Snails

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J

Just Toby

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 22, 2010
2,434
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Guildford UK
I have recently noticed lots of baby snails in my sump..no doubt thriving on bits of missed food. A few occasionally show up in the main tank and soon disappear. With crustaceans forming a big part of the rays natural diet it is obvious that they a eating them.

I cleaned out my backup external filter today and found 3 full grown snails so I threw them in the tank and my pearl swam straight over and ate them.

Normally I would try to get rid of the snails but it think they could be a good natural enrichment although another bio load on the tank.

What are your thoughts? I could chuck an assassin snail in the sump to clear them up.
 
JohnG;4884721; said:
I was thinking about using them to eat algae, 2 people said snails had damaged there rays.

http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4881282&postcount=13

http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4881906&postcount=17
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links, those are apple snails which are huge, I am talking about pin head sized babies and adults the size of a baked bean. I cannot see a ramshorn or similar harming the rays? Interested in others opinions.
 
If they are just ramshorn shaped snails I don't see an issue. I doubt they create that much of a bioload.
Like you stated they eat the left overs sucked into the filter media. Plus benefit the rays as another food source.
My only concern would be that if they are trumpet snails which have a much harder shell
and aren't even recommended for Puffers. If this is the case then I would use the assassin snail.
 
ShadowStryder;4884802; said:
If they are just ramshorn shaped snails I don't see an issue. I doubt they create that much of a bioload.
Like you stated they eat the left overs sucked into the filter media. Plus benefit the rays as another food source.
My only concern would be that if they are trumpet snails which have a much harder shell
and aren't even recommended for Puffers. If this is the case then I would use the assassin snail.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info...I am no snail expert..these are the bog standard snail that comes in on plants etc...what would that be..ramshorn or trumpet?
 
How does one get random snails into their tanks?! Interesting how one day you dont have a snail and another time they poof end upin there just curious
 
I have sandsnails in some of my aquriums, when the colony gets huge, i catch some in a net, and put it into the ray tanks.. they seem to love it, and the shells are really hard on those guys. If its to hard for the rays, the rays will probably leave them alone i gues, no1 tells the rays what to eat in nature, "no, those are to hard for ya", i gues they have a way of figuring out what to eat and not themselfes, when it comes to natural foods as fish and snails that is..
 
The snails got in to my tank cos I had mature filter media come off my malawi tanks.

I can crush the snail shells between my fingers so I am sure the rays can crush them...plus I have seen them do it.
 
Just Toby;4884985; said:
The snails got in to my tank cos I had mature filter media come off my malawi tanks.

I can crush the snail shells between my fingers so I am sure the rays can crush them...plus I have seen them do it.
Click to expand...

They are definitely not Malaysian Trumpet snails then. MTS are cone shaped and unable to
smash between fingers. And yes the rays will just swim over if they are unable to eat them
but then there is nothing to control there population.
 
ShadowStryder;4885123; said:
They are definitely not Malaysian Trumpet snails then. MTS are cone shaped and unable to
smash between fingers. And yes the rays will just swim over if they are unable to eat them
but then there is nothing to control there population.
Click to expand...

Thanks, these are cone shaped though. I think the rays are eating them as juveniles in their tiny form, they are a little bigger than grains of sand and smaller than rice so I guess soft but the male ate the 3 adults too that I added.

Will keep an eye on them and add an assassin to the sump if needed as long as I can re home it once he has finished as wouldn't want it to starve which is a bit odd as I want it to kill a whole population of other snails?:screwy:
 
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