# Which type of Snails is most beneficial for a shrimp tank?



## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

After researching about many kind of snail, I only have 3 options: Malaysian Trumpet, Assassin, and Nerite Snails. 

All my shrimp tank are heavily planted. Shrimps only tank. Shrimps: Tiger, CRS, Yellow, Fire Painted Red Cherry. 

I want a type of snails that benefit by eating shrimp waste, dead plants and maybe go after the tiny white worm by digging soil. So what are my choices? Given that Assassin will eat MTS.


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## steven p (Jun 22, 2012)

I think the best two choices would be mts and ramshorn snails. Gouramis snack on the little white worms quite readily, if you can rehome shrimp for a while the fish can reduce numbers... Not much kills nematodes without touching something else... I spot treated some worms with h2o2... That's fun.


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## l8nite (Aug 29, 2012)

I have two large-ish striped nerites in my 2.5G fluval spec with RCS. They keep the tank clear and looking nice, though they like to hog the shrimp's food.


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

I like trumpets because you don't really see them during the day, but you get all the benefits of them digging through the substrate and eating waster because they're active at night.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I've got a metric ton of very small ramshorns and a handful of horned nerites in the 20 with my shrimp. I'd say they're beneficial to the entire tank just because of volume work. I'd rather have a ton of very small snails than just a few large ones. Granted, they'll grow larger over time.


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## MsNemoShrimp (Apr 25, 2011)

PuddlesAqua said:


> I like trumpets because you don't really see them during the day, but you get all the benefits of them digging through the substrate and eating waster because they're active at night.


In the case one uses ADA soil, would all the digging prove to be beneficial or detrimental to the shrimp tank?

I used to not like Ramshorn because I don't know how to control their population. Now that I do I love them. They are in all my shrimp tanks


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

NeoShrimp said:


> In the case one uses ADA soil, would all the digging prove to be beneficial or detrimental to the shrimp tank?
> 
> I used to not like Ramshorn because I don't know how to control their population. Now that I do I love them. They are in all my shrimp tanks


From what I hear, digging is only useful in gravel and not our typical shrimp substrates.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Nerites are excellent glass cleaners!


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## triscene (Apr 7, 2012)

I heard lately that there is one snail which eats planaria, not able to think of the name but it was also good looking.

Odoslané z R800i cez Tapatalk 2


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## stevencaller (Sep 14, 2012)

It has been known for assassin snails to eat shrimp when kept together, although probably very rare. I would suggest the nerite snails as they wont breed too quickly ~(not at all in freshwater), they don't harm shrimp and they look rather pleasant.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

triscene said:


> I heard lately that there is one snail which eats planaria, not able to think of the name but it was also good looking.
> 
> Odoslané z R800i cez Tapatalk 2



Asolene spixi is what you're thinking of. Unfortunately they are illegal to ship across state lines here in the states. You may have better luck where you're at

I have MTS, ramshorns, and nerites in all my tanks. Two tanks have buffering substrate one doesn't and my MTS do a good job on all. Ramshorns just breed a bit out of control for my tastes but I just pull a bunch out when they congregate on feeds. I LOVE my nerites...just don't think you can get a better cleaner for the walls of a tank. My rams are better wood cleaners with driftwood and cholla logs, nerites win in the glass cleaning department.


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## dougolasjr (Mar 3, 2010)

triscene said:


> I heard lately that there is one snail which eats planaria, not able to think of the name but it was also good looking.
> 
> Odoslané z R800i cez Tapatalk 2


I have heard of Lymnaea stagnalis eating hydra.


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

Cool thanks guy for all the information. I think I'll go with Nerite because they're beautiful to look at. I hate ramshorn breed like crazy and leaving eggs on my plants everywhere, what an ugly sight to see. 

Also Asolene Spixi and Nerite looks similar can I possibly keep those two together? One to clean glass other to eat planaria.

And yes I hear case of Assassin snail eating shrimp, I won't be keeping them, at least not with my expensive shrimps.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

Good luck finding the spixi snails. I've been looking for over a year. Mordalphus (I think) has commented they don't do much, I've just read about the planaria control on the internet so no real experience. Also, nerites will lay eggs all over the place too, so don't think egg problems are just with ramshorns They don't bother me but they do seem to bother some folks. Fortunately for me the only female nerites I have are in a tank with white sand so they aren't as unsightly. I keep my males in the tanks with my darker substrate.


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## infamouz23 (Dec 28, 2008)

I keep several horned nerites, ramshorn, Malaysian trumpet snail and an assassin snail in one shrimp tank. The assassin hasn't bothered any nerites or shrimp. There are several empty ramshorn and mts shells littered around the tank.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Nerites keep the tank nice and clean


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

ravensgate said:


> Good luck finding the spixi snails. I've been looking for over a year. Mordalphus (I think) has commented they don't do much, I've just read about the planaria control on the internet so no real experience. Also, nerites will lay eggs all over the place too, so don't think egg problems are just with ramshorns They don't bother me but they do seem to bother some folks. Fortunately for me the only female nerites I have are in a tank with white sand so they aren't as unsightly. I keep my males in the tanks with my darker substrate.


Well at least Nerite is beautiful compare to Ramshorn and Nerite egg = profits :icon_lol:


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## jeremy va (Dec 22, 2012)

CookieM said:


> Well at least Nerite is beautiful compare to Ramshorn and Nerite egg = profits :icon_lol:


When you figure out how to get those eggs to hatch and make little baby neuritis, tell us! Nerites have an outrageously complicated reproductive program that involves brackish water and larval stages and who knows what else. I THINK the ones we buy are collected in the wild.


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## pmcarbrey (Jan 19, 2013)

CookieM said:


> Well at least Nerite is beautiful compare to Ramshorn and Nerite egg = profits :icon_lol:


Nerites actually aren't that expensive unless you buy from online retailers, they're not all that difficult to breed if you can get the salinity of the water correct and provide them with enough food. There are a number of people who breed olive nerites. The trick is water in the upper 70's and moving the eggs once laid to a fully saltwater tank (using marine salt and gh buffer) once the eggs hatch (up to a month later) feed them on ground up algae flakes.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Nerities only bread in salt water. one of the main selling features (other then the fact that they look cool and are interesting to watch ) is that they wont reproduce and take over your tank!


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## Drewsplantednutz (Jan 25, 2012)

I would do nerites. I have assassins and they did a great job at cleaning any small snail and my limpet numbers have gone down alot since adding assassins.


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## SouthernGorilla (Mar 22, 2012)

We keep three apple snails in our tank. They do a great job of keeping the substrate clean of old food and waste. You do have to be picky about the plants you use. But contrary to popular myth they will not eat everything you try to plant. I just wish we could get them to breed.

We also have MTS doing their thing somewhere in the substrate. They haven't overpopulated the tank like I've been told is inevitable.

I would add nerites but I'm not keen on the idea of adding a critter that can't breed in my tank.


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

Well I stupidly went and bought couple Zebra Nerite not thinking about their PH level. I drop them in my PH 7.0 tank and some in my PH 6.0 tank. They almost died from the PH 6.0 I had to immediately move to my PH 7.0 tank and luckily they recovered. 

I guess Nerite is not a good choice for CRS tank. I have a minor hair algae issue in CRS tank, do you guys think Assassin or Malaysian Trumpet can do the trick in PH 6.0 tank.


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