Dosing tank w/erythromycin - Should I save the snails?

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dnali

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Jan 22, 2008
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I'm using Maracyn to knock out (hopefully) the cyanobacteria running rampant in my tank. It also has a significant population of Malaysian trumpet snails, and I read online that it kills them as well... Should I take it as a blessing? They're not my favorite things but I don't have terribly strong feelings about the snails except that there are a few too many at the moment. I haven't seen them do damage to the plants and I know that they help clean up uneaten food on the bottom of the tank.

Soo... should I save a lucky few and let them repopulate the tank? And won't dead snails significantly add to the decomposing material in my aquarium after I treat?
 

looney417

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Jul 7, 2007
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if you're scared of wiping them out, save like...5.

yea i said it. 5. thats alot. they multiply like mad
 

dnali

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Jan 22, 2008
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Lol yea, I've noticed. There's one larger (non mts) snail that I'm going to save because I like him.

But my question was more whether i should bother to save any... I wouldn't be crying if my tank didn't have MTS.
 

FishApprentice

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Feb 27, 2008
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I would let them all die... but from what I have learned and heard, they will make a comeback even if you think they are all dead.

Also I would be curious as to how all the dead snails will affect your ammonia levels... anyone have any experience with that?
 

bazil323

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If you don't care, I wouldn't bother keeping them. If you do want them, then go right ahead. They're pretty easy to come by though, so if you changed your mind, you wouldn't really have to go far. Plus, they still add to the bioload even though they are eating debris like leftover food. IMHO, if you only want them because they are eating the leftover food, ditch them because they are causing more waste than eating. I mean, why bother saving them if you don't care about having them and don't actually like them?

But, do consider that all those dead snails will be rotting and creating waste. I'd try to pick as many out as possible and keep an eye on the levels for the next week or so.
 

Star_Rider

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you can half dose EM if treating for BGA.

it had 0 impact on the MTS in my tank.

if it kills them I would remove the dead ones tho.
 

dnali

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Jan 22, 2008
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I'm basing the question on http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2006/10/maracyn-can-kill-malaysian-trumpet.html and similar from a google search... Just anecdotal evidence as far as I can tell. I don't know why antibiotics would affect MTS. Maybe they rely on some species of bacteria for their survival.

I decided to go ahead and half-dose the tank for now, and let the snails fall where they may. As bazil said, if I wanted to replace them, and I can't imagine why I would, I could just grab a couple from a lfs. Interestingly enough some of the snails are doing this weird backwards/sideways slide down the glass and then shutting the hatch. Others seem unaffected.

I plan to do large water changes after the algae starts to die off, so I'll make an effort to pull out as many of the snails as I can find... Even if they decay under the driftwood or something I can keep an eye on the levels and make sure a mini-cycle doesn't affect the fish... Gotta get a new test kit now.

Thanks for the feedback... I'll give an update on the snails when I know how it all turns out :)
 

msjinkzd

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I doubt MTS will be effected by using the antibiotic, more sensitive snails like nerites or apple snails would be at risk.
 
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