Snails questions

[happygirl65]

I have a question about snails....do MTS multipy readily? I remember my mom had some when I was a kid and she could not control to population. I think they are good little cleaners....but dont want to get over run with them....what is the general consensus on snails?

 

[hc8719]

alot of people hate them, then alot or people love them

depends on the snail really, i id love to get some mts personally,

if you have any type of loach, they well clean out any snail population

 

[plecoperson]

MTS do reproduce well, but there are always people wanting extras. They stay to the gravel most of the time, so it's not like all you see are MTS when you look at the tank!

 

[flip_lx]

MTS do reproduce well, but there are always people wanting extras. They stay to the gravel most of the time, so it's not like all you see are MTS when you look at the tank!

this isn't always true. in my 10gal they never bothered to go under my gravel. a quick look and you see em all over the plants and driftwood then some on the glass.

but yeah they multiple easily but it seems to be a grouped timing(i had my inital free ones about 2 weeks ago then today i noticed a large amount of new small ones) now if they can out multiple a loach i have no idea but i'd be really interested in other peoples experiance.

also my invaders seem to be doing quite nicely(not sure what type they are but i went from 1 to 6 in about a week i think)

 

[Tostada]

I think the general feeling around here is that they're usually not much of a problem, but they can get seriously out of control if you overfeed.

 

[rkilling1]

I have a question about snails....do MTS multipy readily? I remember my mom had some when I was a kid and she could not control to population. I think they are good little cleaners....but dont want to get over run with them....what is the general consensus on snails?

i have MTS is all of my tanks and rarely see them during the day. they will only over populate if you are overfeeding your tank. the population is controlled by the amount of food available.

 

[shayfish]

I have a similar question about apple snails/ gold mystery snails. I have heard that they multiply like crazy? Also, that some fish will pick on them.... I would really like to have a couple (maybe only one if the multiplying thing is really true) in a community tank. I am having a hard time finding goot info on them.

 

[Tostada]

My gold mystery snail got along with everybody, then one day all my swords decided they wanted to try and eat him. They had been in the same tank for a month and got along fine, but then they just started picking at him constantly. They would poke at him, then when he would close his shell, they would keep biting right at the edge of his shell. It actually damaged the way his shell grows. I had to move him to a different tank and his shell still has a big line from where it was damaged. He gets along fine with my betta and tetras.

I remember someone here saying that his betta ate his snail's feelers, but I've had my snail with 3 different bettas and they've never picked on him.

 

[NoSvOrAx]

Snails

I'm pretty sure that Mystery snails are either male or female, so if you got all males they won't multiple. The only way to tell male from female is to compare the size of two snails born and grown in the same tank. Females are larger.

The snails you need to worry about are the the ones that look like little ice cream cones. They grow about and inch long and are about 3/8 of an inch at the thickest part. These snails grown a shell so strong that I've never seen a loach or botia capable of eating them. These snails don't eat plants and prefer to live in the gravel but they can and do get inside the filters and will block the impeller causing it to stop, which can lead to a whole new problem.

Any other kind of snail can be controlled by a loach.

 

[shayfish]

So if I only get one mystery snail I'm good? I don't really trust the people at the lps where I saw them to tell the difference between male and female.

 

[NoSvOrAx]

Personally, I love loaches.... So for my new tank I bought six Mystery snails, and now I'll wait for a population explosion. Once they are well established I'll add a loach or botia and watch it hunt for snails. Seems to make them happier and more active looking for snails.

But in theory, one snail would not breed... However, I'm not sure of the breeding habits or possible gestation of mystery snails... So you might end up buying one getting ready to lay fertile eggs...

If your dead set on zero population growth, I'd isolate the snail for awhile before adding it to the tank. Isolation being a good idea for all additions.

 

[MurfQ]

I wouldn't worry too much about getting a female that is already carrying eggs. Mystery snails lay their eggs above the water line, so it'd be pretty easy to just keep an eye on em and scoop them out if that were to happen.

 

[robott]

i highly recommend getting a mystery snail. or three. they are majestic creatures and amazing to watch. if you are worried about population explosion, this is definitely very easy to control, which was mentioned before, because the egg clutches are large, and laid outside of the water. but i have a feeling that after you watch your little buddy motoring through it's aquatic wonderland eating up your algae, you won't be so worried about some little guys. and hey, there's always ebay.