# Best snail and/or shrimp for detritus?



## mootay (Feb 16, 2015)

Ramshorn snails are very good at cleaning up detritus, and (along with pond snails and MTS) are excellent hitchhikers that unintentionally end up in many tanks at your LFS. So although a store clerk might tell you otherwise, it may be worth it to simply travel to the store and poke around their tanks. Many pet store clerks are either too busy, too dumb or too lazy to check your request.

Keep in mind that the mulm that collects in the substrate will likely remain. In a planted tank it's not a bad thing to have decaying organic material within the substrate. Also, ramshorn snails are prolific breeders. If you don't want to deal with containing a ramshorn population, there are always nerite snails which are typically sold for profit, but make excellent clean-up crews also.


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

As mootay said, pond and ramshorn snails good cleaners. Pond snails multiply fast. I have them in all my tanks. They even climb in my planters atop the tanks.  
I have some ramshorns, but not enough to judge. MTS are good too but no idea ho many of those I have.

I think pond snails are cool when the "swim" upside down at the surface of the water. 

Snail population can be controlled by food availability. But of course, response is slow.


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

Mariostg said:


> I think pond snails are cool when the "swim" upside down at the surface of the water.
> 
> Snail population can be controlled by food availability. But of course, response is slow.


I have a good giggle each time I see my pond snails do this. I've even seen one diving. 

I keep pond snails and even bought a few feeder ramshorns for algae clean up. I can see clear streaks where they eat off the algae.


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## mrfishybetta (Jul 15, 2015)

Awesome! Thank you! Hopefully I can track down some ramshorns. I called my not-so-local-LFS and asked about MTS, and the guy said, "Oh you mean the nuisance snails?" Haha.


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

mrfishybetta said:


> Awesome! Thank you! Hopefully I can track down some ramshorns. I called my not-so-local-LFS and asked about MTS, and the guy said, "Oh you mean the nuisance snails?" Haha.


Yeah snails, seem like you either love them of hate them. I picked up some dead leave outside the other day and threw them in my 75 Gal. Snails are having a fest ATM.


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## whitepapagold (Aug 19, 2010)

mrfishybetta said:


> Awesome!asked about MTS, and the guy said, "Oh you mean the nuisance snails?" Haha.


Funny cause the MTS are by far the best cleaner crew for freshwater tanks. Far better than ramshorns to be honest. Your LFS guy doesn't see the big picture.

I won't have a tank without MTS. What they do to substrate is a godsend. My colony is 20 years old!!! 

But yeah, many don't like seeing them multiply like crazy... But they multiply for a reason...


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## RomansFiveEight (Jun 21, 2012)

In my non-planted tanks where a gravel vac can easily suck up detrius, snails are very much unwelcome! But I have them in all tanks; they hitchike. I have ramshorn snails.

In my 75 gallon, I have clown loaches. Clown loaches love snails, they go NUTS. In my 10 gallon (also unplanted) I have a small piece of driftwood that the snails love to climb on at a certain point in the day. I take it out, and dip it into the 75 and shake it around a bit to loosen the snails. The loaches swirl around with wagging tails like a puppy dog waiting for a treat. They gobble the snails up quick. To demonstrate their resilience; I constantly suck up snail shells with the gravel vac. They are still breeding and multiplying in the substrate, and as soon as they 'surface' they are gobbled up.

I don't have any in my 29g high tech planted, but it's only a matter of time.


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## Aquadawg (Aug 18, 2012)

mrfishybetta said:


> Awesome! Thank you! Hopefully I can track down some ramshorns. I called my not-so-local-LFS and asked about MTS, and the guy said, "Oh you mean the nuisance snails?" Haha.


Most lfs while give you a small amount free. great sand stirrers.


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## WickedOdie (Aug 15, 2015)

I have all 3 snails in my planted tank, they all serve a purpose. As long as you're not over feeding I'm sure you'll be fine.


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## Zoomy (Sep 13, 2014)

A nerite snail or two are REALLY good cleaners in a 5g tank. I have one in my 5g with betta and African dwarf frog. I almost never have to clean the glass.


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## Absolver5000 (Sep 6, 2015)

Silly question, "MTS" = Mystery Snail? That's what my LFS sells.


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

Absolver5000 said:


> Silly question, "MTS" = Mystery Snail? That's what my LFS sells.


Malaysian trumpet snail

Also used in this forum to mean multiple tank syndrome.
Oh yeah, also mineralized top soil.


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## RomansFiveEight (Jun 21, 2012)

So I'm still cycling my 29g. I dosed ammonia a couple of hours ago. Currently: 1ppm ammonia, Nitrites are maxed out (5ppm+), and 80ppm Nitrate (still dosing nitrate in addition to the nitrates produced from the ammonia dosed during the cycling process). I'm playing with co2 and have pushed much more co2 than should be survivable at several points.

It's a toxic death-tank right now, and is at least a couple weeks away from being suitable for fish.

And what do I find? None other than two ramshorn snails climbing happily up the stem of a plant. These guys could survive a nuclear holocaust.


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## NavyDogFish (Sep 11, 2013)

If you don't mind huge snails I say get some trapdoor snails but sadly they fall on their backs a lot and cant get up so you have to turn them over a lot or they starve (they are used to *really* muddy ponds with no perfectly vertical hard surfaces). Mystery snails are a bit better at not having this happen.

I also recommend Dr. Tim's Waste-Away:
http://store.drtimsaquatics.com/Waste-Away-Sludge-Busting-Bacteria-for-Freshwater-Aquaria_p_41.html

Bump: Also, I have seen Florida Flagfish eating (or at least passing it through their mouth and out again) the stuff on the bottom of the tank (called "gunk" or "mulm"), and Otocinclus Catfish very aggressively eating green algae on the sides of glass.


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## RomansFiveEight (Jun 21, 2012)

Here's a little ramshorn snail testimony. An update to above.

As I said, they are a nuisance in all of my tanks. But my newly setup planted tank (former un-planted) is a 29g that I completely tore down. I had some hard water stains, some scratches, etc. I wanted to get rid of. New substrate, completely torn down and polished, new filter, etc., all new. It's the only tank without snails. I'm also in the process of the fishless aquarium cycle.

In my 10g, I have a little piece of driftwood they like to climb on. So once every couple of days, I take that out, and swish it around in the 75g (which is populated by clown loaches), and the loaches gobble them up. (Another testament to their resilience is that climbing underneath the tank you can see them moving around UNDER the substrate, through the glass, but of course, once one decides to poke his head out, it's game over in that tank)

I decided, the only tank I WANT them in is my planted tank, eh, I'll toss two in there, just because. Those are the two I mentioned above, I was surprised they survived. 

Keep in mind nitrates are through the roof, nitrites are hovering at 3-5ppm and Ammonia is as high as 1-2ppm when it's dosed once every other day. co2 is still being dialed in and has been way too high (yellow drop checker), etc. etc. Situations most fish would die in. These suckers? I counted 9 just now, and there are surely more. In a toxic soup of new tank, these invincible little monsters are _breeding._


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