Would You Get Malayan Live Bearing Snails?

[Davey Jones]

I want sand as a substrat and have been told Malayan live bearing snails are great for sand and apparently they don't eat plants. I was also told not to buy them off Ebay as the lfs would posibly give me some.

So off i trotted only to be told by the lfs that they really wouldn't recomend them in fact, very strongly wouldn't. Now i'm confused, not that that is so unusual.

Would you get Malayan live bearing snails??

 

[voo]

They are probably saying that as they are considered a pest by some, especially fish shops where they get into filters and everywhere else.
They do breed rapidly, and once you've added them it'll be almost impossible to remove them all.

However they are good for tanks with a sand substrate as they turn over the sand. You need to decide whether you want this and a tank full of snails, or a snail-less tank with compact sand and maybe gas pockets.

There are alternatives though. You could think about getting some sand-sifting fish, such as cory's or kulhi loaches.

 

[Davey Jones]

They are probably saying that as they are considered a pest by some, especially fish shops where they get into filters and everywhere else.
They do breed rapidly, and once you've added them it'll be almost impossible to remove them all.

However they are good for tanks with a sand substrate as they turn over the sand. You need to decide whether you want this and a tank full of snails, or a snail-less tank with compact sand and maybe gas pockets.

There are alternatives though. You could think about getting some sand-sifting fish, such as cory's or kulhi loaches.

Thanks for the info. Love the look of the kulhi loaches wil they mix well with clown loaches and a red tailed shark?

 

[fishboy619]

not sure, i would thing they would be OK with RTS and clowns.i once added some MTS into my sanded tank a while back, BIG mistake, hundreds and hundreds every week, its impossable to get rid.worst than a disease. i would go with voo's idea and get a few kulies. bewear you see them very little and sometimes forget they are they, watch out when vacumming or modifiying the sand/dedcoration

 

[~T~]

I have MTS in all my tanks and love them, they keep my substrate nice and churned.I dont know if clowns would eat them though as the only tank I dont see many in is my big tank that houses big clowns.

 

[fishboy619]

i agree they do a good job, but i hate to see millions crawling up the glass or getting in my filter.i even found them in my 15 gallon gravel substrate which i checked that had no snails when i started it, how the hell they got their i have no idea.

 

[Davey Jones]

Thanks for all the info, still confused about the snails though,,, but a big plus is, i've found another fish i can add to my tank. kulhi loaches, didn't know about them before this, cheers

 

[severum boy]

If you want a cool looking snail that eats algae, wont eat plants, reproduces fast (you can sell them on E-Bay), and is good for the substrate, then get the MTS. Im not shure what the dealer is trying to say, most likely what the others have been saying.
I would get the snails from the retailer if they have some spare, you only need to start with a ratio of 1 per gallon and they will breed fast, dont bother buying 50 or somethig crazy, your just wasting money. Have a look on here for some exalent MTS and relatives.

 

[Canis-Equus]

I have purposefully added these guys to both my main tanks, as i use sand only. They are great, no problem, you can always fish some out and pass them round or bin them if there are too many.
I have NEVER found they reproduce in anywhere NEAR the same numbers as pest snails.

If you have them crawling up the tank sides, theres a BIG problem with your water, its the only time these guys do this. Otherwise they stay in the sand until lights out,then they come out and hoover up waste food and rotting plant matter.

Whats NOT to like?

 

[nurglespuss]

Just to add, they will crawl up the sides, especially at fish feeding time, and when after algae.