Snail Infestation

[Tigerfish908]

I seem to have an infestation of little snails in my african community tank?? I never seen these before? But this is my first time using a sand substrate for africans. They seem to only come out when the lights are out, but there are a lot. I even see real little 1's climbling the glass. Is this harmful to my fish? Where do they come from? How do I get rid of them? Should I be worried??
Please Help!!!

 

[Lupin]

What you have are Malaysian trumpet snails. These are nocturnal and will come out mainly at night. These are quite useful especially when you have sand. They will not harm your fish at all. They eat leftover foods and dead and dying plant parts. These are also regarded as "earthworms of the aquatic garden" as they burrow around the sand thus preventing dead pockets from forming which if allowed to form, will release an extremely dangerous acid, hydrogen sulfide capable of killing all your fish almost instantly and even make you suffer acute respiratory problems as a result. I say leave your snails alone. You can smash the extras with a hammer and give them to your fish for protein based diet. Do not smash them with your fingernails unless you don't care about damaging your nails since the shell structure is extremely thick and hard.

See this thread for more details, particularly in sustaining their population.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215160

 

[k0y0te]

or u could buy a dojo loach and let him eat the lil snails though once they get to big for his mounth he wont touch them..lol well that atleast with mine.

 

[Lupin]

or u could buy a dojo loach and let him eat the lil snails though once they get to big for his mounth he wont touch them..lol well that atleast with mine.

Did your dojo loach actually eat the snails particularly MTS? I have not observed dojo loaches to eat any snails especially baby apple snails. You cannot mix dojo loaches with African cichlids or any other species of loaches for that matter. This is not a good solution to the problem (and this isn't even a problem).

 

[k0y0te]

Did your dojo loach actually eat the snails particularly MTS? I have not observed dojo loaches to eat any snails especially baby apple snails. You cannot mix dojo loaches with African cichlids or any other species of loaches for that matter. This is not a good solution to the problem (and this isn't even a problem).

my dojo does eat the snail, all of it, shell and all but only if they are small, once its the sice of a finger nail he usely dont bother them. i have a couple of snail in my tank and every time lil ones start to run around he does eat them. I didnt realize you could not put dojo loach with african cichlids, sorry!

 

[Lupin]

my dojo does eat the snail, all of it, shell and all but only if they are small, once its the sice of a finger nail he usely dont bother them. i have a couple of snail in my tank and every time lil ones start to run around he does eat them. I didnt realize you could not put dojo loach with african cichlids, sorry!

Which snail does it eat? Bladder snail, ramshorns, MTS or pond snails?

Bladder snail (Physas sp.)

Pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis)

Ramshorns (Planorbis sp.)

Malaysian trumpet snail (Melania sp.)

 

[k0y0te]

looks like the ramhorn. though i really not sure. they came with some live plants i got from petco.. arrgg... But this isnt the first dojo to eat them that i have had. i had one in my 30g that would it the small ones tooo...lol

 

[BlitzRui]

well...the last time this happened i moved 2 assassin snails into my tank. Once there wasnt too many i moved the Assassins back