live plants and snails

[RustyRay]

Species of Mystery Snail Matters

Mystery snails are not a single species. It is just a name for marketing purposes. Some of the apple / mystery snail species do not eat plants. I have a tank full of a species that ignores healthy plant leaves and only nibbles on fish food and algae. Many of the mystery snail species look excactly the same, but they are in fact different species. Only experts can tell them apart. The best thing to do is buy the snails from a store knows that the species they have do not, in fact, eat plants. My ramshorn snails donit eat plants either.

 

[daveedka]

Mystery snails are not a single species. It is just a name for marketing purposes. Some of the apple / mystery snail species do not eat plants. I have a tank full of a species that ignores healthy plant leaves and only nibbles on fish food and algae. Many of the mystery snail species look excactly the same, but they are in fact different species. Only experts can tell them apart. The best thing to do is buy the snails from a store knows that the species they have do not, in fact, eat plants. My ramshorn snails donit eat plants either.

Correct information, but I think it backwards . Apple snails have many species, one of which is the mystery snail. Mystery snails do not eat plants, All other apple snails (I belive ) do eat plants. And Yes, most folks cannot tell them apart, so when you buy a mystery snail it is often a mystery as to what you really bought. One easy test though put it in a tank with plants. if it doesn't eat them it is a true mystery snail if it does it is some other species of apple snail.


As far as pond snails and common ramshorns, They are often blamed but sledom if ever guilty of eating plants. in most cases, the plant leaves are unhealthy and the snails clean them up as they die from the edges out. If people were to immediatly remove all snails, they would find that the plants continue to wilt or die without the snails in the tank. snails are quick to find food, and will eat incessantly. if they find a damged or wilting leaf, they will clean up the edges as it wilts, but will not harm a healthy leaf in the same tank. Even in grossly overcrowded snail tanks (I purposefully have some of those) the plants thrive and grow well with pond snails, red rams and MTS's in the tank.
dave

 

[jdcreigh]

when we are being over run by the snails what can we do?i DO NOT want to feed them to other fish.can we take them to a pond?if so what kind do i look for?thanks

 

[RTR]

Never, ever, under any circumstances, release anything from a tank into the wild - not fish, not plants, not inverts, including the snails. That is terrible and potentially damaging to the environment.

 

[thesydmonster]

Absolutely do not release your snails or anything else from your tank into the wild.

Make sure you are not overfeeding your fish and are doing your regular weekly water changes. You can manually remove them by placing a lettuce leaf or piece of zucchini or algae wafer in the tank at night, take it out with all the snails on it in the morning. You may have to do this several times.

I would not recommend chemicals. I would also not recommend any botia species (loaches) without knowing the size of your tank. They are great snail eaters, though.

Good luck!

 

[wataugachicken]

if you don't want to feed the snails to fish, use the lettuce trick then put the leaf and the snails into a plastic bag and freeze them.

 

[jdcreigh]

ok but when they are on the lettuce then what do you do with them?

 

[miguelitro]

garlic some butter and yummie!

seriously though i cant get mine to breed i see some eggs now and then but my pond snails arnt multiplying, the 1 in my big tank is gettign huge though...
I would like more as they eat the dead plants and the left over food if there is any...

 

[wataugachicken]

ok but when they are on the lettuce then what do you do with them?

put the leaf and the snails into a plastic bag and freeze them.

that's how

 

[jdcreigh]

but why freeze them.really i dont want to harm them.i like them but i am worried they will get out of control.