PineSong Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 I read the wikipedia entry on ramshorn snails and it says that apple snails will eat ramshorn snails. Is this true--I don't think I ever heard of using mystery snails to control populations of smaller snails? I am inundated with ramshorns in my fry grow out tanks and my QT tank because those tanks are heavily fed. Also, no mystery snails in them. I have mystery snails in two tanks and while they do have a handful of smaller snails, they don't have entire armies of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 The only time I saw a Mystery snail consume a Ramshorn was after it had died. I think the explanation may be that Mystery snails eat incredible amounts of food, therefore controlling the Ramshorn snail population and preventing it from exploding due to overfeeding. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambush0908 Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 I have kept both together and never had an issue. That is mystery snails and ramshorns. I am not an expert but I have read that all mystery snails are apple snails, but all apple snails are not mystery snails. If that is the case maybe there is an apple snail that does eat them. I have heard of people using assassin snails to control ramshorns but I like having snails so I have never tried them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 assassin snails are what you seek to control other snail populations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 On 12/15/2021 at 6:54 PM, Ambush0908 said: I have kept both together and never had an issue. That is mystery snails and ramshorns. I am not an expert but I have read that all mystery snails are apple snails, but all apple snails are not mystery snails. If that is the case maybe there is an apple snail that does eat them. I have heard of people using assassin snails to control ramshorns but I like having snails so I have never tried them. This makes sense. I also like having snails so I have no desire to eradicate them, but I'm starting to panic about the numbers of them in the tanks where I have to feed more heavily. On the other hand, if I am seeing all these snails, maybe that's a sign that I'm overfeeding even for the number of fry I have. I will cut back--I'm not raising fish for profit so it's okay if it takes them 4 months instead of 3 to grow up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 (edited) I have noticed my mystery snails (and baby BN pleco) eating bladder snail egg sacs. I’ve seen mystery snail consume dead bladder snails. I’ve never seen them eat a live bladder snail but that doesn’t mean they did not or would not. The tanks I have mystery snails in especially the female mystery Snails always seem to have less bladder snails 🤷♀️ Pomacea maculata, Pomacea canaliculata, and Pomacea haustrum I believe (don’t quote me it’s been a long time since I read up on snails and I may not have spelled them correctly either 🤣) which are some of the invasive apple snails actively predate other snails eggs. I never found a lot of info on Pomacea diffusa (common mystery snail) and if they actively predate eggs or just eat what’s in their path. Asolene spixi snails that look like mystery Snails will actively predate other smaller snails just like assassins but are not legal in quite a few places. edit. It could also be that mystery snails are pigs and consuming more of the excess food so the ramshorns are not populating as quickly Edited December 16, 2021 by Guppysnail 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambush0908 Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 You are right about maybe overfeeding. It could cause a population increase. I think that is why I have so many in my shrimp tank. I compensate by bigger water changes and I added some plants. I keep nitrates under 10 and the over population is welcomed. 😀 I am jealous you have a fry tank. That is something I have always wanted to do but have not took the plunge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 On 12/15/2021 at 7:20 PM, Ambush0908 said: I am jealous you have a fry tank. That is something I have always wanted to do but have not took the plunge. It is nice to have, I am enjoying raising guppies and this tank lets me keep at least one strain isolated. It’s divided with a matten filter so technically I could keep two 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 Nope. But Colombian Giant Ramshorns (Marisa Cornuarietis), now... they slurp baby bladder and ramshorn snails right out of their shells. They leave the bigger ones alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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