# Snails in NPT



## travdawg (Mar 3, 2005)

Are you guys ADDING snails to your tanks, or are they coming from the top soil & plants that you all use? I ask because I was going to add some olive nerites, since they dont reproduce in FW... but if snails are going to be present, without any control... then I will just let them come naturally rather than buy em.


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## Mr Fishies (Apr 9, 2006)

I've got 'em, though I've never purposely added snails to my tank. They hitchhiked in on plants (as tiny snails or as eggs) even though I inspect and dip most plants before adding them - I did not when I first got started.

I've got what I believe are two kinds of physa, one that never touches the plants that are healthy, another type that really likes my C.balansae no matter what state the leaves are in. 

Far from being an expert on the subject, I'll offer my $0.02 and say If you only want a specific type of snails, you'll have to clean plants (bleach dip, or potassium permanganate) to ensure nothing else gets in and then add the ones you want.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I've gotten several different varieties of snails from plants that I've purchased. They don't bother my plants and I like them so it doesn't bother me. I've also purchased nerites, MTS, and brigs - I've never been lucky enough to have those come in on plants.


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## travdawg (Mar 3, 2005)

is there a 'specialized" type of snail that keeps the substrate stirred? I know in SW tanks there are kinds that rarely poke their heads out of the sand.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

MTS - Malaysian Trumpet Snails burrow in the substrate during the day and come out in the evenings to eat. I've turned the lights on in the room in the middle of the night and seen them climbing on the glass eating algae. They do a good job of keeping the substrate stirred, sometimes to well. I have a good size population in one tank and they can uproot new plants when I try to plant them where excess fish food tends to settle to the ground. They are a great member of the cleanup crew.


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## PlantMauller (Oct 15, 2007)

Snails absolutely love my tank. I've never purchased any. The snails (or eggs) have all come with the aquatic plants I've purchased. When they become too plentiful I just removed some by hand. They do a wonderful job of cleaning up any excess food or decaying plant matter.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

cs_gardener said:


> MTS - Malaysian Trumpet Snails burrow in the substrate during the day and come out in the evenings to eat. I've turned the lights on in the room in the middle of the night and seen them climbing on the glass eating algae.


i have to agree with that they are great algae eaters. i actually went to my pet store and asked for a bag full to put in my tanks...if i get to many i add my dwarf puffer(they are eaiser to catch then loaches)


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## travdawg (Mar 3, 2005)

sweet, I will have to get some of those.... I wanted something to keep the soil stirred!


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

why is that? there is soil in the bottom with gravel on top right? well all the plants will use the stuff in both layers to grow...the malaysians dont breed as fast as the ramhorns so you really wont have to worry about it!!!! happy fish keeping!!!


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## Emily6 (Feb 14, 2006)

Where would a good source for MTS be? I think some soil stirring would do wonders for my tank.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Emily6 said:


> Where would a good source for MTS be? I think some soil stirring would do wonders for my tank.


Post a WTB on the for sale/trade forum here, I've seen some listed there before. As MTS are livebearers the population increases quickly according to the available food so most people who have them soon have some to spare. If you weren't on the other side of the country I'd be glad to give you some. All it takes is a few to get you started, I originally bought 25 on Aquabid and now I have good-sized populations in 6 of my 7 tanks. (They're struggling a bit in my newest tank with the yoyo loaches looking for anything & everything edible. Some of the MTS weren't smart enough to close their trap doors quickly when the loaches came around.)


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## mtundu (May 8, 2007)

I have snails in all of my planted tanks. Mostly what are commonly called "ramshorn" and "pond" snails, but also "trumpet" snails in one tank. I use quotation marks because snail taxonomy is hard and probably when people use these terms they are actually talking about several different species.

I got all of the snails for free from other people's tanks, and that worked out well for everyone. Unless the snails are super special, don't buy them. Snails can vector a lot of fish diseases so be careful about how the fish look (if there are any) from the source tank. Also, it is not advisable to introduce wild-caught snails -- they are famous for introducing parasites (like trematodes). That said, I have taken snails from the wild with no ill effects. 

In fry tanks the snails clean up the waste and speed up the nitrogen cycle. In my sand-substrate tank they stir the mulm into the sand and prevent anaerobic pockets. In the other tank, well, I guess they eat algae and do general clean up duty because other than some hair algae the tank always seems pretty clean. Occasionally I'll thin the population, especially of the "pond snails" when they start eating my Najas guadalupensis, but otherwise I just let them do their thing.


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