For all you experienced aquarist, can you guys tell me what the benefits are, apart from cleaning algea, of having snails in your tanks? If they are beneficial, are there one species that are more benefical than others? Do you recommend adding snails to my tank?
Snails in my tank
- Thread starter joscadi
- Start date
It's really up to you whether you want them or not. On the plus side, some species do a fair job at cleaning algae; they feed fish such as puffers and clown loaches; still other fish will eat the eggs; they are a natural part of the ecosystem; and some folks just like snails.
On the down side, they add to your bio load in the aquarium; they can reproduce to the point your tank becomes overwhelmed with them; some do very little to clean algae.
So, it's up to you whether you like them or not. There are many different varieties, so maybe there is one that you like over the others. Try it and see if it cleans the algae enough for you. If not, squish it against the glass, and let the fish eat up, most fish will really go for squishy snail guts, it's a nice meaty treat for them.
On the down side, they add to your bio load in the aquarium; they can reproduce to the point your tank becomes overwhelmed with them; some do very little to clean algae.
So, it's up to you whether you like them or not. There are many different varieties, so maybe there is one that you like over the others. Try it and see if it cleans the algae enough for you. If not, squish it against the glass, and let the fish eat up, most fish will really go for squishy snail guts, it's a nice meaty treat for them.
Snails are good as part of a general tank clean up crew. I use them in my plant tanks in conjuction with my other algae eaters as well as scavengers.
Snail populations will only explode if an excess amount of consumable organics is available to them (ie. decaying plant matter, excess fish food, etc.). Keep those levels low, and you should be able to keep the snail population low as well. Snails can be used as an indicator to see if you are overfeeding.
HTH
-Richer
Snail populations will only explode if an excess amount of consumable organics is available to them (ie. decaying plant matter, excess fish food, etc.). Keep those levels low, and you should be able to keep the snail population low as well. Snails can be used as an indicator to see if you are overfeeding.
HTH
-Richer