mr.waffles1842
Aquarium Advice FINatic
which is better, mystery snails or nerite snails?
I am quoting myself because I already answered your questions. To clarify, mysteries do not eat much algae, they eat more fallen flake food. Yes, they eat algae, but not as much.Neither is better. One living organism is not better than another.
Nerites eat more algae, mysteries eat more extra food. Neither will overpopulate your tank since nerites need sw for eggs to hatch and mysteries need to mate with a snail of a different gender, but then lay their eggs up above the water level so they are easy to remove if you don't want babies. Both have awesome colors and I have found them to be equally hardy. Mysteries get bigger which means they have a bigger bioload. Many people like nerites for the algae eating aspect.
Yes, nerites have less bioload than mysterys. Part of that is because they are smaller. I have mysterys and otos in a tank, and the mysterys eat algae, but do not put a big dent on its growth. Once I got the otos, the algae level went down though. So, compared to an algae eating fish, they do not eat that much.but the nerite has alot less right? thanks again. hmm. maybe ill just buy a mystery and see what happens from there. oh yeak, and how much algae do mysterys eat, compared toan algae eating fish? sorry if im asking o much over and over.
You could still get a few mysterys. Nothing says you can't. The plus about them not eating as much algae is that they do not out-compete other algae eaters.darn it! i wanted a buch of the mysterys for my new 40 gallon project! im planning on getting one for my birthday. thatll be 3 tanks in one year! woot!
I understand, but really you should get any fish or invert because you want it and feel it would do well in your environment, not just so it will do a job for you. So,if you want a mystery snail, feel it would do well in your environment, and know how to take care of it, then go ahead. Its not like they don't eat any algae, so if your growth in minimal, they could be quite helpful.yeah, but i wanted a snail, and that was all for an algae eater...
Sorry, for misunderstanding you. Be careful how you phrase things, I thought you were saying you wanted them just because you want an algae eater. I apologize. Truthfully, a well-planted, well-maintained tank with proper light and dark cycles shouldn't really need an algae eater. Thats why I am saying, if you like the snails, go ahead and get a few for your new tank.i dont keep them just so they do something for me! thats animal cruelty IMO! i just thought snails would be cool, andd if they eat algae for me, thats great!