snail question

[spyyro]

I would like to get some snails for my tank but I have a question or two about it. I really like the MTS so I'll probably try and get some of those. Is there any snails that anyone recommends staying away from? I don't have any live plants inside the tank right now. I may get some later on down the road but not sure. I've seen Ivory, Blue and Gold Mystery Snails at Petsmart lately. Anyone have anything good/bad to say about them? I also know that some snails need both sexes to reproduce while some are asexual and do not need another. Anyone have any data/info on this?

How long does it take for them to make lots of more snails? Also, how do the loaches eat them? I'm assuming they just eat the actual snail from the shell and leave the shell behind... correct? So you have to manually remove the empty shells from the tank?

Thanks for any info anyone could provide!

 

[shayfish]

I would jump at the chance to get an ivory mystery snail. Mysteries are neat and I haven't ever seen ivories at any of my lfs's. They do need both sexes to reproduce. IMO, that's a good thing!

 

[spyyro]

So, if they do need both sexes to reproduce... that would mean the death of them if I only got a couple and then purchased some loaches (clown and yo yo is what I want). Once again, not sure how they eat the snails but if that's part of their diet I don't see why they wouldn't become a meal. Would big snails be spared?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I'm not sure if loaches would eat mystery snails. They are rather large and have a thick shell. They can become the size of a baseball when full grown. I like MTS because they stir the substrate for me.

 

[spyyro]

The question now is... where to get MTS from? I just got home a bit ago from Petsmart and a LFS and neither place said they get MTS. I really want some of them but now not sure how/where to get them from.
I came home today anyway with 2 of each mystery snail they had for sale at Petsmart. (Black, Ivory, Gold and Blue). Will they cross breed? So, if these snails breed like mad, loaches won't be the answer huh?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

They won't breed like other snails. I had 12 of them in a 10 gal tank for almost a year and they never reproduced. I kept the water line high and they didn't have a place to lay eggs.

 

[tropicfishman]

my ramshorn ate my plants liek crazy and not just the dead parts!!

 

[spyyro]

Actually I was just thinking. I have a slot all the way across my tank in the lid from my XP3 hoses coming in/out. Will the snails escape? What should I put over it to prevent this if yes? Any suggestions?

 

[shayfish]

I came home today anyway with 2 of each mystery snail they had for sale at Petsmart. (Black, Ivory, Gold and Blue). Will they cross breed? So, if these snails breed like mad, loaches won't be the answer huh?

No, Mysteries won't breed like mad. They lay eggs above the waterline, so it is easy to predict what's coming.

It sounds like you want to introduce a big whack of snails and then control their population with loaches, which to me doesn't seem like quite the right approach...

 

[spyyro]

No, I don't want a big whack of snails. I'd be happy if these didn't reproduce at all. I just always hear that if you get over run with snails... get some loaches. I want some loaches anyway because I like how they look. If they don't eat MTS and Mystery snails... what kind do they eat?

 

[MyCatsDrool]

spixis

 

[courtnee]

I have 2 clown loaches in with my mystery snail and they do not bother him. Of course at this point the snail is larger then the clown loaches as they are babies. The clowns did eat the baby regular snails in my tank (bought them for that reason) and cleaned it right up for me.

I cant say I will trust my clown loaches with my mystery snails when they get larger....

I plan to as well get an ivory one from petsmart. They are beautiful.

 

[spyyro]

MTS breed quickly?

 

[GlitcH]

MTS breed quickly?

MTS are live bearers so you won't see any sacks but ya they reproduce fairly quick. MTS reproduce about as quickly as the common ramshorn.
Not nearly as quickly as pond snails though.......pond snails are IMO the fastest to reproduce of all snails.

 

[severum mama]

I wouldn't trust loaches with any snails, really. I'm pretty sure my yo yos were responsible for the death of the last apple snail that I kept, and it was bigger than a mystery snail. It was bigger than the loaches, too! I don't think that they outright killed it, but rather harrassed it to death. They make really short work of any smaller snails, MTS included.