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On snails

8K views 39 replies 16 participants last post by  ao 
#1 ·
You hate snails. You hate them so much that you are deathly afraid of plant purchases, and scrutinize every millimeter of your newly bagged fish, lest those demons hid themselves in the gills.

We've all heard the horror stories, stories of those hitchhikers that multiplied and took over the world. they bear demonic horns and have impenetrable shells which house their slimed innards...

The truth is, the above perspective on snails is extremely skewed, as many do not understand the benefits of these invertebrate creatures.

Snails come hand in hand with plants. In fact, they aid in keeping your planted tanks healthier by noming on the dead and dying. This breaks matter down via digestion rather than leaving the work to some nasty bacteria or fungi.

Many species, with the exception of the rabbit snails (well named, well named...) do no harm to aquatic flora. In fact their mouths are not made to chew through live plants. They prefer the softer items on the menu, such as algae, rotting plants and surface film. All of which are common headaches to the aquarist. Especially an aquarist with snail phobia.

Speaking of surface film, how many of you have that nasty stuff canopying your betta's lovely planted domain? You be arming yourselves with paper towels and doing the manual removal thing, frantically trying to skim off the rest with a spoon or sucking it up with the turkey baster.

The most efficient clean up crew for protein films, believe it or not, are pond snails. they glide on the water tension like a ballerina on ice. You can be sure that 3 or 4 of these guys will keep that surface polished and looking spanking new.


Ramshorn snails are another type of fascinating hitchhikers.
They are so named after the shape of their shells - a tight coil resembling a ram's horn. These fellows come in a broad variety of coloration and patterns. Red, brown, leopard spot and russian blue to name a few. The babies are definitely a favorite betta snack due to their relatively thin shells.

The above mentioned snails are hermaphrodites. This essentially means that any two snails can mate and lay eggs.

Malaysian trumpet snails on the other hand are live bearers, these do not need another snail to mate with, and the offspring are essentially miniature clones of the parent. Malaysian trumpet snails are useful in working the substrate. Much like how the earthworm is beneficial in working land soil.

If you only feed your betta in the tank, you shouldn't have a snail population explosion. A baby population of snails in a betta tank can take up to 6 months to become breeding adults, due to lack of excess food. This is especially so in a planted tank. In a planted tank, plants absorb nutrition and make it unavailable for algae aka snail food.



Those who wants to play it safe will find that assassin snails and nerites snails are the way to go.
Nerites are not hermaphrodites and nerite eggs only hatch in brackish water. This is possibly due to the fact that certain essential minerals are not available in the freshwater aquaria for shell development.
The only flip side to these guys are their size, making them a tad too heavy to maintain anything that cannothold their weight. They are however, perfect for the non planted tank.

Assassin snails are slow breeders. offspring will take up to 6 months to mature and will live exclusively in the substrate. Also due to their popularity and high demand, you can always sell extras for a hefty sum. Another bonus? They will snack on other snails and possibly keepthe population in check. But, don't depend on it if you feed them...

So you still want to get rid of these lovely creatures? Then potassium permanganate is your best friend.
(usually purchasable from ebay)
a tiny bit of this stuff goes a long way. mix just enough for the water to go light pink to make a plant quarantine solution. This compound will kill micro organisms, snails, snail eggs, protozoans and bacteria

Change out water after 4 hours and quarantine for another week to be doubly sure. Plant quarantine should be done with tank water and plants placed in a bright area of the house.

Your plants should now be snail free!

(you snail murderer)

(just kidding)
 
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#10 ·
I looove my apple snail Mac!

Even though they aren't pest you should add them to the list :3


Also, I was wondering, I've been feeding him celery and lettuce and he has been nomming on dead plant matter [could this harm anyone/thing in the tank if I leave it?]

well, I've heard you can feed them algea wafers...would they cause algea to grow in the tank? I wouldn't mind a LITTLE aglea for mac to nom on.
 
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#11 ·
XD algae wafers wont cause algae directly. but if it is uneaten and left in there too long, you may get an ammonia spike, and THAT might give you algae :p

its usually fine to leave veggies in a cycled tank. If uncycled... I would take it out.... Try spinach for the snails, it is much healthier than celery :)
 
#14 ·
Technically yes. 1.5gallons is too small.

This rule can be overidden if you have enough floaters and stem plants which will keep water parameters in check. So in other words, if a large snail is to be kept in a small tank, the tank will need to be heavily planted and water uality monitored initially. That has been my personal experience.
 
#16 ·
Low stem plants are pretty fail proof. these include brazilian penny wort, Anacharis, Naja grass, water wisteria, water sprite.....

Floaters like salvinia and duckweed also do not require high levels of light :) Dwarf Water lettuce can keep the water clean by mechanically filtering the water with their long bushy roots.

I have many many snails in my 2.5 gallon tank :)
 
#18 ·
Love this thread, and your shrimp one too! I have been contemplating getting a nerite snail and a possibly a couple ghost shrimp for my 5G tank, so this came at a great time.

Do you have any suggestions for brand of algae wafers? I'm thinking there are probably ones that are better than others, just like betta food. And how much do you recommend feeding them?
 
#19 ·
I never feed my snails or my betta. If i do, I scrape off the algae from my filter and feed that to the snails >.>

the shrimps enjoy picking at things you can't see. The occassional blanched vegetable works great for both snails and shrimps. especially spinach :)

My amano scavanged off my fish, they eat just about all types off fish food. you don neccessarily need to feed algae wafers, just supplement with blanched veggies

I need to make a thread on that XD but dont really have time right now. I wrote these two way back for the betta fish weekly, which we dont have enough ppl to do anymore :(
 
#24 ·
Aokashi, I love this thread! Shame you forgot apple snails, though. Ah, well::lol:

Apple snails in general:
All apple snails (genus Pomacea) have both a lung and a gill. They breath from the surface using a muscular flap that they roll into a tube called a siphon. Apple snails have distinct genders: males have the standard male "equipment", females obviously don't. Females lay eggs above the waterline in hard clumps, which can easily be removed if you don't want hundreds of tiny snail babies. Eggs hatch in 2-4 weeks, depending on the air temperature, and must be kept damp, but not wet. Adults do not eat algae unless cruelly starved, but babies and juveniles will snack on it. Algea wafers, blanched/boiled veggies, and sinking fish food provide a balanced and varied diet.

Cana complex snails: Pomacea canliculata, P. haustrum, P. maculata P. paludosa, P. insularum


These guys get BIG! There really is no getting around the 2.5 gal rule here: honestly these guys need about 5 gal each, minimum. The different species of the Cana complex look very similar, and can be nearly indistinguishable except by looking at the shape, size, and color of their eggs. These gentle giants will see your prized plants as an all you can eat salad bar, so don't put them in a tank with live plants. All members of the Cana complex are currently illegal to transport across state lines. (USA)

Pomacea diffusa (bridgesii):


Nowhere near as big as snails of the Cana complex, P. diffusa (previously P. bridgesii) grow to around the size of a golfball. These charming little snails come in many colors: gold, ivory, wild, chestnut, blue, jade, and several shades of purple. They are the most common species of apple snail seen in pet stores across the US, and most will not eat live plants, but will "prune" bits that are dead or dying.
Pomacea diffusa egg clutch

 
#25 ·
I stick 2 algae waffers in the tank every few days but I think the bettas are the ones that eat it. I have omega one algae pellets and wardly. I would think the omega one is a better brand. I know wardly betta food is supposed to be pretty bad, I'm thinking its the same with pellets. There are also these things called tank nibbles that I find at walmart. I'm guessing they are pretty bad nutrition wise but fish seem to love them. They stick on the tank wall and pick at it. I think its made by Tetra.
 
#26 · (Edited)
speaking of apple snails, if anyone owns spixis please be aware that these are legal to own, but illegal to transport over state lines or sell...

it's a pity since they are pretty cool snails. they eat just about eerything including other snails :D

I did originally write this to talk about it in terms of hitch hikers XD someone should write a snail article for the compatibility forum...

and and I got a free horned nerite from petco yesterday. it was so tiny they didnt know what it was :p

meet nerite and nerite jr!

 
#27 · (Edited)
Great article ! I have pond snails that came on plants and I put them in their own little half gallon tank and they are so cute and fun to watch, the little one will hitch a ride on the bigger ones...lol They will also whack each other with their shell if they dont want to be bothered also funny to see. Oh and I love how they glide on top of the water.
 
#28 ·
Another great thread!

My ivory mystery snail is huge! And he eats like a pig!
 
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