"pest" snails yes or no?

[KaitieG]

I like "pretty" snails like mystery and nerites.  I also think that ramshorns are pretty...so long as they don't get out of control.  I HATE the bladder snails...sorry to all the snail lovers out there, but they drive me nuts.  I added some dwarf chain loaches to my biggest display tank recently, and the cool thing is that while they've eaten some of the snails, there are still a ton left--BUT the ones that are left stay off the glass!  It's like they know the "wolf pack" is hanging out watching for them.  I figure that's the best of both worlds--I get the snails to do their job of cleaning up messes and I don't have to look at them all over my tank glass!

[Anita]

16 hours ago, Hobbit said:

Unfortunately my chickens don’t like them. Not sure what’s wrong with my birds.  Maybe if I crush a few they’ll learn what’s inside... but feeding them to my yo-yo loaches is easier. 😊

 

Ah, well chickens are special. They are not birds, they are cartoon characters come-to-life. 😁

https://www.backyardchickencoops.com.au/blogs/learning-centre/pet-chicken-behaviour-personality-pecking-order

Edited April 6, 2021 by Anita

[Eric R]

I did decide at one point I didn't like the bladder snails in my tank, and started trying to manually remove them and feed them to my chickens. They didn't eat them, I didn't try crushing the shells though. I think I just had a lot of noticable snails on the glass at that point. That effort didn't last long. I don't feed any less now than I did then, but the population is really under control now it seems. I do especially like the color variations some bladder snails have, with the slight purple or gold spotted shells. I'm definitely in the pro-pest snail camp, as I like that they clean up my tank, especially MTS for cleaning the substrate in my african cichlid tanks and not being as visible on the glass until lights out. I did get some pink and blue ramshorns recently and am enjoying the color variations.

[Will Billy]

Personally i love pest snails. Since having them i have stopped using my magnetic algae scraper, and have even gone as far as to grow beneficial algae in a clear plastic cup in my window sill to keep them fed and happy. An army of bladder snails is the best cleaning crew i have ever experienced. 

[Anita]

5 hours ago, Will Billy said:

Personally i love pest snails. Since having them i have stopped using my magnetic algae scraper, and have even gone as far as to grow beneficial algae in a clear plastic cup in my window sill to keep them fed and happy. An army of bladder snails is the best cleaning crew i have ever experienced. 

Now that is a dedicated aquarist, culturing algae on purpose! 😁

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

All the convincing arguments FOR "pest" snails and in the end I had decided I still didn't want them in my new tank. Don't get me wrong I'm pro snail, just not pro snail in my tank I can't control breeding from. (I don't even kill outside snails). Originally I got them as hitchhikers and though I quarantined the plant apparently they were laying in wait. I battled them for weeks, diligently removing them. THEN a few days ago I caught a swimming black worm. I didn't even bother researching it- don't know what it was. I put my Black Neons in a quarantine container, pulled my plants and bleach dipped them, dumped the plant that brought them in in the first place, and dumped ALL the substrate. Started all over. The tank looks relatively the same, just deeper plant substrate now and less glass (cause that's all I had left). Took me most of an afternoon. Try, try again.