae. plus, there expensive.