Snails in a piranha tank... a problem? or a solution?

[Zander_The_RBP]

Bottom line: There is a reason why there are snails in nature. Biodiversity is beneficial, and fishkeepers should embrace it.

HarleyK

agreed which is why a tank with live plants, snails, bottom feeding fish of some sort, small mid water fish and a large predator fish(or several) will be a much healthier system than one with just the large predator assuming you feed the same amount either way and the scavengers end up eating the leftovers and the plants use up the nitrates


now this can't always be done in a piranha tank but ive seen pictures of a VERY large aquarium with like 20 RBP's and 200-300 neon tetra's as well as a few bottom feeding catfish and live plants so if you cna achieve this theres no excuse not to embrace it

 

[jp80911]

which is why I'm thinking about adding more zebra danios, giant danios to my pygo and tank and maybe one or two raphael carfish too, the feeding just gets too messy.
maybe few more to rhom tank too.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

which is why I'm thinking about adding more zebra danios, giant danios to my pygo and tank and maybe one or two raphael carfish too, the feeding just gets too messy.
maybe few more to rhom tank too.

I lost my pleco about a week and a half ago (came home from out of town and it was floating sideways uneaten by the Ps) and i can instantly tell the difference in my water quality. I never use to have left over pellet pieces floating over the tank so i'm gonna have to toss something new in with them and see how it goes

 

[Zander_The_RBP]

im lucky my piranhas have only killed a single convict and even that seemed like a freak event they haven't even gone after anything else since that. The pleco they are actualy afraid of (funny i know) i have some wussy reds thats for sure so im definatly going to try to add some neon tetra's next then maybe some shrimp and snails

 

[iloveyouDIE]

My P's have killed everything EXCEPT their snails. Those snails work too! But I've never had an algae problem in that particular tank.

 

[jp80911]

the only plecos that have survived in my P tanks are the ones that are always in hiding, I had better luck with zebra and giant danios.

 

[Otherone]

any ideas about where to get the assassin snail?

I bought mine here - http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/index.web

I know they do mail order but you'd probably have to email them for availability. They were like $2 a piece. They don't reproduce as abundantly as common snails but they sure do gobble them up.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

There's some good info out on the net about assasin snails ( Anentome Helena). Apparently they didn't show up and make a splash in the hobby until 2007 and they kill other snails by stabbing them repeatedly. They're like the assasin ninjas of the snail world. lol

Here's an article
http://arizonainverts.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=204

 

[HarleyK]

the feeding just gets too messy

I hear ya. We can use all the help we can get from those lil critters, be it fish or invertebrates. When my pirayas feed, the Endlers in my tank form a school (in respectful distance) and feed on the cloud of fish flakes that is generated by my Ps.

HarleyK

 

[jp80911]

I hear ya. We can use all the help we can get from those lil critters, be it fish or invertebrates. When my pirayas feed, the Endlers in my tank form a school (in respectful distance) and feed on the cloud of fish flakes that is generated by my Ps.

HarleyK

yeap, my zebra danios do the same thing and they turn like this