So I finished setting up my tanks and moving to a sand substrate. I got a few dozen MTS from a nearby Petsmart about a month ago and have been moving them around as I did the tank shuffle. I ended up finally with roughly half in my 28g and half in my 40g tank. The 28g is very peaceful right now so I'm not too worried about the snails in their, even though I rarely see them. Even the pond snails survive perfectly fine in there (although the baby ones have disappeared). My 40g on the other hand...well...Long-fin Rosy Barbs look so sweet and innocent, like they wouldn't hurt a fly, until you see them pull a pond snail clean out of it's shell. The cichlids are even more efficient at it.
The MTS have fared much better. No one seems to be able to get through their shells and cant seem to rip them out like the pond snails. The only thing that has me a little worried is the Kribs. I watched one watch an MTS crawl around for a couple minutes, then suddenly grab it and swing it around a few times. The snail survived but didn't come back out for a half-hour, at which point it burrowed right into the sand. So my thoughs here are split. Both tanks look the same, with maybe seeing 1 or 2 snails out at night. This seems to hint that they are perfectly fine. But the aggression towards them I see in the 40 has me worried that the snails may not survive even with their great hiding place. I haven't seen empty shells yet like I do with pond snails so I know they arn't dying above the sand but no idea what happens when they flee into the sand.
I guess what I'm wondering if MTS are content to live under the sand all the time and do their work or do they need to come up from time to time like pond snails? Are my cichlids going to kill them off slowly by constantly chasing them into hiding?
Next step if the snails work out may be to add California Black Worms to the sand and see how that works out. Pretty sure they will be eaten over time, just a matter how much time.
The MTS have fared much better. No one seems to be able to get through their shells and cant seem to rip them out like the pond snails. The only thing that has me a little worried is the Kribs. I watched one watch an MTS crawl around for a couple minutes, then suddenly grab it and swing it around a few times. The snail survived but didn't come back out for a half-hour, at which point it burrowed right into the sand. So my thoughs here are split. Both tanks look the same, with maybe seeing 1 or 2 snails out at night. This seems to hint that they are perfectly fine. But the aggression towards them I see in the 40 has me worried that the snails may not survive even with their great hiding place. I haven't seen empty shells yet like I do with pond snails so I know they arn't dying above the sand but no idea what happens when they flee into the sand.
I guess what I'm wondering if MTS are content to live under the sand all the time and do their work or do they need to come up from time to time like pond snails? Are my cichlids going to kill them off slowly by constantly chasing them into hiding?
Next step if the snails work out may be to add California Black Worms to the sand and see how that works out. Pretty sure they will be eaten over time, just a matter how much time.
