Adding Snails

[rob0829]

I was wondering if its ok to add a snail to my goldfish tank before it has finished cycling? Also what type of snail would be good to add that hopefully won't reproduce very much and help keep the tank clean?

[sarcare]

Snails are fine during all stages of the cycling process. I don't know about the compatibility of snails and goldfish, but mystery snails will help keep the place clean and don't multiply like crazy. They are kinda cute too. You ought to suplement the larger snails' diets though, so you might just want the pond kind or the ramshorn kind if you aren't interested in them as pets. I've just fed my mystery snails zucchini, which the corys love too.

[bettagurl]

i have a yellow mystery snail and he/she keeps the tank very clean.

[plah831]

I'm pretty sure goldfish will eat small snails. I don't think they're like puffers or loaches that will take bites out of the foot of larger snails. I think they just swallow the little ones whole. So you're probably better off with a moderate sized mystery snail.

Someone should chime in if they know differently.

Yeah, and don't worry about ammonia or nitrite poisoning in snails. I breed common ramshorn snails in little buckets and the water gets filthy. I still change the water several times a week, but they're messy guys. They breathe air by going to the surface anyway, so they don't get ammonia damage to their gills or anything.

[Mr SnailZ]

Snails are much more tolerant of poor water conditions but still will eventually die. They should easily survive a cycle. The goldfish will be fine with snails. Brigs aka mystery snails would be a good choice and they don't eat live plants.

[H3D]

Yeah, and don't worry about ammonia or nitrite poisoning in snails.

Ammonia is TOXIC to just about everything living including snails.

[plah831]

of course, but I'm just saying it'll be just fine for snails at the levels that you want for cycling. As said, high levels or prolonged exposure will still kill them, but not as fast as it would your fish.

For more info on this issue and others, see this article entitled "A Beginner's Guide to Snails"
http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/articles/27-begginners-guide-snails-fw.html

[bigscout]

Ammonia is TOXIC to just about everything living including snails.
Actually ammonia at cycling levels will have no negative effect on snails. they don't even notice it. I generally always keep snails in cycling tanks, and in some cases use them for cycling for this reason. ammonia levels would have to be really really high before there was a problem.

Remeber that the issue with fish and cycling is gill irritation, snails don't have gills.
I have kept snails in tanks with 5 ppm ammonia, and even with 2-3 ppm chlorine. they showed no signs of any problem at all.

[hondamx]

Don't snails need warmer water then goldfish????

[bigscout]

depends on the snails, mystery snails probably would prefer warmer, but the usually thrive in koi ponds except in very cold weather. pond snails live in mamy temperaturev ranges all over the place

[H3D]

Actually ammonia at cycling levels will have no negative effect on snails. they don't even notice it. I generally always keep snails in cycling tanks, and in some cases use them for cycling for this reason. ammonia levels would have to be really really high before there was a problem.

Remeber that the issue with fish and cycling is gill irritation, snails don't have gills.
I have kept snails in tanks with 5 ppm ammonia, and even with 2-3 ppm chlorine. they showed no signs of any problem at all.

That is not the only issue. Ammonia causes burning to living tissue.

[bigscout]

And snails will head for the topWhen exposed to irritants, or if they have an operculum they will close it any time they are stressed or Bothered. They do not show any behavioral change of any type at 5 ppm ammonia, nor at high nitrite levels, or as mentioned with measuarble chlorine. Fish do not have an issue with skin when ammonia levels elevate, only the gills. If ammonia levels were to go to some extreme level we don't see typically in our tanks, I'm sure it will be hard on snails or lethal. Cycling levels are whatg we are talking about here, and the ammonia levels we see in fish tanks will not harm snails.
5 ppm is a very small amount for an armored gastropod.

But don't belive me, by all means get yourself some snails and a tank or bucket and maintain 5 ppm ammonia while doing a fishless cycle with snails in the tank, then you'll see clearly what I'm talking about. 5 ppm or probably more will not harm snails. nitrite has no effect at all because if they don't breathe underwater, they take in nitrite. Chlorine I can't really explain I can only say I've done it a couple of times by accident and it didn't harm my snails. And if you really want to do so you could add ammonia until you found the level that started irritating snails, and then post back here. I have no need or reason to expose my snails to higher levels than I use when fishless cycling, so I haven't found the threshold limit, I just now that anything up to 5 ppm won't even be noticed.

I do not reccomend keeping snails in a cesspool or not maintaining their water, But ammonia and nitrite don't harm them and that makes them an excellent anmal for cycling omong other things.

[H3D]

First off Ammonia and Nitrites cause burning. You can research this if do not believe me. They cause burning to the gills of fish which can cause them to suffocate. They also cause burning to the skin of fish, I've seen it. These toxins can have similar effects on snails. It may be that you have had success using snails to cycle your tank, however that does not mean this practice is ideal. Purposefully exposing a living creature to any level of toxic substances unnecessarily does not seem right, nor does encouraging others to do the same.

[bigscout]

Homer Do you have some information that the rest of us have never seen or heard of, or are you just taking wild guesses as something you obviously know little about. do some research and reading. 5 ppm ammonia will not burn a fish's skin through the slime coat unless that fish is for some other reason unhealthy. 5 ppm ammonia will definately not harm a snail, and I imagine much more would not either.

beforte you start accusing someone of poor practices it might be wise of you to actually do some research and learn some things.

This is not new information, this is not hard to find information. Snails are not affected by ammonia.

On top of that, contrary to your statement Nitrite does not burn a fish's skin or gills. Nitrite blocks the ability of the fish's blood to carry oxygen. and as said since a snail doesn't breathe underwater, nitrite has no effect.

So you can take the nitrite part clear out of your equation and then do your research on ammonia only and save yourself some time.

And of course you could do just exactly what I already suggersted and test it yourself. It's simple, easy to do, and if you have ever owned snails, you should know enough about their normal behavior and their defensive behavior to see that there is no difference with or without ammonia.

MTS's can and will close up their shell and wait out a copper treatment, anytime they are exposed to anything noxious, the close up and stay that way until it has passed. Pond snails alter their feeding activities, and their breeding activity both, Ramshorns do likewise. any apple snail will completely leave the water when presented with undesireable conditions. None, I repeat None of these behaviors manifest when these animals are exposed to ammonia at cycling levels.

My experience was not gained without research first, I do not advocate harming my aquatic pets or anyone else's, but I do not simply devise answers for folks without proper research either. I first asked this question several years ago while doing a fishless cycle in a tank that had snail eggs in it. ?The consensus among knowledgeable snails keepers was pretty strong. So then I did my own testing, and reinforced the knowledge they had given me.

I know will once again suggest you actually try the experiment, and research the subject deeper.

[H3D]

Aquarium life should not be exposed to ammonia levels above .1 ppm. Most aquatic life can be burned and or killed by ammonia even at low levels. Furthermore at a level of 5 ppm almost all aquatic life will die!

http://www.thekrib.com/Chemistry/ammonia-toxicity.html

I am not insinuating that nitrite poisoning is not one consequence, of course it is, but it is not the only one. Nitrite is a skin irritant. The point I was making is that it is not necessary to expose any aquatic life to these toxins.

http://www.aquariumcorner.com/cycling.htm

[plah831]

Purposefully exposing a living creature to any level of toxic substances unnecessarily does not seem right, nor does encouraging others to do the same.
As I've already said, the levels of ammonia and nitrite will harm the fish way before the snails will even notice. If you're so concerned about "encouraging others" to expose animals to potential toxins, then you should be a staunch advocate of fishless cycling. I don't know if the OP was doing a fishy cycle or not, but you made no mention of the possibility of exposing the FISH to toxins.

This thread may be lost in the move to the new server anyway, but if it comes back up, please refrain from unfounded personal attacks.