Well, it looks like I have a little snail farm going on between my 3 tanks and outdoor pond. I see posts of people freaking out about massive snail populations all the time, but I have embraced the natural wonders associated with these rather prolific invertebrates.
Here's what I have going on:
In tank #1 there are hundreds of pond snails and 2 assassins (Clea helena) [29 gal TV Tank]
In tank #2 there are Japanese Trapdoor snails (which were moved from tank #1 after the explosion of pond snails), Malaysian Trumpets (moved from tank #3), and a few pond snails that snuck in. [40 gal Octagon Tank]
In tank #3 there are all the pond snails I pluck out of tanks #1 and #2 plus more assassins than I can count. [18 gal Propagation Tank]
In the outdoor pond there are pond snails (of course) and Japanese Trapdoors [not sure on size... maybe 1000 gal]
So that's a lot to keep up with, I know, but I've learned a lot about snails from having such a population! I should also mention that all of my tanks are planted, so these guys are my clean-up crew as well. Until a few months ago I didn't even own a single algae eating fish! I started with JTs and they were very entertaining, prolific, and great cleaners. Then one day I found a pond snail... I didn't know anything about them at the time, and before I knew enough, they had a population boom. Enter the assassins... I ordered these online to complete the circle of life for the pondies, and they were happy to be introduced. I apparently have a mixed group of assassins in tank #3 because now there are a TON of little assassins in training in there. It's all good... once a week I slip a piece of lettuce in tank #1, and in the morning I scoop out 10-20 pond snails and drop them in tank #3 to complete the circle. There aren't many pondies in tank #2, but when I see them I just pluck them out and drop them in #3.
So anybody interested in my natural approach to snails? What have you done with your population booms? I prefer not to use chemicals in my tanks, so I don't screw with the natural ecology going on. I'm more of a scientist than a fish pharmacist
Here's what I have going on:
In tank #1 there are hundreds of pond snails and 2 assassins (Clea helena) [29 gal TV Tank]
In tank #2 there are Japanese Trapdoor snails (which were moved from tank #1 after the explosion of pond snails), Malaysian Trumpets (moved from tank #3), and a few pond snails that snuck in. [40 gal Octagon Tank]
In tank #3 there are all the pond snails I pluck out of tanks #1 and #2 plus more assassins than I can count. [18 gal Propagation Tank]
In the outdoor pond there are pond snails (of course) and Japanese Trapdoors [not sure on size... maybe 1000 gal]
So that's a lot to keep up with, I know, but I've learned a lot about snails from having such a population! I should also mention that all of my tanks are planted, so these guys are my clean-up crew as well. Until a few months ago I didn't even own a single algae eating fish! I started with JTs and they were very entertaining, prolific, and great cleaners. Then one day I found a pond snail... I didn't know anything about them at the time, and before I knew enough, they had a population boom. Enter the assassins... I ordered these online to complete the circle of life for the pondies, and they were happy to be introduced. I apparently have a mixed group of assassins in tank #3 because now there are a TON of little assassins in training in there. It's all good... once a week I slip a piece of lettuce in tank #1, and in the morning I scoop out 10-20 pond snails and drop them in tank #3 to complete the circle. There aren't many pondies in tank #2, but when I see them I just pluck them out and drop them in #3.
So anybody interested in my natural approach to snails? What have you done with your population booms? I prefer not to use chemicals in my tanks, so I don't screw with the natural ecology going on. I'm more of a scientist than a fish pharmacist
