I have been reading a few posts here, and looked on the net for some more information. From what i hear these snails are very hardy, and do a great job for aerating the substrate, eating up the excess food and what not. But i heard they can multiply in the thousands. Does anybody have these and also how can you keep them from overrunning my tank. I have a 55 gallon freshwater, with all fake plants. Any ideas?
Malyasian Trumpet snail question
- Thread starter Hagermanfd
- Start date
I have had MTS for a while now.
They are good scavengers and clean up excess food.
They don't eat plants.
They don't touch brown algae, at least mine didn't.
They multiply rapidly if you feed too much.
They will eat fish eggs.
Yes, they burrow in the gravel, but just below the surface, so the gravel aeration deal is overrated.
If you get too many, you can't just crush them and feed them to the fish, unlike pond snails. The shells are way too hard.
Once you have them, you will never be able to get rid of them totally. Thet are indestructible.
Plusses and minuses, as with anything.
They are good scavengers and clean up excess food.
They don't eat plants.
They don't touch brown algae, at least mine didn't.
They multiply rapidly if you feed too much.
They will eat fish eggs.
Yes, they burrow in the gravel, but just below the surface, so the gravel aeration deal is overrated.
If you get too many, you can't just crush them and feed them to the fish, unlike pond snails. The shells are way too hard.
Once you have them, you will never be able to get rid of them totally. Thet are indestructible.
Plusses and minuses, as with anything.
What you will generally see is the population explode past the carryng capacity of the tank (takes about three months) then the population will die back to a level the the feeding and algae growth in your tank can support. The whole process takes about 6 months. The problem is that what constitutes a healthy normal population of MTS to me might be a "plague" to someone else. I personally think they add a more natural element to the tank. They also do an excellent job of algae control. I do not believe they eat fish eggs (at least not the ones being protected by my dwarf cichlid parents). Lastly, I find their habit of coming out in force only at night to be quite considerate of them :joke:
A waring however. My experience is based on what happened in a moderately planted tank that got 50% wc weekly. A tank with few plants (hence more algae) or a tank that gets overfed and undercleaned will support a larger population of MTS. Even still I for one will never have a tank without them.
A waring however. My experience is based on what happened in a moderately planted tank that got 50% wc weekly. A tank with few plants (hence more algae) or a tank that gets overfed and undercleaned will support a larger population of MTS. Even still I for one will never have a tank without them.
I like mine because I feel they really do a good job mixing up my substrate. In fact, they do such a good job it can be hard to keep ground cover plants down right after I plant them (no problems once the plants are established though). One thing people do complain about is that the gravel is constantly moving. Some people find it unnerving but it doesn't bother me. I bet I have several hundred in my tank but you really won't see them much.
Don't they become the substrate though.. :laugh: sorry..
I love my apple snails myself but they don't move the substrate.
I love my apple snails myself but they don't move the substrate.
i called up 5 fish stores in my area and not one place sells them, i guess they dont like having them in their tanks!!!
Wow!! Maybe someone on here lives near you and you could pick up a few.. :huh:
I wonder if the stores know what they are I can't imagine buying a plant without an MTS on it...
I wonder if the stores know what they are I can't imagine buying a plant without an MTS on it...
I usually just find the fishstore that has them and ask if I can have a few. They usually say to take as many as I want.