Should i snail

[buffalochip]

i am thinking about getting a snail to help control algae in my 36 gal tank. However I have heard they multiply like rabbits. How do you control the extras. I assume you have to pick them out one by one? Is this more work than its worth? Someone with experience here let me know what you think.

[ESeck]

Nerite snails! They will lay eggs but they are infertile in fresh water. I have a bunch of them.

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[jarrod0987]

You just got to let me know, Should I snail or should I go

[Pseudomugil]

Originally Posted by jarrod0987

You just got to let me know, Should I snail or should I go

Lol.

I agree get nerite snails they're amazing. I have one that's like 10 years old.

[Beej1254]

I always loved the Apple snails. I love the way they look and when they get larger. They do reproduce easily but they lay their eggs above the waterline where you can scrape them off and toss them if you want.

[buffalochip]

Thanks for the info. I will probably try the ones that don't breed. I sometimes go away for two weeks and my fish feeder would no doubt fail to see them if they were in a hurry and I would have a snail explosion.

[candymancan]

Originally Posted by Beej1254

I always loved the Apple snails. I love the way they look and when they get larger. They do reproduce easily but they lay their eggs above the waterline where you can scrape them off and toss them if you want.

Before you toss them, i suggest you crush them first... Alot of waterways in the country are being overrun by apple/Mystery snails and detroying the ecosystem because people just toss or flush things down the drain.

same goes for plants, dry them out so they turn to powder before you just toss em as they can invaid local waterways.

It depends what kind of algae you have in your tank... Nerite snails are only good for diatom algae.. They dont eat hair algae really, nore do they eat green spot algae.. For hair algae you need siamese algae eaters, and for green spot algae you need to cut your lighting to 6 hours a day for a month or so to get rid of it.


Apple snails dont eat algae really, they eat decaying plants/food or even dead fish and stuff in the tank. They prefer veggies over algae. Thats why if you have apple/mystery snails you should suppliment them with algae wafers which are actually made of veggies.


If you dont they will die over time, or they will start eating your plants

[Beej1254]

good point in destroying the eggs first! I should have mentioned that but I guess I didn't because I always tried to keep them

[Pseudomugil]

I hate my apple snail it keeps eating my favorite plants!!! It's eaten like 3 1/2 of my anubius leaves and a banana plant leaf. Plus it was munching away at my huge field of Java moss!