[Steve Pituch]

I bought a bunch of gold mystery snails after reading on the Internet how they did not damage plants. They must have been talking about plastic plants. This is a picture of an Echinodorus berteroi after I removed a snail from the last half eaten stem. Note the white spot at the base where all the other stems had been eaten away. I also received considerable damage to Hygrophila, Ludwigia and my Crypts. In the morning my tanks contained a bunch of chopped up plant debris floating at the surface.

Is there a type of snail that is truly plant friendly?

Steve Pituch

 

[tsunami]

I have found ramshorn snails to be very plant friendly --I purposely introduce them to my tanks. Oliver Nerite Snails, Malaysian Trumpet Snails, and small pond snails are also plant friendly. I keep the nerites, ponds, and ramshorns in tanks with even the softest of plants (like Rotala macrandra) with little damage.

Carlos

 

[Sue]

Sounds like you got a cana, Pomacea canaliculata. The other mystery snails don't bother plants much at all. I've got 2 in my tank and they work the glass, rocks and substrate. Only plants they bother are leaves that are on the way out.

Pomacea bridgesii is the one you want.

www.applesnail.net

 

[Steve Pituch]

Thanks Carlos,

I will try to pick up some other types of snails that you mentioned locally or order some. Someone named Wilma has a web site and thats where I read that Mystery snails were good with plants.

Steve

 

[gnome]

The ramshorn snails you want are the small Planorbes (Planorbis corneus or Helisoma trivolvis or whatever they're truly called). If you get the giant Colombian ramshorn snails (Marisa cornuarietis - sp?) you'll have more death, destruction and decay than what was caused by your "mystery" snails.

Avoid the Malaysian trumpets if you're specifically trying to breed egg-laying fish. Otherwise, they're fine and won't touch your plants.

I'd personally love to get my hands on some olive nerites. They can't breed in fresh water, but they will lay egg clusters all over the place. They're supposed to be great for cleaning the glass.

Like Carlos, I deliberately introduce the ramshorn snails into all of my planted tanks. They're great for all sorts of algae. Bummer what those mysteries did to your plants. Escargot...? :twisted:

-Naomi

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

Ive got MTS and a few pond snails...kinda like tiny ramshorns. The loaches keep the pond snails under control but dont bother the MTS. Never had a problem with either of them eating plants.

If you find anyone local that has aglae eating snails, please let me know

 

[nonamethefish]

The planorbis will eat plants, but only if either they are starving or the plant is dying.

Pomacea bridgesii works well in planted tanks...the marisas are a recipe for disaster. I used to keep a pair to throw old plant leaves to. They were attacked almost immediately.

 

[jn91669]

Hello all, question for you. i have what I think to be MTS but not sure also have these small circular snails in my tank and have been noticing them on my tiger lotus. Starting to get holes in the leaves and I am thinking it could be from this other snail. My question is how do you get rid of snails once they start taking over your tank? i have a couple of Clown and Yo Yo loaches and they don't seem to be eating the snails. any other Ideas would be appreciated. Thanks again

 

[Steve Pituch]

Naomi,

Have you seen this link?

http://www.jayscustomcomputers.com/wilma/

This is where I got the idea of using mystery snails. However, my problem could be that I bought them from Petsmart. Wilma sells Olive Nerites. She also has some original Endler's Livebearers but I don't think they are for sale.

Steve

 

[gnome]

Steve,

Yes, I've sent plants to Wilma before. She's involved in a very worthy cause and I've been more than happy to help support it. She's a very nice lady, too.

I have considered buying the neritina snails from her, but it was after the cold weather had set in and I decided against it at the time. They're pretty pricey, too, at about $5 each. Thing is, I really wanted them when I hatched a few hundred Amano shrimp larvae since I needed a cleaner that could tolerate brackish conditions. But that project ended miserably and I really haven't found a need for them. I suppose I could try them in my planted tanks to see if they'll scrape off the green spot algae.

I guess I'd never recommend those larger snails like mysteries for planted tanks. If they die, you may not find them until they're well on their way to rotting and fouling up the water. That's a lot of body mass to decay... When my little ramshorn snails die, my Amano shrimp usually feast on the carcass right away. Heck, I suspect that they have the occasional "live snack" when they're really hungry. Frank Greco says that if he tosses a handful of snails in his Amano shrimp holding tank, they all get eaten in a matter of hours. The snails, that is...

If you're still insistent on getting P. bridgesi, make sure to get them from a reliable source: Wilma's (if she's selling them), or maybe AquaBid, or I'm sure some of the on-line plant/fish retailers have them, like Aquatic Plant Depot or fishnet.com.

-Naomi

 

[Steve Pituch]

Naomi,

I'm guessing you would need only one mature Olive Nerite snail to begin breeding them. I know each snail is both male and female, and I think I heard that once they mate with another snail they are fertile for life.

Are Olive Nerites also a good snail for algae on leaves?

Steve

 

[gnome]

Hmm... I'm really not sure. All I know is that these eggs won't hatch unless they're in brackish water. I understand that under whatever condition, they'll lay egg clusters all over the tank, but unless the salinity is high, they won't hatch. I've read people's complaints about these egg clusters, too.

I've never kept them myself, so I'm the wrong person to ask. But I've read that these guys tend to spend most of their time on the glass. It could very well mean that they're not so effective for algae control on the plants, themselves. It's all conjecture, though. You should definitely e-mail Wilma. Her e-mail address is on that site. Or check her "articles" section and see if there's anything on the snails.

Sorry I couldn't provide more info. I, myself, would love to hear from somebody who has kept these guys.

-Naomi

 

[kivit]

steve, I have apple snails out the wazoo! I am selling them on ebay, but I could send a few your way as an aPC memember. They are the size of marbles, not yet huge. pM me if you would like some gratis.