What are your thoughts on SNAILS?

[amyb_70]

I happened to have a camera handy, just to give those who don't have them a feel for nerite eggs...

On Anubis:

On driftwood:

And perhaps most insulting of all, on my Ramshorns:

I think they are slowing down, though I think that one on the snail is new at least.

ok the snail on the bottom here looks just like one i found the other day... i was like WHAT?!?!?!?! i tried to describe the color but honestly the best way to describe it is its the color of phlegm and looks to have the same texture... sorry not trying to be rude..

 

[amyb_70]

Dang it, i got rid of about 6 ghost shrimp this morning because i have an aquarium w/ very young angel fish and i think the shrimp got the best of one of my long veils and she ended up dying.. i was sooo mad...

 

[Mr Fisher]

Nerites - Good clean up crew but eggs can be annoying

Ramshorn - good for feeders

Malaysian - same as above

Assassin - fun to watch when they go on the prowl for other snails.

 

[amyb_70]

So basically snails do good job cleaning ? Idk the kind I have. De
From the pix id guess 1 ramsthing. Does anyone know what the solid black one might be? I've never seen a snail named anything other than a mystery snail. Thanks every ins I appreciate your time and feed back.


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[Linwood]

ok the snail on the bottom here looks just like one i found the other day... i was like WHAT?!?!?!?! i tried to describe the color but honestly the best way to describe it is its the color of phlegm and looks to have the same texture... sorry not trying to be rude..

The key distinguishing feature of the ramshorn even when very tiny is all the spirals are in one plane, there's no point. Think coffee cake. If it's flat with nothing sticking up, it's probably a ramshorn; if the inner part peaks to one side a bit, maybe a pond snail or something else, if it peaks a lot maybe malayan trumpet. There are lots of other possibilities but those three seem to show up most as hitchhikers.

So basically snails do good job cleaning ? Idk the kind I have. De
From the pix id guess 1 ramsthing. Does anyone know what the solid black one might be? I've never seen a snail named anything other than a mystery snail. Thanks every ins I appreciate your time and feed back.

Yes. Though every cleanup crew member has specialties. For example something like a Raphael cat is likely to clean up leftover food but a Oto cat is likely to clean up algae.

And remember, each cleanup crew can become too efficient and run out of food. In the case of snails that's good -- they just stop breeding. In the case of something like oto cats they starve and die. So it's nice to think ahead as to what they will mostly be working on, do you need more than one type, etc.

For example, my latest tank I have snails, shrimp, oto's and BN plecos. They all do similar things, but each has some niche.

 

[amyb_70]

Here's what I have in my 29 gal; long fin an albino bristle nose pleco, 3 Oto, 2 ghost shrimp, 4 Cory cats, I also had a pleco who's not supposed to exceed 4-5" but have not been able to find it in over 2 weeks, and now these tiny snails. This tank has sand only substrate. My 20 long has 4 Oto, 3 Cory cat, 2 ghost shrimp and a tiny snail that appeared the same way as the others. This tank has sand, marbles and some gravel for substrate. What do you think am I ok? I'm getting frustrated with the ghost shrimp as they were picking at a long veil angel who died later, and in the other tank they eat the baby fry.


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[amyb_70]

Do snails harm other fish, or plants? I really know nothing about them


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[Linwood]

Do snails harm other fish, or plants? I really know nothing about them

Do you READ the responses other people have written so far, there's a lot of info in there. You just seem to be repeating many of the same questions and then throw in tangential comments.

I've never heard of snails harming fish. Conceivably they may eat fish eggs, though I do not know.

Most common aquarium snails will leave live plants alone (ramshorns, nerites, mts). I've heard pond snails do harm plants, I've heard they do not; not sure. Some others definitely do. If you want a specific type of snail just google it, and there are profiles at most forums (including here) that will tell you if that one is known to harm plants or not.

Now on the other hand, fish are known to harm snails, at least some fish and some snails. And the answer may be different relative to snail eggs, young snails, and adult snails as to whether fish will eat them. But same answer -- pick a combination and google it; there's no general answer.

 

[amyb_70]

Ummmm yes I've read each and every response. My thought is the more knowledge I have the better I can care for my aquariums.. I've been at this hobby for 5 months so I'm pretty new, and have been given allot of wrong info from the LFS that if I repeat myself it's because I don't want to continue with making mistakes.


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[cherokeeluvr]

Amy, I was just looking through this and saw that your pleco is missing. I also had a pleco who would stay small and he went missing! I noticed he was gone within maybe 3-4 days. I couldn't find him anywhere!! Finally my mom came in to help me look. I had looked all over the floor too. Well she found him underneath my desk all shriveled up and dead.. So if you didn't already find him look all over the ground. And regarding this thread, my favorite snails are mystery. They are cool looking and eat quite a bit. Merited clean super well but I would never buy another one due to the awful eggs!! Amano shrimp aren't snails obviously but they are amazing cleaners!! Sadly mine passed away yesterday ;( defiantly buying another one though! I'm thinking abut breeding red ramshorn snails for fun! I think they look really cool and are easy to breed! Just going to through a plants, filter, water, and some ramshorn into a little 5 gallon and see what happens. When and if they breed like crazy I'm going to sell them on here


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[trennamw]

I have MTS, Pond, and mystery snails. I saw a mystery snail sample a leaf once but it spit it out. I see no evidence of plant munching.

I think the MTS really help keep the tank clean.


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[amyb_70]

Amy, I was just looking through this and saw that your pleco is missing. I also had a pleco who would stay small and he went missing! I noticed he was gone within maybe 3-4 days. I couldn't find him anywhere!! Finally my mom came in to help me look. I had looked all over the floor too. Well she found him underneath my desk all shriveled up and dead.. So if you didn't already find him look all over the ground. And regarding this thread, my favorite snails are mystery. They are cool looking and eat quite a bit. Merited clean super well but I would never buy another one due to the awful eggs!! Amano shrimp aren't snails obviously but they are amazing cleaners!! Sadly mine passed away yesterday ;( defiantly buying another one though! I'm thinking abut breeding red ramshorn snails for fun! I think they look really cool and are easy to breed! Just going to through a plants, filter, water, and some ramshorn into a little 5 gallon and see what happens. When and if they breed like crazy I'm going to sell them on here


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Hi there, that's quite a story. Did the Pleco start to stink up the room as it's body was decaying? I am hoping I don't find it and it was what most thought and that was it died and the other fish ate him. I have a feeling I'll know much more tomorrow. I just got a real aquarium stand so I'll be breaking down what I have and transferring the aquarium to the same spot, so I have to move all items in the area. I am hoping and thought the Pleco somehow buried himself in the sand and couldn't get out.
About the OP, I did break down and bought 1 nerite snail as I understand the eggs won't hatch, be fertilized whatever the proper way to say it, in freshwater. It did give me a scare but burrowing in the sand for 2 days, then I did a search and rescue. He's still alive and working hard.


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[cherokeeluvr]

No never smelled it. Just looked all over in the aquarium and out! Couldn't find it then my mom did. So if you don't see it have another person come look to, incase you miss a spot like I did. He was the biggest one in my tank. Do you have a lot of plants or would he be able to hide and you not see him dead? I hunk he must've jumped out when I did a water change somehow.. Never saw anything or heard anything though. There is a tiny little spot that he could've got out but I doubt it.. Just look around quite a bit! I had to have my mom pick him up it was disgusting! He was all dry and gross..


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[amyb_70]

No never smelled it. Just looked all over in the aquarium and out! Couldn't find it then my mom did. So if you don't see it have another person come look to, incase you miss a spot like I did. He was the biggest one in my tank. Do you have a lot of plants or would he be able to hide and you not see him dead? I hunk he must've jumped out when I did a water change somehow.. Never saw anything or heard anything though. There is a tiny little spot that he could've got out but I doubt it.. Just look around quite a bit! I had to have my mom pick him up it was disgusting! He was all dry and gross..


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I am still amazed by this story... I did endup breaking down my aquarium that day. I never did find my pleco. I looked all around on the floor. and i knew it was not in the fish tank because I have changed over the substrate. i suppose the comments that other fish ate him after dying or it possibly deteriorated. i am not sure but glad to have not found it on the floor.

 

[cherokeeluvr]

It waS wierd! And how big was your pleco? And what kind of fish did you have in your tank?


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[amyb_70]

The Pleco was maybe 2" . I have 4 platy, and at the time 1 young angel fish. And an albino bristlenose. Both Pleco were not supposed to exceed 4-5" . The albino died the other day, no apparent reason except it came from the family fish store. In which every single fish I've gotten from there had died anywhere from same day to 2 months, this one made it all the way to 3 months in my home
What did you have in with your pleco

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[cherokeeluvr]

Huh.. I'm still thinking your pleco got out... Do you have any animals that are outside of the tank (like a dog or cat)? My pleco was about 3-4 inches. He was with a dwarf gourami, glass fish, guppies, cherry barbs, neon tetras, and some more small sucker fish (all under 1 inch). So he was the biggest fish. If you have other animals they could've eaten him if he was out.. Or he still could be somewhere. My guy moved pretty far..


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[elephantnose]

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums...B-CB2D-4517-8DD4-4D0C9CCF5BFB_zpsgvkn6y3g.jpg just putting it out there I have a ten gallon overloaded with pond snails, and they don't seem to mess with my plants.


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[amyb_70]

Huh.. I'm still thinking your pleco got out... Do you have any animals that are outside of the tank (like a dog or cat)? My pleco was about 3-4 inches. He was with a dwarf gourami, glass fish, guppies, cherry barbs, neon tetras, and some more small sucker fish (all under 1 inch). So he was the biggest fish. If you have other animals they could've eaten him if he was out.. Or he still could be somewhere. My guy moved pretty far..


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I know weird right. I don't have other animals no cat, dog nothing. When I moved the aquarium I looked all over. My place isn't huge and I vacuum almost everyday. I know he didn't get in the filter, it's custom made drop in and I take it apart and rinse it with every water change. If he died in a cave would the Cory cats eat him? Only other thing I can think of is he was on something when I was doing a water change and when I put the ornaments in the sink he was in the bucket and got tossed out the back door with the water I was replacing.


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[amyb_70]

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums...B-CB2D-4517-8DD4-4D0C9CCF5BFB_zpsgvkn6y3g.jpg just putting it out there I have a ten gallon overloaded with pond snails, and they don't seem to mess with my plants.


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HOLY SNAILS!!!!! They don't drive you nutty? From what I see it's a beautiful set up. I'm trying like mad to grow plants, got special plant substrate and still not having luck. I was thinking I have to research and start another thread, why do my leaf plants have brown spots on them? How many times should I fail before I give up?


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