# Pros and Cons of Malaysian Trumpet Snails



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

I've been looking into getting a small amount of malaysian trumpet snails for my 10 g, but first off I have a few questions about them.

1: I've read that they avoid plant roots while they are borrowing. My only concern is my HC. That stuff has tiny roots. Can they detect the tiny roots of HC? 

2: If they do run into a couple (or lots) of HC roots will it become a problem?

3: what types of algae do they most commonly eat?

4: I made a slight slope with the substrate. After a lot of borrowing through the substrate will the MTSs flatten/disintegrate the slope?

5: I plan turn out the lights for a minute or two once a week so that the MTSs will come out and I can catch a few (5-15) and remove them. Will that keep there population in check? I know cutting back on feeding and doing more gravel vacuuming can keep their population in check, but I want to have extra means of keeping them in check

Secondly, please feel free to share your pros, cons and experiences with MTSs. All extra info may come in handy some day.


----------



## DesmondTheMoonBear (Dec 19, 2011)

Elliot said:


> I've been looking into getting a small amount of malaysian trumpet snails for my 10 g, but first off I have a few questions about them.
> 
> 1: I've read that they avoid plant roots while they are borrowing. My only concern is my HC. That stuff has tiny roots. Can they detect the tiny roots of HC? The larger adults can become bulldozers at times, I've had them uproot small crypts to be exact. An established plant, even HC, shouldn't have too much of a problem otherwise.
> 
> ...


Depending on the substrate, depth, and plants, I'd say 30 or more is a good place to start off at.


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

DesmondTheMoonBear said:


> Depending on the substrate, depth, and plants, I'd say 30 or more is a good place to start off at.


1: Thank you. I'll plan to remove the larger ones when I do removings then

3: Would BGA count as a soft algae? I've got a good amount that they can have :hihi:

4: the substrate is plain aquarium gravel (unfortunately) 



The substrate depth is about 2 1/2 inches at the most and 1in at the least.


----------



## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

They're great cleaners, aerate the substrate, but they do uproot plants (even established), especially HC. To lower the chance of them uprooting plants, I'd do a sand/gravel cap, so the pieces fall in place as they burrow in and out. I use larger river rocks to help hold the bigger plants in place.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Pretty much everything DesmondTheMoonBear seems to be correct. I wouldn't add 30 or so though right off the bat. Maybe like 10 as they'll start to breed in no time. Also, that slope is going to get worn down over time even without the help of MTS, though they will speed up that process considerably. Unless you got HC covering that entire slope it will level out over time. Gravity happens 

As for your worry about them uprooting your HC. You could stick in pieces of SS mesh cut to size as a "fence". Cut it so the SS mesh won't show through the substrate, but down at least 1in so they won't burrow towards your HC. Or, use rocks as fencing.


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> Pretty much everything DesmondTheMoonBear seems to be correct. I wouldn't add 30 or so though right off the bat. Maybe like 10 as they'll start to breed in no time. Also, that slope is going to get worn down over time even without the help of MTS, though they will speed up that process considerably. Unless you got HC covering that entire slope it will level out over time. Gravity happens
> 
> As for your worry about them uprooting your HC. You could stick in pieces of SS mesh cut to size as a "fence". Cut it so the SS mesh won't show through the substrate, but down at least 1in so they won't burrow towards your HC. Or, use rocks as fencing.


The HC should be covering the major part of the visible slope. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I used the SS mesh around the HC, would that really help? From what I gather the MTSs stay under the gravel during the day and come out at night. If they come out at night and move around, then go back in to the substrate I don't see how the SS mesh would help. Unless they borrow back into the substrate in the same vicinity that they came out.


----------



## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

I've never noticed MTS avoiding plant roots. They love to crawl all over the bases of the plants, and I often see them poking around the roots. And freshly-planted plants can sometimes be knocked out of the substrate. Once they root, it's not as big of a problem. If you've ever tried to uproot a well-established carpet plant, you know what I mean. Snails won't hurt it.

I have a HUGE population of MTS in my 25g, and the substrate slopes from about 3" in back to 1" in front. As far as I can tell, they haven't done any significant damage to the slope.

Once the population is established, they won't be that reluctant to come out during the day. If you see more than you like, by all means, pull them out when you can, but if they're causing trouble in the tank, you'll have to use assassin snails to get rid of all of them. And if you don't get rid of all of them, they will come back.


----------



## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

I think their benefit is very overstated. They actually for the most part do not burrow that deep into the substrate...no more than an inch and do not seem to really move around under the substrate that much. I've had them in my tanks for years, (never on purpose, they are always carried in by plants) and never seen them make much if any difference in the health of my substrate.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Elliot said:


> The HC should be covering the major part of the visible slope. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I used the SS mesh around the HC, would that really help? From what I gather the MTSs stay under the gravel during the day and come out at night. If they come out at night and move around, then go back in to the substrate I don't see how the SS mesh would help. Unless they borrow back into the substrate in the same vicinity that they came out.


I'm assuming your HC carpet is quite thick so they wouldn't want to burrow around inside the actual carpet, since the substrate would be fully covered? Or is the HC covering a bit scarce?


----------



## aweeby (Oct 1, 2011)

Other than the supposed substrate 'aeration' thing, which shouldn't be an issue for a new tank anyway, I honestly see little benefit. I'm not especially fond of them because-

1) They multiply quickly (a few days of overfeeding when I was on a trip=giant population explosion) 

2) I already have scavenger fish that don't overbreed

3) They can uproot small plants so it's a pain to get a carpet started.

4) They don't consume much algae at all, and anyway, addressing the root of the problem is generally more efficient than relying on mts. 

5) my loaches can't kill them, and they are a pain to fish out and catch because you have to do it at night. Assassins can take care of them, though. (but then you'd have an assassin problem... and...)

6) when you break down a tank, it's impossible to get the shells out of the substrate. 

7) like robert h, I've also had them for a while and I see no difference in the substrate health between tanks with them and without them.


----------



## Alaizabelle (Apr 7, 2011)

If I had a choice in the matter..... they would be out of my tank! Evil, evil little buggers. The babies in my 55 gallon strip a big water lily pad down to nothing in just a few days! 

Demon snails, they are!


----------



## Tanman19az (May 14, 2011)

MTS uprooted my HC carpet


----------



## Buff Daddy (Oct 19, 2010)

Elliot said:


> 3: Would BGA count as a soft algae? I've got a good amount that they can have :hihi:


True BGA is not algae. True BGA is a bacteria. Threads abound about BGA.

Oh yeah, I love MTS. They are in all of my tanks, but I also have sand in all of my tanks.


----------



## SlammedDC2 (Jun 4, 2011)

Buff Daddy said:


> Oh yeah, I love MTS. They are in all of my tanks, but I also have sand in all of my tanks.


 I also have MTS in all of my tanks (all sand tanks as well)
I don't have any population problems. I know that I overfeed my 125g and I still don't have a problem. I almost never see them durring the day, the only time I see them is after the tank and living room lights have been out for at least an hour. Never had a single plant uprooted or disturbed in anyway.


----------



## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

Assassin snails root around in substrate too if you're really after substrate airation. 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


----------



## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

Here's my 25g with black sand and hundreds of MTS shortly after I set it up:










I have more MTS than I normally would because I like them and I feed them separately from my fish.


----------



## salmon (Apr 14, 2011)

other than the population explosion issue, I like having them in my tank. I started with one....several months later there are 100+ in a 13g :eek5: but i knew it would happen.

I have a very thick HC carpet, and they basically "roto-till" whatever mulm/deitrus etc, down into the substrate. they will go right into and through the HC mat and haven't seemed to uproot much if anything at all, but it is well established.


----------



## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

I would like to add that the only plants I've seen uprooted by MTS were stem plants that had no roots at all and Anubias nana Petites that had roots like springs that wouldn't stay under the sand anyway.


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> I'm assuming your HC carpet is quite thick so they wouldn't want to burrow around inside the actual carpet, since the substrate would be fully covered? Or is the HC covering a bit scarce?


The carpet is scarce right now, but it is growing fast.



Buff Daddy said:


> True BGA is not algae. True BGA is a bacteria. Threads abound about BGA.
> 
> 
> Oh yeah, I love MTS. They are in all of my tanks, but I also have sand in all of my tanks.


I'm aware that BGA is not a algae. I guess I should rephrase my question. Would MTSs taste for soft algae also include BGA? BGA is fairly "soft" unless "soft" means something else.



Fishly said:


> Here's my 25g with black sand and hundreds of MTS shortly after I set it up:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Did you take this pic after you released them all in to the tank, was this right after the lights turned for the day or are they all ways out for you? 


The whole idea that I had behind getting MTSs is the algae eating, but I also don't like the idea of having a ton of snails crawling around all day. I hate the look that they give a planted tank when they do that. That is why I am investigating the idea of having MTSs


----------



## DarkPhoenix (Oct 7, 2010)

xenxes said:


> They're great cleaners, aerate the substrate, but they do uproot plants (even established), especially HC. To lower the chance of them uprooting plants, I'd do a sand/gravel cap, so the pieces fall in place as they burrow in and out. I use larger river rocks to help hold the bigger plants in place.


what's a "Sand/gravel cap"?


----------



## NotCousteau (Sep 25, 2014)

Not a fan of these snails at all. Their numbers reach epic proportions, and I think tanks covered in these snails always look awful. I don't care how nice the plants, aquascape or fish are -- these snails ruin everything.

I've never kept them, and have never had a problem with my substrate.

Has anyone ever actually documented benefits from these snails? And problems in their tanks due to the omission of these snails? I don't know how the pro-MTS movement ever began; seems like there is no real evidence to support having.


----------



## BettaBabe (May 1, 2015)

I know I had a few, but I have not seen them at all in a long time, not even at night. I want them in my tank to keep the sand free of anaerobic pockets.


----------



## bklyndrvr (May 24, 2008)

I got 4 MTS when I originally started a 10G. 6 monthes later, I had hundreds that I could not control. The tank had Eco-Complete, and I also noticed that I could not get a good carpet with HC going. I also saw alot of my microswords floating around, until they started sending out runners, and they help hold each other down. I don't hate MTS, but I'm not a fan especially when they get out of hand.


----------



## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Grab a dwarf puffer for a weekend. That or an assassin snail or two. I had 30-50 snails in my 30g and I added 2 assassin snails and I haven't seen any for awhile. This was a couple months ago.

MTS are good for dirt with sand on top because it does prevent anaerobic pockets from developing. It also prevent any sort of build up to come to the surface abruptly (essentially the same thing). MTS also make decent snacks for certain fish.


----------



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

NotCousteau said:


> Not a fan of these snails at all. Their numbers reach epic proportions, and I think tanks covered in these snails always look awful. I don't care how nice the plants, aquascape or fish are -- these snails ruin everything.
> 
> I've never kept them, and have never had a problem with my substrate.
> 
> Has anyone ever actually documented benefits from these snails? And problems in their tanks due to the omission of these snails? I don't know how the pro-MTS movement ever began; seems like there is no real evidence to support having.


 Yes,I have kept them in my tanks for year's.
They help aerate the substrate on their daily search for bit's of food,plant matter(dead),and what they eat,they also excrete back into the first few centimeter's of the substrate which then becomes recycled plant food.
Their activity throughout the first few centimeter's of substrates helps prevent anaerobic conditions which depending on depth of substrates, can lead to hydrogen sulfide build up which some folks are terrified of .
In truth, once the hydrogen sulfide makes contact with oxygen present in the water it is rendered harmless sulfate.
The snails are fair at eating algae without harming plant's unlike many other species of snails that will happily eat plant leaves if little in the way of food is available .
The trumpet snails ain't to everybody's taste but I like em.
Their number's are entirely a result of food's available, and considering that many over feed their fishes,,their number's reflect that fact.


----------



## LLongjr (Apr 1, 2015)

So I count a handful of people in this thread that hate their snails!!! Who wants to sell me some??? I once upon a time had an aquarium full of MTS, I then put my 2 razorback musk turtles in the tank for short keeping while I moved there home. less than 4 days... was all it took for them to eat EVERY snail.

So, I would love to take as many MTS off as many people who are willing to sell me some.

Send me a PM, Im Paypal verified.

Thanks!


----------



## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

I had them in every aquarium for several years. Their numbers grew quickly and they do come out in the day or night. I decided after trapping several hundred that I was done with mts.
I added 2 assassin snails to my 15 gallon first and they have taken care of them all. My assassins have bred once. I scattered the babies into all my tanks. No more snails. 
I do still have some baby ramshorn or pond snails currently but as they grow the assassins will handle it.

It just depends on what you like if you enjoy lots of snails then these are the perfect pest. Lol.
Good luck


----------



## Solitarianknight (May 28, 2015)

I keep a nice balance using Assassin snails like the others have mentioned. I like them because they help break down all the waste in the tank making it less visible until I vac it out. They also keep the plants well "dusted" since my pleco likes to poop all over everything. Assassin snails do not breed fast and would never become a problem. They don't breed rapidly, they lay a few individual eggs when they do, the eggs take weeks to hatch and then it's a good 5-6 months before you can see the kids. 

If you are just looking to stir up the substrate then you can go with assassin snails only since they like to burrow just as much as MTS. They are carnivores though so you'd need to drop them some shrimp pellets or extra flakes to eat.


----------

