Is there such a thing as a beneficial snail?

[RedForeman ©®]

Out of all the snails out there, which ones are acceptable in a planted
tank?

Ramshorn
MTS
Mystery
Apple
Etc?

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!!

==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
1987 TRX250R (sold)
1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold)
1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold)
1995 TRX300ex (sold)
2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff*
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
"By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer
meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C),
it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment.
By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is
punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500,
whichever is greater, for each violation."

If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate
of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum).

[Paulo]

Apple or mistery snails (pomacea bridgesii) seems to be the safe one in a
planted aquarium. THey eat just rotten leave and algae, apparently their
teeth are too soft to eat plants. Check the following link:
http://www.applesnail.net/content/main.htm

--
Paulo
"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message
...
> Out of all the snails out there, which ones are acceptable in a planted
> tank?
>
> Ramshorn
> MTS
> Mystery
> Apple
> Etc?
>
> --
> RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!!
>
> ==========================
> 2003 TRX450ES
> 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
> 1987 TRX250R (sold)
> 1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold)
> 1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold)
> 1995 TRX300ex (sold)
> 2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff*
> '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
> ==========================
> ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
> "By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer
> meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C),
> it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment.
> By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is
> punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500,
> whichever is greater, for each violation."
>
> If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate
> of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum).
>
>

[Ben]

RedForeman ©® wrote:
> Out of all the snails out there, which ones are acceptable in a planted
> tank?

While others might disagree, I would say stay away from Mystery, Apple
and Ramshorn a planted tank until the Rams/apple/mys ate all the
vegetation in the tank. And I don't mean stuff that was dying, I mean
EVERYTHING. I tried putting in veggies for them and they'd eat the
veggies and the plants. i've had no trouble with MTS with plants
though. They're supposed to be the best as their burrowing is supposed
to be very beneficial to plants root system.

-Ben

[Victor Martinez]

MTS definitely. Supposedly true Pomacea bridgesii (sp?) are plant safe.


--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[James and Vikki Gilby]

I have five Golden Inca snails in my planted tank, and they NEVER touch any
of my plants. I've heard they are hard to come by, but they occasionall
show up at my local PetCo. As always YMMV, but I'd be interested to hear
from other Golden Inca owners...
--Jim--

[NetMax]

"Victor Martinez" > wrote in message
...
> MTS definitely. Supposedly true Pomacea bridgesii (sp?) are plant safe.
>
>
> --
> Victor Martinez
> Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
> Send your spam here:
> Email me here:

I agree, and don't ask me how to tell a Pomacea bridgesii from
canaliculata (the shells look the same to me, and all the eggs are bright
coloured), but some chow on plants more than others.

My vote goes to MTS (Melanoides Tuberculata), but don't believe that they
are nocturnal, or that they stay tiny (3.5cm, and once reported as 7 to
8cm).

NetMax

[Eric Schreiber]

RedForeman ). wrote:

> Out of all the snails out there, which ones are acceptable in a
> planted tank?
>
> Ramshorn
> MTS
> Mystery
> Apple
> Etc?

From personal experience. MTS are excellent, as they keep the gravel
churned up and therefore prevent 'dead spots' from forming in the
gravel. The only negative is that eventually you'll have a *lot* of MTS
snails, which isn't really a problem, except perhaps aesthetically.

Ramshorn, I had just one of these, rode in unseen on a plant and grew
to over an inch in diameter. Died recently. I never saw mine to
anything to disturb my plants. He seemed a lot more concerned with
algae.

Apple/Mystery I put together, as they're often sold under either name.
For these, it depends entirely upon what species you have. I had two
different species. One ignored my plants, eating only algae and dead
leaves. The other species were like little lawnmowers, who could
decimate a full grown plant in no time flat. Unless you can tell the
species apart (not easy), I'd avoid any of these for a planted tank. In
a non-planted tank, though, they're really cool snails.

If you have a planted tank, it's almost a certainty that you'll get
what some people call 'pond snails'. These are small, usually under a
quarter inch, and non-descript. I've got a bunch, and though they climb
all over my plants I've never seen any signs that they're causing
damage.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

[Matt]

My friend has MTS and i and thinking about getting some for my tank, but he
has warned me that they will get into the filter. Is there any why to stop
them from getting into a Eheim 2028?

"Eric Schreiber" <eric at ericschreiber dot com> wrote in message
...
> RedForeman ). wrote:
>
> > Out of all the snails out there, which ones are acceptable in a
> > planted tank?
> >
> > Ramshorn
> > MTS
> > Mystery
> > Apple
> > Etc?
>
> From personal experience. MTS are excellent, as they keep the gravel
> churned up and therefore prevent 'dead spots' from forming in the
> gravel. The only negative is that eventually you'll have a *lot* of MTS
> snails, which isn't really a problem, except perhaps aesthetically.
>
> Ramshorn, I had just one of these, rode in unseen on a plant and grew
> to over an inch in diameter. Died recently. I never saw mine to
> anything to disturb my plants. He seemed a lot more concerned with
> algae.
>
> Apple/Mystery I put together, as they're often sold under either name.
> For these, it depends entirely upon what species you have. I had two
> different species. One ignored my plants, eating only algae and dead
> leaves. The other species were like little lawnmowers, who could
> decimate a full grown plant in no time flat. Unless you can tell the
> species apart (not easy), I'd avoid any of these for a planted tank. In
> a non-planted tank, though, they're really cool snails.
>
> If you have a planted tank, it's almost a certainty that you'll get
> what some people call 'pond snails'. These are small, usually under a
> quarter inch, and non-descript. I've got a bunch, and though they climb
> all over my plants I've never seen any signs that they're causing
> damage.
>
>
> --
> www.ericschreiber.com

[Victor Martinez]

Matt wrote:
> My friend has MTS and i and thinking about getting some for my tank, but he
> has warned me that they will get into the filter. Is there any why to stop
> them from getting into a Eheim 2028?

Nope. I have the Eheim pre-filter attachment, but they still make it
into the canister. I don't see a problem with that though.

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[NetMax]

"Victor Martinez" > wrote in message
...
> Matt wrote:
> > My friend has MTS and i and thinking about getting some for my tank,
but he
> > has warned me that they will get into the filter. Is there any why to
stop
> > them from getting into a Eheim 2028?
>
> Nope. I have the Eheim pre-filter attachment, but they still make it
> into the canister. I don't see a problem with that though.
>
> --
> Victor Martinez

I have these tiny snails which look like semi-transparent Ramshorns, but
they move with their shells flat to the surface. They got into my Eheim
and are constantly plugging up the holes on my spray bar.

I worry about MTS getting into filters as their shells are very hard, and
if they get jammed between the impeller blades and the plastic shoulder,
the sudden jerk in motion can damage the impeller (most impellers use a
floating plastic sleeve between the blades and the magnet, which can
snap). I don't know how much of a real problem this is. For the snail
to be big enough to do damage, it would probably have to have grown
larger inside the canister and then find it's way through the filter
media. Might be more of a hazard with powerfilters, esp. with long
intakes and/or wide strainers.

NetMax

[Robert Flory]

"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message
...
> Out of all the snails out there, which ones are acceptable in a planted
> tank?
>
> Ramshorn
> MTS
> Mystery
> Apple
> Etc?
>
> --
> RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!!
>


MTS

Pond snails make good loach food.

bob

[Mean_Chlorine]

"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message >...
> Out of all the snails out there, which ones are acceptable in a planted
> tank?
>
> Ramshorn

There's at least half a dozen species of ramshorn, from 0.5 cm totally
harmless species to a 4 cm peruvian monster who'll eat anything,
including other snails.

Here's one of the small planorbid ramshorns on a Wandering pondsnail,
a Lymnaea peregra. Neither of these two eats live plants.
http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/Planorbid_on_Lymnaea_DSCN5484.jpg

> MTS

Malaysian sand snail? Again, not one species but several, but AFAIK
they're all totally plant safe. Looks & size vary greatly - my snails
are a rather fetching olive green with brown oblique stripes, and grow
up to 2.5 cm.
NOT fish-egg safe, though, they're notorious for munching on
egg-scatterer spawns. Reproduces rapidly.
Incidentally, if someone really have MTS's which reach 7 cm in length,
I'd very much like to obtain one.
Trivia: at least my MTS's survive full-strength marine salinity.

> Mystery
> Apple

That's the same snail, only different color, I believe? I have Pomacea
bridgesii, and although I've seen them eat duckweed, I've never seen
them touch even soft leaved plants. They don't eat much algae either,
but they're the best "clean-up left-over fish-food" crew I've ever
had, they're on the scene even before the shrimp. I'm very fond of
these guys.

> Etc?

Well, there's the eggsnails:
http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/Physa_sp_DSCN4592.jpg
These are the typical "nuisance" snails in aquaria. They get a lot of
bad press, but I dont think they ever eat plants, instead they're
quite good at eating algae. They multiply like crazy, though. MTS's
will help limit their numbers, as the MTS's don't just eat fish eggs,
they eat snail eggs too!

But my favourites are the Neritids. The only species I've got right
now is Theodoxus fluviatilis (checkerboard snail,
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/perche.nature/faune/mollusq/theodoxu.jpg ) and
it is a small, hard-shelled, algae eater. It exclusively eats algae,
and reproduces at a moderate rate.
There are rather more interesting species in the group, e.g.:
http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.cgi?action=show&artNo=134
http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.cgi?action=show&artNo=021
http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.cgi?action=show&artNo=021
and they occasionally show up in petshops. They do best in hard water,
e.g. Tanganyika tanks, though.

[NetMax]

"Mean_Chlorine" > wrote
<snip>

Mike, I could post links to your site from mine all day long. Would you
mind if I referenced your algae page?

http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/algae_gallery.htm, and let me know if this
is a valid path. It was showing as unavailable when I tried it today.

thanks
--
http://www.netmax.tk/

[Mean_Chlorine]

"NetMax" > wrote in message >...

> Mike, I could post links to your site from mine all day long. Would you
> mind if I referenced your algae page?

It'd be my honor. That's why they're there.

> http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/algae_gallery.htm, and let me know if this
> is a valid path. It was showing as unavailable when I tried it today.

Yes, it's a valid path. The problem is that after about two days of
uptime, I must remember to restart my computer, or Microsoft Internet
Information Service loses connection with the net. I have no idea why.
It should work now; if it doesn't, drop me a line.

> thanks

[NetMax]

"Mean_Chlorine" > wrote in message
om...
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>...
>
> > Mike, I could post links to your site from mine all day long. Would
you
> > mind if I referenced your algae page?
>
> It'd be my honor. That's why they're there.
>
> > http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/algae_gallery.htm, and let me know if
this
> > is a valid path. It was showing as unavailable when I tried it
today.
>
> Yes, it's a valid path. The problem is that after about two days of
> uptime, I must remember to restart my computer, or Microsoft Internet
> Information Service loses connection with the net. I have no idea why.
> It should work now; if it doesn't, drop me a line.
>
> > thanks

Nope, can't get them to work :-( Tried several times during the day. If
you didn't have such unique articles, I wouldn't bug you about it ;~)
--
http://www.netmax.tk/

[John]

On Sun, 2 May 2004 00:36:45 -0400, "NetMax"
> wrote:

>
>"Mean_Chlorine" > wrote in message
om...
>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>...
>>
>> > Mike, I could post links to your site from mine all day long. Would
>you
>> > mind if I referenced your algae page?
>>
>> It'd be my honor. That's why they're there.
>>
>> > http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/algae_gallery.htm, and let me know if
>this
>> > is a valid path. It was showing as unavailable when I tried it
>today.
>>
>> Yes, it's a valid path. The problem is that after about two days of
>> uptime, I must remember to restart my computer, or Microsoft Internet
>> Information Service loses connection with the net. I have no idea why.
>> It should work now; if it doesn't, drop me a line.
>>
>> > thanks
>
>Nope, can't get them to work :-( Tried several times during the day. If
>you didn't have such unique articles, I wouldn't bug you about it ;~)


Nope didn't work for me either... and now I really want to see this
link.

-=< Gandalf >=-


p.s. May 2 (12:04am) I REALY need to go to bed.

[Mean_Chlorine]

"NetMax" > wrote in message >...

> Nope, can't get them to work

Hmmm... I'll try restarting the machine, and then IIS itself, but this
time it might be an issue with the connection itself. Normally when my
server locks up I can't log in locally, but I can now.
Mail me if it's still not available. Then I'll have to contact my ISP.

[NetMax]

"Mean_Chlorine" > wrote in message
om...
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>...
>
> > Nope, can't get them to work
>
> Hmmm... I'll try restarting the machine, and then IIS itself, but this
> time it might be an issue with the connection itself. Normally when my
> server locks up I can't log in locally, but I can now.
> Mail me if it's still not available. Then I'll have to contact my ISP.

Working great now :o)

http://www.2cah.com/netmax/basics/algae/algae.shtml#asurf
(if I got the path right) references
http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/algae_gallery.htm,

Some of your pictures are almost too good. I usually don't see things
that clearly in my tanks. In my 66g, I have almost a cubic foot of what
you call bushy algae in the top 1/4 of the tank. It slowly migrates
around getting caught on rocks or the Hornwort. I've let it go wild, to
the point that most of the small bushy algae in the tank has died off,
leaving only the floating mothership. This works out nicely, as I can
now reach in and pull out 98% of it in one swoop. I just haven't done so
because of the life teaming in this stuff. The Guppy fry are looking
very healthy, and the Loaches are beside themselves with the fresh supply
of escargot falling out of it. I should pull it out soon as I need the
space (and light) for the next experiment to start evolving ;~).
--
http://www.netmax.tk/

[RedForeman ©®]

> Trivia: at least my MTS's survive full-strength marine salinity.

How about a 4:1 Clorine bleaching? MTS survived, tips turned white, but
they're back...

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??