snails good or bad

[RD.]

I believe that you are referring to black spot disease, which starts with wild birds, passed to snails, then passed to fish. Not a common scenario with aquarium strain snails and domestic fish. I don't purposely keep snails, as other than very hard shelled specimens such as Malaysian Trumpet Snails most would not survive in my tanks.

 

[phreeflow]

I believe that you are referring to black spot disease, which starts with wild birds, passed to snails, then passed to fish. Not a common scenario with aquarium strain snails and domestic fish. I don't purposely keep snails, as other than very hard shelled specimens such as Malaysian Trumpet Snails most would not survive in my tanks.

Right on schedule...thanks RD.

 

[Gourami Swami]

I like ramshorns for keeping with cichlids. They get eaten, but if you have a deep sand/gravel bed, or lots of rocks to hide in, some will survive and continue to reproduce. Won't get too overpopulated. The MTS are nice but I have found that after they die their shells remain, so you end up with a ton of hard little shells in your substrate. The ramshorns are edible to cichlids, and when they do die, their shells get broken down pretty quickly

 

[huntery18]

Before I start, let me say that I’m not a 100% sure about all the facts but will share my thoughts. I understand that some snails are intermediate hosts for various parasites, especially internal parasites which I despise. I consider external fish issues as the lesser of two evils as I can see the problem and attempt to solve them. Whereas, internal parasites are often hidden and can cause massive damage before being caught. I recently had a bout with camanallus worms and it was a major pain.

That being said, I refuse to have any snails in any tanks that contain fish that are irreplaceable. For instance, I have a collection of exotic plecos and will not keep snails as I would rather not take the chance of them getting internal parasites. I do have snails in a separate tank with angelfish as I need to breed the snails to feed my puffer and don’t think twice about them.

I believe the snails need to first be infected through a carrier such as a rat or bird or whatever in order to be the intermediary. However, I don’t understand the process well enough so regardless, I just don’t take chances with snails in certain tanks for biosecurity. Again, im far from knowledgeable on this but wanted to share my thoughts since you asked the question. I’m sure RD. or someone with more knowledge can bring some clarity.

appreciate hearing your side, i was under the conclusion that the same diseases/ parasites that affect the snails would not affect my fish,similar to how grass shrimp carry different diseases due to them being invertebrates at least this is what i was told

 

[huntery18]

I like ramshorns for keeping with cichlids. They get eaten, but if you have a deep sand/gravel bed, or lots of rocks to hide in, some will survive and continue to reproduce. Won't get too overpopulated. The MTS are nice but I have found that after they die their shells remain, so you end up with a ton of hard little shells in your substrate. The ramshorns are edible to cichlids, and when they do die, their shells get broken down pretty quickly

i like the idea of my cichlids being able to control the snail population, ill look into ramshorns

 

[Matteus]

I do not recommend adding Malaysian Trapdoor Snails. They can get out of control very quickly, and through careless practices can infest every tank you own.

Sounds pretty specific lol. Like there is some sort of experience warranted here.

 

[Matteus]

I bought a bag of 100+ ramshorn snails from an auction to feed to my loaches, expecting that some would get away and keep breeding. Within the first day- all gone. Haven’t seen anything since outside of shells every where. I kept one of the biggest ones in a separate tank so I have one left.

 

[Fishflyer]

these are good looking snails, i might have to get a few haha

Totally agree with @Mrs.E88. You can see the Nerite cut a path pack and forth through the alage and Fast (for a snail). Artistically patterned shells. There are different types, so check out availability. They add another facet to your tank asthetics.

 

[Fishflyer]

Totally agree with @Mrs.E88. You can see the Nerite cut a path pack and forth through the alage and Fast (for a snail). Artistically patterned shells. There are different types, so check out availability. They add another facet to your tank asthetics.

As far as Nerite Snails bringing in a parasite, I consulted with the long time owner of our local fish store and fish expert. He has not seen it happen. But it can happen rarely. If you have plants in your tank they will out compete the algae in the tank. He said too many nutrients in the tank such as fish waste, food can cause a spike in algae growth.

 

[monkeybike]

Sounds pretty specific lol. Like there is some sort of experience warranted here.

Soooooooo specific, lol. I throw all the snails I trap in my tank outside in a flowerbed. It looks like I mulched with gravel with so many shells.