oh my goodness

[laboul]

I brought home a sockful of Petsmart gravel to seed my tank that is cycling ... it is FULL of snails. They are really cute - they are small - about 1/2 to 3/4 inch - with conical shells that are spiral and pointy. Poor things, there's 4 ppm ammonia!!

Anyone know what these snails are? Are they malaysian trumpet snails? I think they are very cute and would like to keep them BUT my concerns are:

will they munch my plants (hygrophilia, cprytycoryne, cabomba)?

will they multiply like crazy?

do they contribute too much to the bioload?

 

[bshockstubb]

If they are MTS you will be over loaded w/ them!

 

[laboul]

I think they're adorable, what I need to know is:

do they munch plants

do they contribute too much to bioload

do they do anything useful except look cute - like eat algae??

If love the way they look ... someone let me know of they are a huge problem. I can see that Petsmart tanks have an awful lot.

 

[pendragon]

Anyone know what these snails are? Are they malaysian trumpet snails?

Quite probably, yes. Trumpet snails mostly burrow into the substrate and hide during the lighted hours and scavenge around in the dark.

will they munch my plants (hygrophilia, cprytycoryne, cabomba)?

Not usually, no, although there are a few instances where people report otherwise.

will they multiply like crazy?

They can, yes. How quickly they reproduce roughly corresponds to water temperature. Warmer water = faster reproduction.

do they contribute too much to the bioload?

Nah, in fact their effect on bioload is essentially negligible. They'll actually help with eating tiny bits of food that get left in the substrate. Some claim they help with algae control, although I don't know that I'd rely on them for that. If you ever add some fish that eat snails, they'll make short work of them.

I wouldn't see them as a "problem" unless they get out of control population-wise. Snails can be difficult to get rid of if you tire of them.

pendragon!

 

[laboul]

AWESOME.......... I think I will keep them, if they survive the ammonia level! LOL!

 

[Synirr]

I've got loads of trumpet snails in my tanks -- I love them!! They help with keeping my substrate turned, do a relatively good job of eating algae, leave my plants alone, and even though I'm overrun with them, it doesn't look unsightly because most are hidden under the sand at any given time

 

[clutterydrawer]

I like mine. They clean algae off my plant leaves, turn my sand over, and look cool. there are laods of them though, but it doesnt look too bad. heres a pic of mine so you can compare them to the ones youv'e found:

 

[laboul]

Yep they're the ones!!

 

[gale]

I love my trumpet snails. I have a BUNCH now because they all had babies but when the babies are big enough I'll scoop them out and take them to the lfs.