are snails beneficial to a tank?

[Morledzep]

when my oscars and cichla were small i loved the snails. but as the fish got bigger the snails started disappearing.

the snails were entertaining to watch, they have no fear. they climb to the top of the water and jump into the bubbles or the filter outlet and ride the current. they also keep the algae and all the dead plant matter cleaned up. some species eat live healthy plants too, so you have to be careful which kind ya get.

mystery snails are fun and they won't overpopulate the tank, the eggs are laid on the glass above the top of the water and you can easily remove them if you have enough snails. i let the fish eat the baby snails when they dropped into the water.

same goes with the apple snails, they lay their eggs above the water and have a simliar life cycle.

i got some plants that were infested with those tiny ramshorn things, the only cure for them is red jewel ciclids, they eat them as soon as they appear.. unfortunately there are always more eggs hiding somewhere.

 

[Younglin]

snails carry a lot of disease and bacteria

....

Most snails you buy are captive bred. They have no more diseases than fish you buy. Unless they are not properly cared for.

To answer the original question; snails are pretty entertaining to watch and clean the tank very well. They clean the glass beautifully and eat any food left on the tank bottom.

 

[sampster5000]

snails carry a lot of disease and bacteria

Thats pretty vague. If you want to argue that topic you need to bring some sources or previous experience with this.

From me, snails are AWESOME. After I got my first mystery snail a few years ago I did a TON of research on them. They are some of the coolest little creatures. Who knew that snails had a lung and a gill? They have a very complex (for a tiny, tiny animal) but easy to understand body system. I currently have 15 snails. 2 Mystery, 1 black horned nerite, 1 green horned nerite, 2 corona nerites, 3 zebra nerites, 2 big line nerite, 2 red spot nerite, 2 assassin snails. They are the coolest things ever and I recommend them for a PEACEFUL tank. I would not keep them with any fish that can fit a snail in its mouth because it will. Cichlids especially.

P.S. Love Bocourti's!

 

[akimbo]

wow thanks for the help everyone looks like a shall try to find some... =]

 

[Chicklette]

I have a snail in with my oscar and he leaves it alone, just depends on the oscar. Personally I love snails. They will clean up the bottom of the tank.

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

snails carry a lot of disease and bacteria

bwahahahahahahahahaha

omg, too funny

 

[NixMix]

Do you add salt to your tanks? If so, then snails won't last long at all...

 

[Oscarum monstruoso]

Do you add salt to your tanks? If so, then snails won't last long at all...

That explains why mine died. I feel bad but I like salt too much to switch, so no snails for me.

 

[NixMix]

Yeah I wanted to get some a while back but started looking into it and found out about that. Fortunately I found out in enough time... didn't buy any. They would look so cool in my community tank...but oh well. I still really like using salt. It's much easier for my fish and no health problems either.

 

[knifegill]

I have common bladder snails and they don't seem to mind salt. Everything eats them but they breed in the gravel and filters. The only harm they cause is added bioload, which is negligible if the population stays in check through light feeding.

So I vote yes. Good snacks for many fish and possibly a good cleanup crew in the right set-up.