Snails

[Dawn Dansk]

:fairy: I heard from other people that they a snail in thier tank that ate algae(sp?). I thought it might be fun to have a snail for something different. Any thoughts from those who know things i hope to one day learn? :dive:

[reignman40]

What is your tank? Is it planted or fake plants? Do you want smaller or larger snails?

With that information we can better determine what type of snails would be good.

Curtis

[TKOS]

Smaller pond and common rams horn snails are easy to care for (well they pretty much care for themseleves). They can over run a tank if there is too much food present. That comes from over feeding fish and not doing enough water changes/gravel vacuuming. They eat algae, decaying plants, excess fish food, and even pick through detritus for undigested food. MTS would also fit in this catagory, though they generally are nocturnal and spend most of the day in the gravel.

Larger snails are fun as well and some can get as big as a baseball. Many of these snails will eat live plants readily, though some like True Mystery Snails do not.

So there are lots of options depending on the size of snail you want, how much you clean your tank and whether or not you have live plants.

[Dawn Dansk]

I have one live plant that was dying in my friends pound and the rest are fake. I curently have 5 guppies but want to add more soon. The tank is a 20gl tank. I clean it about once a week to once every two weeks with a gravel vac. I would want a snail that is not huge (baseball sized) but large enough to see and enjoy easily. Thanks again for the help, I hope that helps.

[reignman40]

Your best bet for a larger, not oversized, snail that won't eat your plant is a True Mystery Snail. They come in a large variety of different colors. Common Ramshorns are also nice to look up but as I recall the largest they get is about the size of a nickle. Nerite snails I hear are great for algea and won't reproduce in freshwater. However Nerite are the only snails I have no experience with.

Mainly with any live plants you want to stay away from Apple Snails and Columbian Ramshorn Snails.

Curtis

[Dawn Dansk]

Thanks!

[janderson]

The commonly seen black/gold mystery snails are usually pomacea bridgesii. They solely eat decaying plant matter (or leftover flakes, pellets or veggies), so they are safe with live plants. The same species comes in a bunch of varieties (I have a light blue one - love it!) and grows up to 2" in shell diameter. As long as you only have one snail, you don't have to worry about offspring at all. Should you decide to get more than one and happen to pick a male and a female, population control it is still simple since egg clutches are deposited above water and can be easily removed. (under water the eggs drown, in dry surroundings they won't hatch, either)

Here is a good site (http://applesnail.net/) for any and all things snail related.

[daveedka]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50705


Dave

[Dawn Dansk]

Thanks for the link to the article, it was very helpful! :read:

[mishi8]

I'm a big fan of zebra snails (neritina natalensis). They are true algae eaters...constantly grazing, and don't eat plants. I've got one in my 10 gallon, and it's done a great job keeping the tank clean. :)

[Kissofthegorami]

Nerite snails!! best algase eaters ever. zebra snails are one variety. will eat all kinds of algae wont reproduce.