Snails, Mulm, & Cleaning

[MagicAfra]

A few months ago, after reading in numerous places that planted tanks did not require-and in fact benefited from-not cleaning deep into the gravel to get out the mulm, I started to do so. The problem is that now there are snails everywhere. Should I clean the gravel or not?

I believe they are malaysian trumpet snails. I would prefer just to starve them and perhaps use lettuce rather than buying livestock, but if anything I don't want this to escalate. I just don't want to have to look at a hundred of them.

My fish seem to eat all of the food that I give them. Why am I having snail problems? Possible reasons?

 

[Hholly]

I would clean the gravel. I think nitrates build up if you don't. But you can also net out lots of snails as well as trapping them.

 

[Rivercats]

You can do gravel cleaning in areas that are free of plants otherwise it is not a good idea. As for the snails, cut a couple slices of zucchini, microwave them for several seconds until they soften up "slightly", weigh them down and lay them on the tank bottom. Check back in a couple hours and they will literally be covered. Just keep removing the snails and putting the zucchini back in. You'll be amazed how many will come to it. It works much better than lettuce.

 

[Luananeko]

I would clean the gravel. I think nitrates build up if you don't. But you can also net out lots of snails as well as trapping them.

Nitrates don't build up much if you've done things right. Between the right mix of plants combined with a good mix of substrate fauna (I have blackworms and snails in mine), you can easily keep the nitrates constantly below 10-15 without ever doing any gravel cleaning. The only reason I do water changes is to restore the trace minerals, not because of nitrate build up.

OP - have you looked into assassin snails? They do wonders at keeping your MTS population under control. Even if you're feeding the right amount you'll likely run into snail issues just because of how fast they reproduce... Just the natural plant debris from a planted tank is enough for their population to keep growing.

 

[MagicAfra]

Between the right mix of plants combined with a good mix of substrate fauna (I have blackworms and snails in mine), you can easily keep the nitrates constantly below 10-15 without ever doing any gravel cleaning

My plants are not quite densely packed though they do cover the entire bottom. I would easily be able to clean around them except for the fact that I fear damaging their roots. From what it sounds like there should be a balance between plants and nitrates that I might not quite be able to match with the plants. In a semi-non-densely planted aquarium should I clean the gravel?

My substrate plants are Amazon Sword, Cryptocoryne, and Vallisneria whose roots cover the bottom, albeit not profusely.

I have looked into assassin snails though I've not yet tried them. I did not know the MTS were THAT prolific.

What do you mean by netting out snails hHolly?

Thanks for the Zucchini tip.

 

[Luananeko]

My plants are not quite densely packed though they do cover the entire bottom. I would easily be able to clean around them except for the fact that I fear damaging their roots. From what it sounds like there should be a balance between plants and nitrates that I might not quite be able to match with the plants. In a semi-non-densely planted aquarium should I clean the gravel?

I have looked into assassin snails though I've not yet tried them. I did not know the MTS were THAT prolific.

MTS aren't too far behind pond snails in their tendency to have population explosions. Assassin snails are your best friend

If your plants cover the whole bottom and have decent roots you should be fine without messing with the gravel. Definitely vacuum up anything that sits on the very top of the surface, but that's all. Just swirling your hand or the vacuum near it to pull it into the water column where the vacuum can get it is fine, don't disturb the bed itself.

Additionally, making sure some of your plants are effectively weeds and/or adding some floating plants are great nitrate sponges if you're not heavily planted. Hygrophila, Water Sprite, Cabomba, Duckweed, Frogbit, Red Root Floater, etc are all great for that. You will need to keep them pruned pretty well to keep them from getting out of control, but I just sell my trimmings back to my LFS for store credit, so it turns maintenance into a money making activity to further fuel my aquarium addiction

 

[Hholly]

What do you mean by netting out snails hHolly?

Thanks for the Zucchini tip.

Just have a container of water sitting close to the tank. Whenever you pass the tank and see several snails on the glass, grab your net and get em. Then put them in the container and dispose of them. You can really get a lot this way.

 

[Rivercats]

My plants are not quite densely packed though they do cover the entire bottom. I would easily be able to clean around them except for the fact that I fear damaging their roots. From what it sounds like there should be a balance between plants and nitrates that I might not quite be able to match with the plants. In a semi-non-densely planted aquarium should I clean the gravel?

My substrate plants are Amazon Sword, Cryptocoryne, and Vallisneria whose roots cover the bottom, albeit not profusely.

I have looked into assassin snails though I've not yet tried them. I did not know the MTS were THAT prolific.

What do you mean by netting out snails hHolly?

Thanks for the Zucchini tip.

The reason I know MTS is attracted to Zucchini is once before and last night one of my Zucchini slices on a clip fell off and was sitting on the bottom. This morning when I went out to remove the Zucchini the one sitting on the bottom had a mound of MTS snails on it, same thing happened the last time. If you do it be sure to soften the Zucchini in the microwave. Don't make it so soft it falls apart, just enough it feels alittle softer then when you cut it. And cut it into long slices so it's easier to get alot of snails on it and easier to pick it up. I'd actually use a net since the snail mound on it and will fall of easily when you pick the slice up.

Personally I don't mind the MTS's. Mine only come out about an hour before the lights go out and are usually all in the substrate by morning. My tiny babies seem to bed down deep in the Fissidens Fontanus Moss. Now I have quite a few in the 220g but I have a very very heavily planted tank and alot of fish so there is plenty of food to encourage breeding. But in other tanks with not near as many plants and a much lower bio-load of fish I rarely ever get a baby MTS. So there are many factors that determine how many MTS you'll end up with.