Plant safe snails

cdawson

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Jan 6, 2003
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I'm told that malaysian trumpet snails are beneficial to a planted tank. What's everyones take on this? I'm curious because I know I've got a ramshorn or two in my tank (puffer keeps the numbers low), and I've heard that malaysian trumpets snails combat them by eating their eggs.
 
I have MTS' in lots of my tanks - they don't eat the plants and are great at burrowing through sediment. I don't know about their nack for eating ramshorn eggs but I would guess this is a good possiblity. Puffers enjoy MTS' as well.
 
Most snails are pretty neutral occupants of a planted tank. They seldom eat healthy leaves, preferring the decaying and dying leaves, since these are easier to eat. I have a mix of snails in all my tanks.
 
I'm with OG. I have red Ramshorns, common pond, and MTS is all of my tanks with plants (excluding tanks with puffers).

I have never heard of MTS eating other snail's eggs. It certainly has no effect on the normal population (if it occurs at all) in my tanks.

The exception is the Apple Snail family - all but one are avid plant eaters.
 
snail competition

I had thought that the MTS in one tank were overtaking the pond snails as the total number of snails seemed the same (100+?), but the balance shifted from all pond snails to MTS plus maybe 3 pond snails. Now that has shifted back and the pond snails are returning.

I had suggested that perhaps they were eating the pond snail eggs, back when the pond snails were nearly extinguished in this tank.

I guess that is not so.
 
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