Plant Friendly Snail?

[Chad55]

Is there any snails that won't eat plants. I want to get a snail in a couple of my tanks to take care of some algea and I just don't want them to eat all of the plants. I will only be putting one in each tank so I hopefully wont have a infestation. I would also like it to get rather large if at all possible.

Chad

 

[ewurm]

I believe all snails will eat plants and algae, that is what they do.

 

[Chad55]

Well are there any that wont completly DESTROY the plants. I have a ton of java moss for them to eat it is just I have alot of narrow leafed plants that probably won't take well to being munched.

Chad

 

[evercl92]

There are several species that wont eat plants. Malaysian trumpet snails (MTS) and nerite snails dont eat plants. Nerites are kinda hard to come by (I'm just now able to get a couple for myself). I have a specie of ramshorn in one of my tanks that doesn't eat plants, though I've read that ramshorns usually eat plants.

You can buy some from these:
http://www.jayscustomcomputers.com/wilma/
http://www.azgardens.com/aquarium_snails.php

more info:
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/snails.html
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/snail2.htm
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/snails.html

Keep in mind:
The main problem would be overpopulation, but if you dont overfeed, you shouldnt have a problem. Mystery and apple snails are pretty much lawnmowers when it comes to plants. I have a friend who found out he has a lot of MTS, I can ask him to ship you some, if you are interested....

 

[WyldFya]

MTS don't get big, nor do they do even a remotely good job on algae. For the tank I would recommend either a chaetostoma species, otocinclus species or RTBS.

 

[ewurm]

Maysian trumpets don't get too big, at least not in my tanks, but are a great cleanup crew.

 

[davo]

a lot of people like MTS if they have a sand substrate too, because they churn everything about (like worms in soil)

 

[Chad55]

So the nerite snails won't eat my plants and they only reproduce in brackish/saltwater? If that is the case then I may go with them. What species of ramhorn do you have that doesn't eat plants? Also what kind of temps. can snails handle? I have mainly coldwater tanks which usually stay around 68.

Chad

 

[RoseFishWatcher]

Applesnails!!
Bridgesi (or just "brigs") in particular. They're sold in 90% of pet stores as "mystery snail" and come in gold and black commonly, plus some other fantastic colors including purple, pink, blue, etc Size: roughly golf ball.

In my experience, they don't eat healthy plants, and will eat soft algae from the glass. Naturally, if you feed them too well they won't eat any algae, but you should feed them some sinking food or they will probably starve.

Best part is they require a male and female to reproduce, so you won't have to worry about them filling your tank with snails unless you keep more than one per tank. (I only have two and they just happened to be male and female so they mate like crazy).

I love these critters, so I don't keep them as clean up. You can find tons of info on them at applesnail.net to decide if they're what you're looking for.

I think they are ok at that temp, but check if you decide you're interested.

 

[evercl92]

So the nerite snails won't eat my plants and they only reproduce in brackish/saltwater? If that is the case then I may go with them. What species of ramhorn do you have that doesn't eat plants? Also what kind of temps. can snails handle? I have mainly coldwater tanks which usually stay around 68.

Chad

I'm really not sure of the exact specie of ramshorn that I have. A couple of them actually came with some plants that I got at a LFS, and figured if they were in there, then they prob don't eat plants. If you go to a LFS, check the plants, look for some snails. If you see some, buy a cheapy plant, and ask the person if they'd throw some of the snails in. Most of them have too many anyway, and are glad to get rid of them. One of the tanks I have them in is a room-temp tank, no heater. It was 68 deg in there this morning. They seemed to be doing fine.

What you mentioned is the exact reason I'm getting nerites. I don't like things that I can't control, ie populations. Plus, they should be big enough that my yoyo loaches don't mess with them.