# The truth about snails.



## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

I am sure that there are different species of each type of snails so not saying that all of them within any group do this...but some Trumpet snails do not limit their eating to dead plant matter. I had a tank full of vals which trumpet snails killed by eating off the roots thereof. They also have aten through the stems of Java moss as it seems they like the algae that sometimes gets on there but fail to stop eating when they reach the bottom of the algae. I seem to see/find many small pieces of the Java Fern cut from the main part and laying on the bottom of the tank only when I have trumpet snails in a tank. I am just assuming that is where those small pieces came from.
FWIW....I have never heard this about Malaysian Trumpet snails.
The ones which did this were "collected" from natural sources in southern Louisiana and in Arkansaw where I now live.
But I appreciate your thread as many do panic over something which, for example might keep the algae off of the leaves of an Anubias plant.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Raymond S. said:


> I am sure that there are different species of each type of snails so not saying that all of them within any group do this...but some Trumpet snails do not limit their eating to dead plant matter. I had a tank full of vals which trumpet snails killed by eating off the roots thereof. FWIW....I have never heard this about Malaysian Trumpet snails.
> The ones which did this were "collected" from natural sources in southern Louisiana.
> But I appreciate your thread as many do panic over something which, for example might keep the algae off of the leaves of an Anubias plant.


Thanks for your comment Raymond. I'll try to find out more about that type you heard about, but I'm glad it wasn't the common MTS you see all around. 

If I find anything I'll be sure to post it here.


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## SueD (Nov 20, 2010)

I think this is a great post on the snail topic. I know and believe what you have said and I know many, many people feel the same way. But for me, they all just creep me out except my assassins and nerites. I now have a breeding population of assassins in one tank that originally suffered from pond snails (no more) and of course, the nerites won't breed.

I recently did a tear down of another tank because of a "million" MTS that my assassins were ineffective against. My replacement tank for this tear-down is now just silk plants, and one very large anubias on driftwood I was able to keep after quarantining it to make sure no snails were hitching a ride.

I also find the assassins ineffective against the mini ramshorns, which I suffer with in another tank. These I squish weekly when doing a WC but it's becoming a losing battle here too. I fear another tear down may be in my future. I love my live plants and hate the pest snails and have not been able to get to that stable population of snails. My fault, perhaps, but the fish gotta eat. 

While my silk plant tank still looks nice, it's not the same. Pond snails I can take care of with the assassins. But the MTS and ramshorns will always creep me out because of the numbers I have had to deal with.

Thanks for your post anyway.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Odd, I keep ram snails because of how slow they breed. But I had that trumpet snail
over popuation issue and in a tank where there was virtually no fish feeding.
Put in a Khuli Loach and the problem went away. Because it was only one, he stayed hidden durig the light on time. But for that reason he had no left over fish food to scrounge...took a while but he won.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Thanks for your comment. I know some people will forever dislike snails. In order to control those populations you're struggling with, definitely assess how much you're feeding. I can help you with that if you like. After all, they're only thriving because you're providing them the tools to thrive


Raymond, I'd advise against ever adding a creature which is only serving as an end to a means. For what do you do with the loach when he runs out of snails?


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Very interesting info thank you. My motto is if I didn't knowingly put you in my tank your not welcome. I never panic though.


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## Algae Beater (Jun 3, 2011)

I love my snails, I tend to keep red rams horns in most if not all of my tanks. The only reall annoyance I have with snails is their tendency to attack my water lily blossoms (barclaya and such). And their youngs habit of dying in my canister filters.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Greaser and algae, thanks for your comments. 

Greaser, I used to feel that way until I realized you can't control it. I've had everything from planaria to Copepods, nematodes, hydra and the like. Once you fight the forces of evil planaria, you come to appreciate the simplicity of snails haha. 

Algae, you might put a sponge over your intake. I don't find I've had the issue of them dying in the back of my canisters.


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

I started my first planted tank in December 2013. With my first plant additions came my first pond snails. I am one of the "Oh no what do I do to get rid of them!" I wanted a "perfect" tank and didn't want snails. Well I educated myself about them through the internet and as you have stated they keep themselves in check. I have a population the ebbs and flows.

I would however, like to add a decorative snail that would not attack my plants. I was thinking of adding some ramshorn snails but I have read conflicting reports about them eating plants. 

Thanks for your help in shedding some light on this misunderstood aquarium inhabitant.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Thanks a lot for you contribution, Lab Man! I've personally never found the mini ramshorn variety to do anything but once in a while chomp on moss. Anything they eat is likely already dying from something. 

You'd most likely be safe!


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

MABJ said:


> Greaser and algae, thanks for your comments.
> 
> Greaser, I used to feel that way until I realized you can't control it. I've had everything from planaria to Copepods, nematodes, hydra and the like. Once you fight the forces of evil planaria, you come to appreciate the simplicity of snails haha.
> 
> Algae, you might put a sponge over your intake. I don't find I've had the issue of them dying in the back of my canisters.


I agree once you get them in the tank its hard to get rid of them. For me the only fight is the preemptive fight, get them before they make it to the tank. I always check my plants well, especially the roots and do whatever I feel necessary like bleaching, quarantining ect to keep them out. This is why all my tanks are snail free. :hihi:


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## Little Soprano (Mar 13, 2014)

I like this post! Originally I freaked out about having bladder/pond snails (they have black shells with gold specks), and some actually died randomly, but now I'm starting to love them. They cleaned ALL of the green algae on the glass, I have a ton of little babies and egg sacs on the tank, but I've just stopped feeding in the tank (letting the neon eat the copepods), and hoping the levels go down. But in general, I can't believe how spotless they keep the glass! On top of it they ate my small hydra population. I just threw in a handful in my 40 to take care of the algae on the glass. Their eggs are unsightly, but they are workhorses!!


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I have pond/bladder, ramshorn, and mts. I have no problem with any of the and some some in every planted tank. I even have a 40+gallon trash bin I soak driftwood in and am trying to grow an "exploding pond snail colony" in by throwing in leftover veggie scraps from my pleco tank (why? Because my husband has a dwarf puffer tank and snails are a great meal). They do not explode in population even with excessive food for me, but they are great for (very slowly) eating algae and dead plant matter. They are also fun to watch sucking bio film off the surface of the water. The ramshorns are a lovely clear shell with leopard like spots on it, and the pond snails turn black in the soak bin and get white stripes from calcium deposits from hanging out with their shells out of the water (on barely submerged rock) giving them a very cool look.


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## Witchydesign (Apr 1, 2014)

I am a snail fan. Just seeing the way my tank changed within days of adding them was enough to make me a fan. I *thought* it was clean before, i was very wrong. Now it sparkles. Yes they do eat the dying sections off my leaves, which i really don't mind. I was actually planning on trying to breed for color so that tells you my opinion on them lol. 


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Thanks for those responses guys! I'm glad others can enjoy these little critters for what they are. Neat little pets. 

I know I was originally scared by them, but I've had one strain for four years, and now I'm working with a blue strain .


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## That70sfishboy (Apr 2, 2013)

You're back!


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

That70sfishboy said:


> You're back!


With big things in the works  hope you're well.


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## pseudomugil (Aug 12, 2013)

I've had problems with mini ramshorn snails eating the transparent baby portions of growing java fern leaves in one of my tanks, however that is the only problem I've ever had with snails, and I welcome them into my tanks

Informative thread, thanks for posting this


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

pseudomugil said:


> I've had problems with mini ramshorn snails eating the transparent baby portions of growing java fern leaves in one of my tanks, however that is the only problem I've ever had with snails, and I welcome them into my tanks
> 
> Informative thread, thanks for posting this


Thanks for your message . I'm surprised. Maybe it was an isolated issue as they took a liking to it. Hope they've been good for you past that!


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## That70sfishboy (Apr 2, 2013)

I am well man. I just got a reef started  can't wait to see your beautiful scapes again


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

That70sfishboy said:


> I am well man. I just got a reef started  can't wait to see your beautiful scapes again


PM me a link some time  I'm working on a huge moss project right now lol.


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## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

Raymond S. said:


> Odd, I keep ram snails because of how slow they breed. But I had that trumpet snail
> over popuation issue and in a tank where there was virtually no fish feeding.
> Put in a Khuli Loach and the problem went away. Because it was only one, he stayed hidden durig the light on time. But for that reason he had no left over fish food to scrounge...took a while but he won.



Ok so my question is this. How does kuhli loaches have any connection with controlling snails? I had about 100+ bladder snails and added in 10 kuhli loaches not because of the theories of them eating snails but because I've always loved them. To my knowledge, kuhli loaches don't eat snails and will definately choose to dig around with fish poop for little particles of food rather than eating snails. Unlike clown loaches. I've watched my kuhlis for hours and had never seen one eat any snails. They even move the snail aside with their mouth and then continue to dig. Now I have 200+ bladders and came down to assassin snails.


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## drip loop (Apr 12, 2014)

Id like to add one issue with trumpets. Like roaches they spend the day underground. Wanna see an infestation? Put a flashlight to a tank at night. My tank has them swarming up the walls like zombies on the hunt for brains. While technically they are in fact harmless in general, they can and do amass to a level you may not realize so they do become a silent bioload. They are.the only undesirable species in my opinion. A tank issue or wild ammonia spike can either be caused by their enormous nimbers or occur if they should die underground for whatever reason.

Oh, and apple snails. I HATE APPLE SNAILS


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Fair enough. I actually have a hard time sustaining MTS in some of my tanks. I just don't give them enough to live on. They're making a comeback in one of my tanks as I've been overfeeding as of late.


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## That70sfishboy (Apr 2, 2013)

Alright man! I'll have to fire up good ol' photobucket haha


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## Strategy (Jun 11, 2014)

When I see a few baby ramshorn snails, i just crush them with my finger and my embers eat them. Haha. I don't think they are pests. They help keep my tank clea


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Strategy said:


> When I see a few baby ramshorn snails, i just crush them with my finger and my embers eat them. Haha. I don't think they are pests. They help keep my tank clea


They make a great meal when little and growing. Shrimp love the crushed snails too.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Pond snails are the only ones I really don't like. They tend to lay eggs on Crypt leaves in my tanks and the Crypts throw temper tantrums about it and melt on me. 

But I purposely put MTS and Nerites in most of my tanks. They're both workhorses.

Rest of 'em I just live with. LOL


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

lauraleellbp said:


> Pond snails are the only ones I really don't like. They tend to lay eggs on Crypt leaves in my tanks and the Crypts throw temper tantrums about it and melt on me.
> 
> But I purposely put MTS and Nerites in most of my tanks. They're both workhorses.
> 
> Rest of 'em I just live with. LOL


When you accidentally get a nerite into your tank somehow I wanna know how! 

I like pond snails, they just aren't always the most attractive.  

Thanks for your response! Happy we're getting good discussion in here.


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## cjstl (Mar 4, 2013)

Great post! I don't agree with everything you said, but a lot of the information was really good. 

Ramshorns:

I have ramshorns in almost every tank, and I love them. I have seen them go after my shrimp on occasion, but only if the shrimp are having trouble molting and laying on the sand for too long. They don't bother healthy shrimp. They never seem to bother any of my plants with a few exceptions. They pretty much wiped out my camboba (I have read other reports of this too), and they will occasionally eat younger java fern leaves if they can't find enough food.

Malaysian Trumpet Snails:

MTS are another that have found their way into most of my tanks, though not intentionally as the rams. I have grown used to them, and no longer worry about it. They actually do eat algae in limited quantities, although they're not going to make a significant impact as certain other snails will. I have not confirmed whether they eat holes in any of my plants. If they do, I think it's rare.

Bladder Snails:

Not a fan of these guys. I have seen them eat holes in various plants. Assassin snails love bladder snails more than any other type of snail, which is good. I have also found that ramshorns will rapidly outcompete them and keep the population very low.

Nerites:

In addition to the rams, my other personal favorites are horned bumblebee nerites. Great algae cleaners and not too heavy to clean the leaves of plants. I have had very good luck with them. They're hardy and can survive a wide range of water parameters. I also have three olive nerites that have been workhorses for over a year. I had poor luck with the larger zebra and tiger nerites. They kept flipping over on their backs constantly and couldn't right themselves again. If I was out of town or not paying attention, they died before I could flip them over again. I eventually lost all of both varieties. They're beautiful, but I just don't have patience for high-maintenance snails!

Mystery Snails:

I was hesitant to take the plunge, but I eventually bought a purple mystery snail to live with my betta. He has done a great job cleaning up the algae and hasn't bothered my plants. As I only have the one, I have not seen any eggs or babies, so I'm happy about that.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Thanks for your contributions! Horned nerites are also my favorite, and I won't get mystery snails .


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I have trumpet snails (gobs),and pond snails in my tanks and they along with the shrimps have a job to do.
When they get too numerous,I simply reduce feedings and trap them until numbers are more to my liking.
Have never seen any of the snails attack healthy plants,but they make quick work of leaves I trim from plant's and leave for them and the shrimps.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Yeah they seem to play a part in the cycle of the closed system really well. I agree.


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

MABJ said:


> Thanks for your contributions! Horned nerites are also my favorite, and I won't get mystery snails .


For this post to be complete, you really should


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

vanish said:


> For this post to be complete, you really should


Something grosses me out about those weird egg sacs above water, and I only really do "mini" snails lol.


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## drip loop (Apr 12, 2014)

Nothing will eliminate a planted tank faster than an apple snail. Also little known fact, they are toxic to humans and this is new data as far as I can tell. I dont have much more data about it but did hear a report recently and they are incredibly abundant where I live.

I still consider trumpet snails the biggest tank crasher that never gets diagnosed and leaves the hobbiest confused to what happened. The silent killer as I call them. Just an enormous time bomb of ammonia should they have a die off and most of the time its underground where disturbing the area releases it into the water column. The sheer numbers of them if nothing else is adding a bioload that isnt outweighed by their soil turning benefits. Is this something only I think? I think this cause one or two are cute but at night they come up like the walking dead and their numbers are always WAY higher than I thought they were. Remind me of homeless people that roam the streets late at night but remain unseen largely during the day  Good thing they arent too bright and a simple rock and kale leaf does the trick everytime.


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

I'm going to have to trap some mts on my next day off. I have 2 tanks that are going into population overload. I have 2 assassins in each tank but not making a dent in control. 
Can assassins breed? I think they are more interested in each other than the other snails. 
Can't tell if they are fighting or mating. Lol


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

They do in fact breed. Their eggs are square.


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## SouthernGorilla (Mar 22, 2012)

My wife and I had an explosion of MTS in our 20T tank. The substrate was literally covered in MTS. It looked like maggots on a carcass. And that was in full daylight. Four different species of loach and a few assassin snails did nothing.

We kept apple snails for a while. But quickly learned that they aren't the best option for a planted tank. They will eat healthy plants. Though we noticed that they tended to eat only needle-leaf plants or other fine plants like hair grass. We officially quit apple snails when one of the egg sacs hatched. At first it was amazing watching all the teeny snails crawl around. But then they got bigger. We pulled the plug on them when we found the 1/4" babies swarmed all over our bamboo shrimp. One of the shrimp was completely devoured. We still have the other shrimp. But he lost his fans in the attack.

The bladder snails never really bothered us other than just cluttering up the tank. The loaches took care of them though.

We still have nerites. And we plan to get more of them when we stock our new 75g. They seem to do a good job with the algae and we've never seen them touch a plant. I do wish they could breed in fresh water though. We've seen their eggs in our tank. Maybe it's possible to transplant the eggs to a brackish tank to hatch them.

I've also thought about getting a few rabbit snails. They are interesting critters. But for now, at least, we are sticking with nerites and shrimp for our cleanup crew. Maybe some scuds.


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## biotex3 (Oct 1, 2014)

My healthiest tanks are ones I have let common aquarium pests run rampant in and here's why:
Much like a regular ecosystem, I believe that aquariums should have a diversity of organisms to remain healthy. I like to think of organisms balanced in a pyramid for this diversity. At the bottom are the various bacterial colonies that play a role in nitrogen and decomposition cycles. Up from there are the freshwater copepods, ostracods, flatworms, and detritus worms. In the middle are the shrimp and snails and finally, at the top are the fish. As this pyramid suggests, you should have a higher population of organisms the lower you go on the pyramid. 
Now to test this what I did was I left one of my aquariums for a month to go on vacation. This tank was rampant with various algae and pests. When I came back, most of the algae was eaten by pest snails and none of these "pests" were numerous. Interestingly, as I added shrimp and my own snails of choice, these critters became even less numerous. 

TL;DR: If you have a snail or any pest problem, be patient. Many times doing nothing is the best action. "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience" - Ralph Waldo Emerson. 


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