View Full Version : Malaysian trumpet snails for planted tank
lovleeko
02-06-2009, 08:08 PM
I picked up some of these at the LFS yesterday. I have some worries about adding them to my tank. I have read how great they are and then I read where their impossible to get out of the tank and all. I have sand so I thought they would be good. It is fine sand as well. Well I thought of adding them to all my tanks. Are they really a good snail for a planted tank. It feels weird to stick a snail in there that people are trying to get out of the tank. LOL Is there any other type of snail shaped like these guys I should know about before I add them? How I would hate to stick a plant eater in my planted tank. Also wont they help with algae?
fins_n_fur
02-06-2009, 08:12 PM
You are fine to add them...and I'll bet you won't see them that often. I have a bunch in my tank and never see them unless I'm gently stirring the substrate.
lovleeko
02-06-2009, 08:22 PM
You are fine to add them...and I'll bet you won't see them that often. I have a bunch in my tank and never see them unless I'm gently stirring the substrate.
Thanks. Do you find them to be beneficial? Would I still need to churn the sand or would they be sufficient? I am worried about misidentifying them or something. LOL
fins_n_fur
02-06-2009, 08:24 PM
I still gently stir the sand once a week when I do a w/c just to be sure...possibly over cautious, but that's just me. Depends on how many you have (I haven't counted mine).
lovleeko
02-06-2009, 08:26 PM
Pictures. Doe it seem something is wrong with their shell. The LFS uses salt in there tanks. Maybe that could be it???? Are they for sure MTS?
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/retrokid2002/mts006.jpg
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/retrokid2002/mts007.jpg
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/retrokid2002/mts008.jpg
Fishguy2727
02-06-2009, 08:29 PM
Looks fine, any problems from the salt should be fine. How many did you get?
I have them in all my planted tanks. They are beneficial. If they get out of control you can get a loach.
lovleeko
02-06-2009, 08:35 PM
Looks fine, any problems from the salt should be fine. How many did you get?
I have them in all my planted tanks. They are beneficial. If they get out of control you can get a loach.
Well I already have golden zebras in my biggest tank but they aren't very big. I figure at most they might eat the babies. I got 14. They look fine? Their shell seems to have some green on it or something. So they are for sure MTS? They never eat the plants right?
Wild Turkey
02-06-2009, 09:19 PM
Hmmm it really depends on a lot of things how fast they are going to reproduce. I never purposely introduced them before my ten, got about 20 from the lfs, one was over one inch all the others half an inch. EC in the ten.
Nothing happened, i barely saw them for months. The tank was lightly planted and i was growing the algae out on the side and back of the tank. One day they decided to come out of the substrate all at once and attack the algae. The algae was gone in two days but ever since then my corys get healthy doses of live food daily via cleaning the anubias leaves if you know what im saying. There are hundreds of COUNTABLE mts in that sucker now....no real effect on parameters..but they are constantly trimming my dead leaves for me and continuing to breed. Ive since resorted to removing a few at time everytime i stick my hands in for whatever reason.
Mine are prettier than urs and i still love/hate them :P
Their shells are just damaged to a point, totally common.
lovleeko
02-06-2009, 09:42 PM
Hmmm it really depends on a lot of things how fast they are going to reproduce. I never purposely introduced them before my ten, got about 20 from the lfs, one was over one inch all the others half an inch. EC in the ten.
Nothing happened, i barely saw them for months. The tank was lightly planted and i was growing the algae out on the side and back of the tank. One day they decided to come out of the substrate all at once and attack the algae. The algae was gone in two days but ever since then my corys get healthy doses of live food daily via cleaning the anubias leaves if you know what im saying. There are hundreds of COUNTABLE mts in that sucker now....no real effect on parameters..but they are constantly trimming my dead leaves for me and continuing to breed. Ive since resorted to removing a few at time everytime i stick my hands in for whatever reason.
Mine are prettier than urs and i still love/hate them :P
Their shells are just damaged to a point, totally common.
LOL. Why are yours prettier :) Are you calling my snails ugly? :hmm3grin2orange:
For what reason do you hate them. Thanks WT. I'm just weighing the pros and cons.
Wild Turkey
02-06-2009, 10:03 PM
LOL. Why are yours prettier :) Are you calling my snails ugly? :hmm3grin2orange:
For what reason do you hate them. Thanks WT. I'm just weighing the pros and cons.
I guess because there are just so many of them, and they add to my weekly maintenance which is already a ton of stuff with all the critters and tanks
Yea my mts have great patterns when you get up close they are actually pretty attractive, just not from afar.
lovleeko
02-06-2009, 10:11 PM
I guess because there are just so many of them, and they add to my weekly maintenance which is already a ton of stuff with all the critters and tanks
Yea my mts have great patterns when you get up close they are actually pretty attractive, just not from afar.
So whats up with mine. Will they have prettier babies?.
Wild Turkey
02-06-2009, 10:31 PM
So whats up with mine. Will they have prettier babies?.
Very possibly :D
Im re doing the ten gal right now so no pics for a few hours, after that i'll see if i can get the mts patterns with my crappy cam
lovleeko
02-06-2009, 11:10 PM
Very possibly :D
Im re doing the ten gal right now so no pics for a few hours, after that i'll see if i can get the mts patterns with my crappy cam
K. Make me jealous turk:hmm3grin2orange: I hope mine have better babies. You think they are MTS. MAybe mine are something different. Can you tell I'm worried :hmm3grin2orange:
Wild Turkey
02-07-2009, 03:04 AM
K. Make me jealous turk:hmm3grin2orange: I hope mine have better babies. You think they are MTS. MAybe mine are something different. Can you tell I'm worried :hmm3grin2orange:
Lol nah urs are definitely mtsthumbs2: i'll have a pics for you soon
lovleeko
02-07-2009, 03:31 AM
Lol nah urs are definitely mtsthumbs2: i'll have a pics for you soon
K if I get bad snails I'm blaming you:hmm3grin2orange:
Wild Turkey
02-07-2009, 03:33 AM
K if I get bad snails I'm blaming you:hmm3grin2orange:
Lol watch them transform into something new now :hmm3grin2orange:
mine are basically brown with black dots in rows around them, 2 or 3 rows each
Wild Turkey
02-07-2009, 05:04 AM
here you go:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa132/Turkey151/Fish/DSCF1511.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa132/Turkey151/Fish/DSCF1512.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa132/Turkey151/Fish/DSCF1513.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa132/Turkey151/Fish/DSCF1524.jpg
lovleeko
02-09-2009, 03:18 AM
Yours are nicer. Their everywhere!! I still haven't added mine. I wish mine were the more attractive. I've now seen photos of both types.
Jellygirl
02-10-2009, 07:46 PM
Hi there,
I was going to add some to my planted tank (sand substrate) and had exactly the same reservations as you have. Well I got some sent through the post and put them in - they must have died in post though as I never saw them again. I was told that just two are enough to produce an army.
I was also told that these snails burrow under the substrate and only come out at night. I was also told that if ever you are inundated that the best thing to do was to cut down on feeding fish. Not sure if this is 100% correct as like I said I never saw them again in my tank. Now I just wriggle the sand about during water changes this isn't too problematic as the tank is very small (72 litres).
Good luck anyways.
Jellygirl
Jellygirl
Wild Turkey
02-11-2009, 02:00 AM
The problem im having with my mts, be it they are smarter or just lucky, they surface when i feed my corys and get some of the wafer when its still intact. So, id say once they figure out your feeding schedule forget them being nocturnal and forget never seeing them. In some of the pics above you can kinda see what im talking about.
So basically, I have to remove a decent amount each week to keep it under control, since overfeeding doesnt even really come into play.
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