xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 I'm sure this has been discussed/debated many times here. Caught a few very tiny invaders in my new (empty but for plants so far) tank. I'm 99% sure they are baby snails as I went without thinking and immediately rid myself of the visible ones. But then I stopped myself. Why am I doing this? I like snails (even the outdoor variety). I've been told "pest" snails are good for tanks, they don't reproduce more than what the tank can typically handle. I KNOW there are more in there. I saw a few on the back wall. What say you CARE forum? Yes? No? Experiences? Tales of Caution? Songs of Snails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Keep! Totally. Free clean-up crew and algae eaters. And I think they're fun to watch, too. Some fish keepers try to stay snail-free if they're trying to, like, breed angelfish or something (snails can sometimes eat eggs or non-swimming fry). But outside of that, snails are always welcome in my tanks. A word of caution, though, that those snails will reproduce in proportion to the amount of food they find, not necessarily to what the tank can handle. So if you feed heavy, have a lot of algae or dead plant matter and the snails pig out, they're going to make a ton of babies in response and you might end up with way more snails than your biofilter can handle. Remember that snails poop, too, and sometimes quite a bit! So have a light hand at feeding time and keep an eye on water parameters, doing a water change if your nitrates get above 40ppm. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 They are a great part of the clean up crew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 @Kirsten Thankfully I'm not a heavy feeder, and I usually have a fasting day in my tanks depending on the fish. I do have a decent sum of algae so there is that- and these are the cautionary things I'm thinking of. It WOULD give me an excuse to eventually get a Pea Puffer (dang it, this hobby!) cause don't they eat them? I guess I've known a lot of fish keepers that don't prefer them so my automatic instict was to be rid of them. I'm still so on the fence about it. 😕 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 4 minutes ago, xXInkedPhoenixX said: Thankfully I'm not a heavy feeder, and I usually have a fasting day in my tanks depending on the fish. I do have a decent sum of algae so there is that Perfect! Snails would be a great match for you and your tank 🙂 I wouldn't worry about overpopulation just yet. You may get an initial rush of small snails as they clean up the algae, but they'll naturally die back as the algae recedes and the plants take over. Pea puffers are super cute and fun, but they are voracious! I found myself overfeeding some of my livebearer tanks almost deliberately in order to breed more snails for my puffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 @Kirsten they're so small though! How much do they eat!? Like how many snails could they eat in a day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 I'm definitely on the pro side of the question. I like snails. I bought 12 ramshorn snails a while back (3 months ago?) and I've got a lot of them now. I'm very happy with them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 (edited) @gardenman See, I was interested in the malaysian snail, even as you say ramshorn snail- I love my mystery snails they add a lot of enjoyment to my other tank. I am still just so unsure about this particular type. I don't even know what these snails are called- I've only ever heard them being called "pests". Edited April 5, 2021 by xXInkedPhoenixX Typos are lame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 7 minutes ago, xXInkedPhoenixX said: @gardenman See, I was interested in the malaysian snail, even as you say ramshorn snail- I love my mystery snails they add a lot of enjoyment to my other tank. I am still just so unsure about this particular type. I don't even know what these snails are called- I've only ever heard them being called "pests". Most of the "pest" snails are the pond snails which are okay in that they stay pretty small. In the tanks where I have ramshorn snails they're outcompeting the pond snails and the number of pond snails is decreasing while the ramshorn snails have grown in numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 @gardenman @Kirsten well you have both mentioned die offs, and I've heard of them when it comes to these pond snails (thanks for the clarification). These die offs must add to potential ammonia because of decay. I gravel vac/change water once a week, do these little snails come up in these cleanings, do they make much of a difference? Do their counterparts eat them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Pond snails are small enough that when they die they either get eaten by something else, or just disappear. You'll just find empty shells on the bottom of the tank. A few years back I ended up in the hospital for 15 days with no one feeding my fish and the pond snails nearly all got eaten by my swordtails during that period. The swordtails don't typically bother them, but given nothing else to eat, they ate the snails. I came home to tanks with lots of empty pond snail shells. The population rebounded once I started feeding the tanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 @gardenman wow! That's crazy, and super cool actually (besides you being in the hospital). I am starting to lean towards them being rather beneficial then...as I drink my coffee from my snail mug... 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 1 hour ago, gardenman said: Pond snails are small enough that when they die they either get eaten by something else, or just disappear. You'll just find empty shells on the bottom of the tank. A few years back I ended up in the hospital for 15 days with no one feeding my fish and the pond snails nearly all got eaten by my swordtails during that period. The swordtails don't typically bother them, but given nothing else to eat, they ate the snails. I came home to tanks with lots of empty pond snail shells. The population rebounded once I started feeding the tanks again. I think you might be confusing pond snails with bladder snails. Pond snails get considerably larger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Come to the snail side, we have cookies. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyndi Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Also, I'd like to add that Yoyo loaches also eat snails - though they only seem to do it when I'm not looking. I just toss my excess ramshorns in my loach tank. This seems to work for me as loaches are kind of annoying- At least I can put them to work! They seem to like the little ones best 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 1 minute ago, Cyndi said: Also, I'd like to add that Yoyo loaches also eat snails - though they only seem to do it when I'm not looking. I just toss my excess ramshorns in my loach tank. This seems to work for me as loaches are kind of annoying- At least I can put them to work! They seem to like the little ones best I agree that having some sort of snail eater gives you a feeling control on the snaily population. I have a pea puffer, but also my blood parrot cichlid loves crushed snails. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Unless I want to protect eggs in the tank I like to control snails with tank maintenance, snail eating fish and the control and or limited food supply. I was a snail hater... Was. I find some - most important. So many snails love algae. Keep them under control and they don’t seem to be a pest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 im no fan of pest snails. dont mind nerites etc, but in the end it is a personal preference if you want them in your tank or not. do what makes you happy with your aquarium, thats all there is to it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 (edited) @JettsPapa I guess there's really no way to know yet what kind of creature these are for sure, they are currently so tiny. I assume even that they ARE snails just in how they are moving and seem to have a foot (as I can see no legs). @H.K.Luterman it's SO tempting to make it an excuse to get a snail eater but I really probably shouldn't. As much as I do enjoy my tanks I have my hands full with them, especially since I had my Otocinclus breeding explosion which was very unexpected and not something I was prepared for. @Brian it's almost tempting to keep them for egg control since I really never intended to breed fish but I also don't want to be a snail breeder! Everyone has brought up good points. Wish it made my decision easier. Still on the dang fence. Edited April 5, 2021 by xXInkedPhoenixX Typos are lame 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyndi Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 17 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said: I agree that having some sort of snail eater gives you a feeling control on the snaily population. I have a pea puffer, but also my blood parrot cichlid loves crushed snails. I"ve been known to crush a few snail treats for my other fishies- I consider this to be "advanced" hobbyist level LOL! Sometimes I am and sometimes I ain't. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyndi Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 1 minute ago, xXInkedPhoenixX said: @JettsPapa I guess there's really no way to know yet what kind of creature these are for sure, they are currently so tiny. I assume even that they ARE snails just in how they are moving and seem to have a foot (as I can see no legs). @H.K.Luterman it's SO tempting to make it an excuse to get a snail eater but I really probably shouldn't. As much as I do enjoy my tanks I have my hands full with them, especially since I had my Otocinclus breeding explosion which was very unexpected and not something I wasn't prepared for. @Brian it's almost tempting to keep them for egg control since I really never intended to breed fish but I also don't want to be a snail breeder! Everyone has brought up good points. Wish it made my decision easier. Still on the dang fence. Ha! I think the snails will make that decision for you - even though I've been diligent in the past on snail removal, they still found a way. Now we just "coexist" 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 @Cyndiyou could be right there too friend. The decision may have already been made for me. Just as in my Otocinclus, nature finds a way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 1 hour ago, xXInkedPhoenixX said: @gardenman wow! That's crazy, and super cool actually (besides you being in the hospital). I am starting to lean towards them being rather beneficial then...as I drink my coffee from my snail mug... My friend, if you think snails are neat, just wait til you find out about mystery snails and rabbit snails. Big, goofy snail-y goodness right there. I'm sometimes tempted to have a shrimp and snail-only tank, but I have so many livebearers that'll probably never happen lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayne Brown Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 I love snails I personaly prefer the larger mystery and nerite snails but I also like the "pest" ones. I first got them when I accidentally recieved 1 ramshorn snail inside a bag with my fish that I had just purchased 😆. 2 months later I have over 20. The ramshorn arent that ugly and actually have some cool color variations some have copper colored shells others more silver. I would definitely keep any pest snail as they will help eat algea off of plants and extra fish food. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishdude Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 It reminds me of the argument about whether certain flowers are weeds. If you like them and want them to stay then they're not really weeds. Likewise if you like the snails and enjoy watching them, they're a feature rather than a pest. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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