Anacharis & snails

[Calcifer10000]

Hi!

My tank isn't actually planted just yet, but I have a question about anacharis, which I currently have a clump of. My 10 gal tank is cycling with three fish and is doing well as far as I can tell. So my question is, will intoducing anacharis into the tank help or at least not hurt?

I've heard a lot of things about light needs for anacharis, is it really low-moderate? Hopefully it is because that's all I can offer. Are there other low-moderate light plants I can look into?

Also, there are quite a few snails hanging around the plants right now. I believe I have one small Ramshorn and lots of baby other snails which I can't identify. Does anyone know a website where I can try to identify the snails correctly?

Should I be adding any snails at all to the tank on purpose, or should I try to kill them before adding the plants? By the way, the anacharis is currently living in a 2 liter plastic Coke bottle w/tank water and lots of snails on my windowsill and they pearl in the afternoon when the sun's bright...pretty...

Thanks for any help!

 

[justDIY]

how much light do you have for your 10 gallon?

anacharis will grow with low, moderate or high light, but it does "die down" when making the transition from one to the other.

If you have it growing in full sunlight, that is like "ULTRA high" light, and it will grow very different than in an aquarium.

introducing any plants into a cycling tank is fine ... it will reduce the speed of the cycle, but if you are keeping fish in it already, it will help make the water less toxic for the fish.

as for snails ... kill them, kill them all!!!, lol ... hitch-hiking snails are like the plauge ... once your tank gets them, it's almost impossible to rid yourself of them ... fish like the Clown loach will keep their numbers minimized, but they'll still be there, living in secret.

if your anacharis has snails, then your tank will get snails ... soaking the plant in a 1:19 bleach water might help, I've also heard potassium promaginate is good for killing snails and their eggs... but some snails are immune to all toxins (more so than the plant), and the only thing that gets them is crushing fingers!

good luck with your tank, and may it stay snail free!

 

[Allivymar]

Snails. Auuggghh!

Heh, I'm not a big snail fan (does it show?). They showed up in some plants I purchased and promptly took over my tank. Hubby would squish dozens a day (I wasn't ABOUT to touch them), and never made a dent. Wasn't till I added 3 clown loaches that my prob was solved. Saw 3 snails total less then a week after they went in; haven't seen one in there since. They chewed up all my plants (the plec has since taken over that position *sigh*), left eggs all over everything and tortured my angels as they LOVED them, but couldn't eat them unless they were squished (angels don't have the mouth parts to eat em whole). The poor things would constantly suck em up and spit em out. Every once in a while the full grown angel would swallow one whole. And yes, it would come out whole the other end *yuck*.

Of course, the sad part is I actually have snails living in my QT tank for clown loach treats LOL

Some peeps like em. They do get thru the substrate and aerate it, and they eat a lot of detritus. Of course, they also excrete a lot, especially if you have a tank full.

 

[Calcifer10000]

I've heard snails are bad...how big do clown loaches get, in case I need to buy one sometime to get rid of snails someday? Do they actually eat snails whole or can they chew them up?

Also, I heard/read that Ramshorn snails are the best to have in a tank compared to pond/trumpet snails, which destroy plants and breed like crazy. Can anyone agree/disagree? Maybe I should try and keep all snails away for now?

 

[Guest]

In short, Ramshorns, when small to medium (under the size of a nickel), are good, won't eat plants. Pond snails, unpredictable, may eat some plants. MTS, the best, dont eat plants, dig into gravel, keep it aerated for plant roots.

No exp. with other types of snails, perhaps others could chime in.

 

[Calcifer10000]

Thanks for the info, corvuscorax! I think I actually have a few baby mts with the anacharis, I'll be sure not to kill them off.

Thanks again to everyone for their help! Much appreciated!

 

[tkos]

I love snails in my tank. Except pond snails (those flat spirals). MTS are the greatest for planted tanks that have a soil like substrate (not as important with gravel) and Ram's Horn are good at eating left overs. I actually have a snail tank with no fish. Only 1 gallon but fun to watch them devour a piece of celery or lettuce. Plus Ram's Horn make good Betta buddies IMO.

All snails will breed super fast if there is plenty of food. So keep the tank in good condition, don't over feed and remove dead or dying plants and you will reduce the number pf snails that you have. Also realize that most snails can be fertiziled when young and continue to lay eggs through their life. So getting 1 snail will not help you from having a future snail problem if things aren't looked after.