Snails in a Discus tank? Is it possible?
- Thread starter Arkangel77
- Start date
Before you get to excited about snails if you have juvenile discus I do not recommended rams or MTS they love the temperatures and the excess food. you could easily and quickly over run with snails.
I ave in my 150 by accident hitch hikers on plants I have 6 clown loachs that barely keep up with the snails.
You really need to think this through and be sure you love snails before you add them.
I have learned the hard way that any thing that has a rep. for being a pain they have it for a reason.
Ps they eat Discus poo so even if you don't over feed they have a very good food source.
I ave in my 150 by accident hitch hikers on plants I have 6 clown loachs that barely keep up with the snails.
You really need to think this through and be sure you love snails before you add them.
I have learned the hard way that any thing that has a rep. for being a pain they have it for a reason.
Ps they eat Discus poo so even if you don't over feed they have a very good food source.
if you use nerites, you don't have to worry. awesome algae eaters that cannot reproduce in fresh water. they may lay eggs on the glass sometimes, but a simple wiping ends that, and if not, the eggs fall off eventually anyway, and don't seem to affect the bioload. just my two cents.
-Rich
Lupin,
The Discus was probably 4" at the time, and the pond snail was small, about 3/4 of a pea. I didn't realize what came out until I took a closer look. When I went to search for the rest of the snails I put in, they were all but shells.
Yeah Pleco's chasing fish when they get larger is a common problem. They will do that to just about any fish. I have even heard of them sucking on the sides of Cichlids and heard a store once where the pleco was swimming around with a large goldfish in it's mouth. ...the goldfish did not make it. 
I have a tank with Discus in it and I put some plants in it that were infested with snails and was all but sure I would have a problem, but I have not seen one snail since I put them in there. I figured they were being eaten by the Discus. I have Cobalts.
What I have, that would work great for a pleco replacement, are Otto's and shrimps. You can find the otto's at any petsmart and the cleaner shrimps. I would not recommend getting the shrimps from petsmart, they are over priced. But if you go to any Specialty Fish Store in the area you can pick them up for 4+ for a dollar. or you can do any other shrimps if you like. The cleaner(Ghost Shrimp) are among the cheeper and not too bad in the looks department.
I have a tank with Discus in it and I put some plants in it that were infested with snails and was all but sure I would have a problem, but I have not seen one snail since I put them in there. I figured they were being eaten by the Discus. I have Cobalts.
What I have, that would work great for a pleco replacement, are Otto's and shrimps. You can find the otto's at any petsmart and the cleaner shrimps. I would not recommend getting the shrimps from petsmart, they are over priced. But if you go to any Specialty Fish Store in the area you can pick them up for 4+ for a dollar. or you can do any other shrimps if you like. The cleaner(Ghost Shrimp) are among the cheeper and not too bad in the looks department.
Yea, but they take it in and produce their own which I swear is more than they take in. just anecdotal from my BB tanks that I let them inhabit till I decided to re do and paint my tanks. here are some pic's they do not have sand in the bottom that is just paint.
