What Do Mystery Snails Gain For The Tank?

[paul123]

Just a question.. i am thinking of buying about 5-10 mystery snails (large)
what do they gain for the tank... are there any downfalls to this plan?
and what are the positives of adding the snails to my aquarium?

thank you

 

[kevinthecow]

Size of your tank?

Snails are cool. except when they're dead. I can't tell when they're dead.

 

[paul123]

lmfaoo yeh that would be true P

do they do anything good or bad for the tank

 

[Corleone]

They do eat some algae, but I've found nerites and ramshorns better for that. Apple snails get a good size and come in attractive colors, and are an excellent cleanup crew, they're very thorough at hoovering up leftover food. Single apple snails aren't able to breed, and even in groups, they lay distinctive eggs above the water line which can be removed to prevent an overpopulation.

 

[paul123]

Do Mystery snails in the long run do any harm for the tank???

 

[Corleone]

Only if something is killing them, like high copper levels in your water, or a fish. I've seen skunk loaches barely 1.5 inches pick at a massive apple snail, taking bites out of its foot until it eventually died. They won't bother healthy plants (a big apple snail is like a bulldozer, though, I've had trouble with them uprooting new plants that haven't established their roots well yet), but a dead snail will decay quickly and can cause an ammonia spike in a small tank.

I've also heard having a lot of apple snails can make for some cloudiness in the water, as infusoria thrive on their waste. I've never had this problem.

 

[OldMan47]

One of the down sides to apple snails is the bioload that they add. People who breed them figure adult snails need about 2 gallons of water each. If you include them in your bioload estimates it is no problem but too many people seem to think they can disregard the snail's load, which of course gets them in trouble.

 

[drobbyb]

One of the down sides to apple snails is the bioload that they add. People who breed them figure adult snails need about 2 gallons of water each. If you include them in your bioload estimates it is no problem but too many people seem to think they can disregard the snail's load, which of course gets them in trouble.

Very good advice.