Snails good? or Snails bad?
 

Hello.

I just wondered what everyones opinion of Snails are? Are they good or
bad for a planted tank?

What has been your experience? Algae eaters or plant destroyers?

Cheers

John

John wrote:

I just wondered what everyones opinion of Snails are? Are they good or
bad for a planted tank?
What has been your experience? Algae eaters or plant destroyers?

Depends entirely upon the species, and how you feel about snails in
general.

For example, take Pomacea bridgesii, which is commonly referred to as a
mystery snail, and sometimes an apple snail. In my experience they eat
debris and dead leaves, but never harmed live plants. Pomacea
canaliculata, also sold as an apple snail, is a living lawnmower.

In the smaller realm, snails commonly knows as 'pond snails' are plant
safe, as are Malaysian trumpet snails.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

My tank got infested with these little round snails. They crawl all over the
place eating and ruining my lily plants. I tried some snail remover, but
even at 4 times the recommend dosage I still have snails crawling around
(but it's only been 24 hours since I added this stuff). I also don't like
that thought of 1000 snails contributing to the biological load of the tank.
IMNSHO, they are a pest and should be removed.

"John" wrote in message
...
Hello.

I just wondered what everyones opinion of Snails are? Are they good or
bad for a planted tank?

What has been your experience? Algae eaters or plant destroyers?

Cheers

John

This may be more specific than you want, but I bought two ramshorns, and
they had to go live in the plantless quarantine tank due to their voracious
plant consumption. When I trim my tank, I put the trimmings in for them,
and they're gone overnight.

"Eric Schreiber" eric at ericschreiber dot com wrote in message
...
John wrote:

I just wondered what everyones opinion of Snails are? Are they good or
bad for a planted tank?
What has been your experience? Algae eaters or plant destroyers?

Depends entirely upon the species, and how you feel about snails in
general.

For example, take Pomacea bridgesii, which is commonly referred to as a
mystery snail, and sometimes an apple snail. In my experience they eat
debris and dead leaves, but never harmed live plants. Pomacea
canaliculata, also sold as an apple snail, is a living lawnmower.

In the smaller realm, snails commonly knows as 'pond snails' are plant
safe, as are Malaysian trumpet snails.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

I hate pest snails and love mystery snails. My pest snails consist of
red rams horn which eat Some of my plants, hygrophiela . that is my
favorite plant and I changed to sand. ZI also constructed a screen type
thing, where I can rake the sand and sift out the pest snails. And am
going to set up a puffer tank and thats where the snails are going to
go. My clown loaches do not touch the snails.

I also have pond snails aka tadpole snails. I do not want to hurt my
fish so I don't use the had a snail or snailicide.

My sister tried snailicide and it wiped out the snails, but weakened her
guppies and soem of them died, she set u a new tank for them and stopped
the snailacide.

I have a 55 gallon tank with just mystery snail sand the pest snails
vanished. But were talking alot of mystery snails waiting on going to
the LFS. I feed that tank a head of lettuce a day.also other foods

Kay


Ook wrote:
My tank got infested with these little round snails. They crawl all over the
place eating and ruining my lily plants. I tried some snail remover, but
even at 4 times the recommend dosage I still have snails crawling around
(but it's only been 24 hours since I added this stuff). I also don't like
that thought of 1000 snails contributing to the biological load of the tank.
IMNSHO, they are a pest and should be removed.

Any snail remover that contains copper will get rid of them fast. It however
doesn't always work on the eggs so it may take a few applications.

"John" wrote in message
...
Hello.

I just wondered what everyones opinion of Snails are? Are they good or
bad for a planted tank?

What has been your experience? Algae eaters or plant destroyers?

Cheers

John

On 05 Dec 2004, the world was enlightened by Ook's opinion about...

My tank got infested with these little round snails. They crawl all
over the place eating and ruining my lily plants. I tried some snail
remover, but even at 4 times the recommend dosage I still have snails
crawling around (but it's only been 24 hours since I added this
stuff). I also don't like that thought of 1000 snails contributing to
the biological load of the tank. IMNSHO, they are a pest and should be
removed.


I have a different take on a "1000 snails". I had a juvenile Malaysian
trumpet snail hitch a ride with a platy purchase. In no time at all I
had lots of MTS in my 55g. The snails get down into the gravel and eat
the gunk I miss when I do a gravel vac. I no longer have a nitrate
problem and my water quality is the best it's ever been.


kev

--
Civilization.

An organized system of alternatives to the stone age - CJCherryh

On 2004-12-05, Eric Schreiber eric wrote:
John wrote:

I just wondered what everyones opinion of Snails are? Are they good or
bad for a planted tank?
What has been your experience? Algae eaters or plant destroyers?

Depends entirely upon the species, and how you feel about snails in
general.

For example, take Pomacea bridgesii, which is commonly referred to as a
mystery snail, and sometimes an apple snail. In my experience they eat
debris and dead leaves, but never harmed live plants. Pomacea
canaliculata, also sold as an apple snail, is a living lawnmower.


http://www.applesnail.net/content/sp...a_bridgesi.htm
http://www.applesnail.net/content/sp...naliculata.htm

--
"I have to decide between two equally frightening options.
If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman

I love snails.

Malaysian Trumpet Snails are the most "plant friendly" of the smaller
snails.
They clean thr detritus off the bottom, and consume their weight in algae
daily.

Rams horn snails are plant killers.

I fix that problem with weather loaches which will "hoover" the rams horns
out of the shell, but don't seek to kill all the MTS.

My fav. plant for a background is Java Moss.
It also reduces the ammonia / nitrogen load of the tank and gives fish a
high fibre diet.

It grows faster than my fish will eat it. A good addition to any tank.

On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 01:57:45 GMT, js1 wrote:

On 2004-12-05, Eric Schreiber eric wrote:
John wrote:

I just wondered what everyones opinion of Snails are? Are they good or
bad for a planted tank?
What has been your experience? Algae eaters or plant destroyers?

Depends entirely upon the species, and how you feel about snails in
general.

For example, take Pomacea bridgesii, which is commonly referred to as a
mystery snail, and sometimes an apple snail. In my experience they eat
debris and dead leaves, but never harmed live plants. Pomacea
canaliculata, also sold as an apple snail, is a living lawnmower.


http://www.applesnail.net/content/sp...a_bridgesi.htm
http://www.applesnail.net/content/sp...naliculata.htm

Are any of the snails of aquaria edible?