Planted aquariums got snails

[Samispeed]

Hi guys I'm a noob, I've got a planted aquarium and I have loads of little snails that may have come with the plants.
Now my question is simply, are they beneficial to my tank? Or do they eat my plants in which case I will have to get rid.
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Sami.

 

[BBradbury]

Snails

Hi guys I'm a noob, I've got a planted aquarium and I have loads of little snails that may have come with the plants.
Now my question is simply, are they beneficial to my tank? Or do they eat my plants in which case I will have to get rid.
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Sami.

Hello Sam...

Seems like this question has come up very recently. Anyway, you may have Ramshorn snails. I got some a while back from the LFS plants I bought. The Ramshorn variety are very good for your tank. They'll eat all sorts of algae and anything else in the tank, like a dead fish or an old, decaying plant leaf. They won't damage anything healthy, so your plants are safe.

If you get too many snails, they'll pile up in the corners of the tank and that's a sign you're feeding the fish and plants too much. If you don't provide too much for them to eat, then the snail numbers are just right.

B

 

[Samispeed]

Ah thank you very much. I have a planted aquarium which I started 2/3 weeks ago. (Still in the cycling in phase) just wondered if I should kill the snails.
So it sounds like these little tiny snails are actually a good clean up crew.
Do bigger snails do the same?

 

[Rivercats]

There are many types of snails. You should look for some pictures of freshwater aquarium snails to see what you have. If they have a shell like a cone, they are MTS (malaysian trumpet snails) which are good snails to have as they aerate you substrate. Some snails are good and others you don't really want in your tank, ie; common pond snails.

 

[jefferzbooboo]

If you want to get rid of your snails, throw a piece of cucumber in there and they will be attracted to them, then pull the cumber out of the water.

 

[boadams87]

Ramshorn snails will eat plants. Id had rams and every plant had holes, so I found out it was my rams. Pick them out or buy some assassin snails.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Ramshorn snails will eat plants. Id had rams and every plant had holes, so I found out it was my rams. Pick them out or buy some assassin snails.

I've had ramshorns snails in my planted tanks since 2004.. on the same plants I still have to this day. They've never touched anything except algae and occasionally dead or dying old plant leaves. I actually keep them in my quarantine tank to breed as my eastern American newt loves to eat the tiny ones. Besides eating algae they're great for one thing: letting you know if you're overfeeding. If you end up with a load of them you know it's time to feed less. Personally, I'm happy to have them.

 

[Samispeed]

I've had ramshorns snails in my planted tanks since 2004.. on the same plants I still have to this day. They've never touched anything except algae and occasionally dead or dying old plant leaves. I actually keep them in my quarantine tank to breed as my eastern American newt loves to eat the tiny ones. Besides eating algae they're great for one thing: letting you know if you're overfeeding. If you end up with a load of them you know it's time to feed less. Personally, I'm happy to have them.

I don't know what to do. My tank is only 2/3 weeks old!! And I want a tank all green and heavily stocked!!
It sounds like these snails are awesome. But I don't want them to eat my plants! I have noticed one of my bacopa leafs to have holes in it...
Maybe if I send you a picture you may be able to identify?

 

[Samispeed]

i've had ramshorns snails in my planted tanks since 2004.. On the same plants i still have to this day. They've never touched anything except algae and occasionally dead or dying old plant leaves. I actually keep them in my quarantine tank to breed as my eastern american newt loves to eat the tiny ones. Besides eating algae they're great for one thing: Letting you know if you're overfeeding. If you end up with a load of them you know it's time to feed less. Personally, i'm happy to have them.

 

[boadams87]

My snail eggs don't like like that.

 

[Samispeed]

My snail eggs don't like like that.

They not eggs it's air bubbles I've got a lot of co2 pushing in this tank. It's hard to show a picture really.

 

[boadams87]

I thought it was bubbles.

 

[Samispeed]

I thought it was bubbles.

Does this help?? You can sort of see the shave of its shell is like a cone. It's a tiny thing but it's got like 3times it's size in like a week!

 

[Rivercats]

If it has a true cone shape (like a waffle cone shape-icecream on the brain) then its a Mayalasian Trumpet Snail. They are good snails. They are live bearers, live mostly in the substrate and will come on at night to forage. The keep your substrate aerated and don't eat plants. If you start getting too many then there is too much food in your tank (dying plant material, uneaten food). It's just too hard to tell from picture.

 

[Samispeed]

If it has a true cone shape (like a waffle cone shape-icecream on the brain) then its a Mayalasian Trumpet Snail. They are good snails. They are live bearers, live mostly in the substrate and will come on at night to forage. The keep your substrate aerated and don't eat plants. If you start getting too many then there is too much food in your tank (dying plant material, uneaten food). It's just too hard to tell from picture.

It's very difficult to get a good snap of them. Ok so one or twos okay for now..
Maybe later il 'exterminate' them all lol.
But yeah cheers for info il watch out of excess food and dead plant leaves.

 

[JoeyGeeze]

I could be wrong, but I don't think that is a Malaysian trumpet snail. I have MTS in my tank and they are a grayish white color when they are that size. This little guy seems reddish brown correct? Again, I could be wrong but I think thats another type of snail. Maybe take it out of the tank and snap a pic of it on a napkin or something. So you can see the outside of the shell

 

[Rivercats]

I've got some darker MTS's, most are lighter but not all. The napkin photo is a good idea! You know I have some plain pond snails that sometimes get that more pointed shell, not a true cone like MTS, but kind of elongated pointed shell.

 

[JoeyGeeze]

I've got some darker MTS's, most are lighter but not all. The napkin photo is a good idea! You know I have some plain pond snails that sometimes get that more pointed shell, not a true cone like MTS, but kind of elongated pointed shell.

All very true!

 

[IowaGuy]

Good snails or bad snails, I've had them for a very long time and I keep trying to get rid of them. It seems to be a never ending battle but they are getting fewer and I only occasionally find them in there now. At first I was finding them by the dozens...but that was also when I was over feeding and over fertilizing and my tank was more green than any other color!.

I have tried the cucumber trick. I have tried clown loaches but seem to have trouble keeping those. I find the best time to catch them is when I do my big weekly WC as that seems to surface them, or when the light first comes on. Now I just crush them

 

[M1k3y_gumi]

I have th same type of snail you have. Not sure what they are called but I've had no problems with the plants I have. I know it depends on the type of plants you have but mine seem to be safe. I have ludwigia rotala and java fern. Those snails seem to prefer the glass