Snails

[CdnRednek]

I hear lots of talk about snails here.  And I talked the the owner of my LFS about it.  He said they would do great things for the tanks.  What all will they do?  Clean glass and gravel?  And he said something about having clown loaches to control the population of them.  Will any bottom feeders do that, or only clown loaches??  And will they eat only baby snails?  Would adults be safe from them??  Thanks

[CdnRednek]

HELP!!  Please!!

[kennyman]

you still have to clean the tank even if you have snails ;p

Clownloaches are big big fish . There are other small fish that eat snails. Look at some of them.

Snails are fun, but tend to breed as bad as rabbits! try some (like 3 Ramshorn) in that Guppy/ Molly tank

[Pamelajo]

If you get brigs you can control the population.  You must have a male and female to reproduce.  They are scavengers and will eat left over fish food, but you still have to feed them.  They come in different colours too.

[Flawed_Artist]

My understanding is that pakistani/yo-yo, bengal, zebra/striata or horse-face/hora's loaches - all these loaches get a manageable size, and all are relatively peaceful exc. hora's, but I thought that all these and even clowns ruin snail populations . . . to control them, but not rid the tank of them, I'd recommend kuhli's; just personal experience.

Snails usually eat algae, eating detritus on the side, AFAIK, depending on the species, and they're hermaphradidic, exc. the apple snail, and another type or two that I forget about now.

On a side-note, I thought that they were ridiculously high-waste animals. I'm a fan of shrimp, myself, instead - just a personal thing. They're more active, anyways, I think.

[luvfishies]

Not all snails eat algae. Brigs and Canas and Insularums NEED TO BE FED. Yes the brigs will clean plant leaves, and the tank will look better, but brigs that are eating algae are starving, basically.

Canas and insularums will mow down a planted tank within days.

Loaches of the botia family will kill and eat all snails. They won't control the population, they will decimate it!

The common ramshorn snails will help keep the tank clean, and will eat algae to some degree. You need two to get more, but they are hermaphroditic, so it doesn't matter about sexes, any two will do.

Happy, well fed applesnails are always out and about, cruising their homes. They poop a tonne, and secrete slime which is murder on filters (I always recomment prefiltering with a filter sponge with an "X" cut into it and slid over the filter intake). BUT they are worth it, if you get them for the right reasons.

Just as Bristlenose Plecos are awesome algae eaters, they do need to be fed, as well. Applesnails are the same. They can and will help "clean" up leftovers, but they do require care to really thrive.

[CdnRednek]

Thanks, what difference will they make compared to an algae eater and bottom feeders like yoyo loaches and cories??  The tanks would get the same maintenace, but what else could they offer?

[Flawed_Artist]

If I can, maybe I can steer you in another direction . . . check out the Atyopsis shrimp. Large, active, fan-feeding, bottom feeding - perfect. Also, check out Amano or Yamato japonica shrimp. They ruin most types of algae - including BBA. Best ground crew ever, with a portion of the waste - and they clean and help plants, instead of some snails that decimate them.

To luvfishies - I didn't know that about brigs and insulariums snails. I'll do more research - to be honest, I did more research on neritas and ramshorns than on most other types. Sorry.

[luvfishies]

If I can, maybe I can steer you in another direction . . . check out the Atyopsis shrimp. Large, active, fan-feeding, bottom feeding - perfect. Also, check out Amano or Yamato japonica shrimp. They ruin most types of algae - including BBA. Best ground crew ever, with a portion of the waste - and they clean and help plants, instead of some snails that decimate them.

To luvfishies - I didn't know that about brigs and insulariums snails. I'll do more research - to be honest, I did more research on neritas and ramshorns than on most other types. Sorry.

Why sorry?

Those Atyopsis shrimp sound really neat. Where can I get some?

If you want to read more about applesnails, and freshwater aquatic snails in general, hop over to www.applesnail.net  Stijn's site is *the* place for great, accurate info on keep these little slime monkeys. Great discussion board, as well.

[redbelly]

the only snails i like ate the MTS. they burrow in the substrate during the day and come out at night.

[Flawed_Artist]

Atyopsis . . . well, I just put an order through for Friday - not tomorrow, but next week - for SP Barrhaven (we just changed dept. management). Say you're from OVAS. I'm the one with hair that's too long. I'll help you out.

Edit - Kanata SuperPet also carries them - at least, last time I checked, they did.

[darkdep]

For those with Africans...Synodontis catfish are also rumoured to control snails.  I will find out firsthand in the coming weeks to see if that's true

Anyone know if you can keep any shrimp with Africans?