Trumpuet snail mixing it up

[daveedka]

My observation is that the hiding behavior coincides with predation attempts for the most part. in my tanks with no predators, the MTS's roam around at will day or not. in tanks with predators, they are almost purely noctournal.

Very few fish will do a good job of erradicating MTS's. They are well armored and have an Operculum (trapdoor) they really are a true survivor. Some cats will eat them whole and somehow digest the shells, Loaches will keep the population in check, but not kill them off in most cases. otherwise they tend to survive. MY Cichlids which are die hard snail hunters cannot touch the MTS's.

As said in the snail article. MTS's are a great benefit to a planted tank. I doubt they would eat plants at all unless they were completely starved, and that is hard to do in an active tank. Snails can and will live on bio-film only if that is all they have (I have proven this a couple of times) so It's unlikely that you'd ever see them eat plants.
Dave

 

[GreenHephaestus]

I've defiantly seen MTS (trumpet snails??) on my plants. Are they eating the plants necessarily?

 

[Rebgen]

No...they're most likely eating algae. I have a 55 gal. planted tank full of them and they have never harmed a single plant. At night they come out and go to work on any algae that has grown on the leaves but leave the plant along. I love them...they can stay as long as they like.

 

[congealedmeat]

My tank has a ridiculous infestation of these guys and they rule! They clean my plants so well I never really even have to do anything to them except remove dead leaves. There's never any algae on them that's for sure.

 

[Galaxie]

My tank has a ridiculous infestation of these guys and they rule! They clean my plants so well I never really even have to do anything to them except remove dead leaves. There's never any algae on them that's for sure.

...and they make great Oscar snacks! (here's a fish that can destroy a snail infestation. Not exactly a community fish though. lol)

Is a trumpet the same as a ramshorn? I have exactly one of these...he definitely burrows during the day.

 

[ttan]

nope definately not the same, I have both. Actually I think because the mts are doing so well, my ramshorns are suffering. Heavy shell erosion on the ramshorns, and I think the mts are using up the majority of it as they have very little erosion, I've started to supplement ca now. They won't eat the leaves, but they definately are the best scavenger in my tank. I keep them for the work they do in the gravel. my ramhorns are better at cleaning the rest of the tank.

 

[daveedka]

I would agree, Ramshorns are awesome as well but a completely different beast. the MTS's are shaped like an ice craem cone, and have a trapdoor they can close when danger approaches. The ramshorn are shaped like: Insert the obvious answer here Ramshorns cruise the substrate plants and tank surfaces and eat virtually anything, they seem to ahve better appetites than the MTS's. The MTS's are awesome glass and leaf cleaners, But much slower at work and much slower growing. pond snails are also awesome in a planted tank, but do not add any advantage over the other two that I can see. They dont grow as large as a Ramshorn normally, so they aren't as good for a food source IMO.

Oscars tend to not do well at eating MTS's. They will pick them up repeatedly but can do nothing to the heavy shell. Oscars do flat out crush and gobble any ramshorn or pond snails they can get their mouth around.
Dave

 

[Galaxie]

I need to find a good definitive source for identifying snails.
I give the Oscar a few of these pea-sized snails every day and he eats them with quite a bit of enthusiasm. The ones that make it to the substrate don't last long either, as he slowly hunts them out of the gravel floor.

MTS = Malaysian Trumpet Snail ?

 

[nursie]

You are right...MTS=Malaysian Trumpet Snail...
I have heard they burrow in the substrate...keeping it open for root growth, and also keep your substrate from developing anerobic pockets. Yeah snails!!
I have quite a few, and since I have loaches, I only see them at night. I have ramshorns too, and I only see bigger ones of these, so I'm assuming the loaches snack on the little ones. I don't see pond snails at all, and I know I've put them in this tank (the 55) but have never seen an adult one. I dip them out of my 10, which has some. Are the snail types not compatable, ot to the loaches really go aft4er pond snails?

 

[daveedka]

I need to find a good definitive source for identifying snails.

Someone posted some pictures a while back, and I have threatened to post some on the snail article. Maybe I can do that this weekend. The description of pea sized tends to instantly make me think Pond snail or possibly one of the rarer exotic snails. MTS would (In my feeble little mind) never fit the description of pea sized because their shells are olongated spirals. By the time the Front end of the shell is as large as a pea the shell will be 3/4 long or more.

Pond snails could best be described as football shaped, and pea sized would be a pretty good description.

Check the snail article after Sunday I'll try to remember to link up some pictures of the common hitchhikers.
Dave