# Snails!



## Matt Holbrook-Bull (9 Jul 2007)

I just love snails, they leave your plants alone, and they stuff all the algae they can find!  At the moment I have 2 nerite stripy jobs, and Ive just ordered these amazingly cool purple apple snails.







Isnt that amazing!

Im hoping I might get these guys to breed, unfortunately, Nerite snails need a period in salt water for their eggs to be fertile.

http://www.snailshop.ashopcommerce.co.uk/ good supplier, used them before for shrimps and snails alike.


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## CJ Castle (9 Jul 2007)

That is a very cool snail... Good luck with breeding them...


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## Graeme Edwards (9 Jul 2007)

Nice  8) 

Might try some nerrit snails in my next set up.

Cool


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## JamesC (9 Jul 2007)

Lovely snails and have often been tempted if it wasn't for those blinking hard to remove eggs they leave all over the place.

James


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## Fred Dulley (10 Jul 2007)

Nerites are really cool. I myself have never experienced the hard eggs, but at the LFS I used to work at I saw the eggs.
I have 2 Thick Striped Zebras. Those Apple Snails look lovely.


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (10 Jul 2007)

I love my nerites, Im always amazed at just how fast they can cross a tank.. one minute you look at your tank and their in one corner, the next minute, theyre feet away! Unfortunatly I lost 2 of mine early on, I never really figured out what the cause was, its not like they didnt have enough algae to eat!

All my snails and especially my Otto's all love a great big chunk of cucumber weighted down, it takes about 1 day for them to devour a 2 inch piece, skin and all.  Alot of my fish will go for it as well, specially rosey barbs who love to eat the softer, seedy middle bit out.


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## Dan Crawford (16 Jul 2007)

I could be wrong here but i'm pretty sure apple snails climb up out of the water and lay there eggs so you'll have to keep an eye out for them. They can be removed to prevent predation from your fish. I believe they are not too hard to breed.


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (16 Jul 2007)

yep, apple snails need about 6 inches of air above the tank, and theyll lay their eggs in batches.  So long as you have a male/female apple snail then you should be able to breed them quite easily.  Apple snails are one of the few species of snail that are'nt asexual.


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## thebullit (20 Jun 2008)

apple snails are a nice addition to any tank that doesnt house loaches..lol.. they require harder water conditions other wise a calcium liquid would be wise to put in the water. a ph above 7 is needed, i keep mine at 7.4-7.6. they will eat dead or decaying plants not live healthy plants. you need both m and f to breed these and they lay there eggs above the water line.

just my 2 pence..

regards postage Gratts, i post mine wrapped in wet paper towels and packed in polystirean (sp) cups. wrapped in bubble wrapp then packing paper....jobs a good un. never had a doa....they can stay out of water for about 2 weeks tucked in there shells.


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## Egmel (20 Jun 2008)

So Nerites, apple and malaysian trumpet snails will all avoid healthy plants (provided there's other stuff to eat) are there any others which are suitable for a planted tank?  Maybe we should have a snail guide!


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (20 Jun 2008)

Egmel said:
			
		

> So Nerites, apple and malaysian trumpet snails will all avoid healthy plants (provided there's other stuff to eat) are there any others which are suitable for a planted tank?  Maybe we should have a snail guide!



all the snails Ive owned have all avoided any plants.. even when theres no algae theyll starve before they eat the plants. Which is a common cause of death unfortunately.  People forget to feed them and they flake out pretty fast, especially if theyre big. Apple snails need alot of food, at one time I had 5 who used to eat 3 inches of cucumber every 2 days!


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## Egmel (20 Jun 2008)

Matt Holbrook-Bull said:
			
		

> Egmel said:
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Cool, I've been looking at that snail-shop link, they've got some beauties, I'm really tempted.

Maybe when I get back from holiday in July I'll get some new additions.

What sort of bio-load do they add (I'm guessing it's dependent on snail size), there's a chap on TFF from whom I'm probably homing some unwanted fish.  (Total after new inhabitants - 4 guppies, 4 penguin tetra, 4 neon tetra, 2 harlequin rasbora , 2 green rasbora, 3 panda cory's and a pitbull plec.  Bit of a harlequin set (pun intended) and over the advised inch per gallon rule but it should be ok since the tank is well filtered (eheim 2213) and has been running for nearly 2 years so is nicely matured.)


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## Superman (22 Jun 2008)

I had a single Apple Snail (female) and was amazed when I found a clutch of eggs above the waterline at one water change. Its a shame that they never hatched.

As my step into the 'shrimp' world didn't work, I'm thinking of getting some trumpet snails. Something smallish but to do the job as my apple snail was getting rather large.

I did also have some nerites but they arrived in bad condition from a ebay seller and they all died soon after introduction. Although, whilst they were alive, they did a superb job of algae. I didn't even realise there was some on some bogwood and then the next day I saw a proper wood colour for the first time in ages!! Hehe. I did however get some of the eggs laid but they were easy enough to get off.

Anyone got any spare trumpet snails or something similar? Looking for smaller snails to keep things clean.


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (22 Jun 2008)

I normally get my inverts from here, very good seller.

snail shop

normally, if your water isnt any good for shrimp, itll be perfect for snails, and visa versa.. high PH will be brill for snails as itll generally be quite hard, which is great for making shells.. low PH will dissolve snail shells, but shrimps will love it.  so one way or another, you can build a good algae army!

I love nerites, once settled in, extremely hardy and like you say, serious algae munchers


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## Wolfenrook (22 Jun 2008)

Matt Holbrook-Bull said:
			
		

> normally, if your water isnt any good for shrimp, itll be perfect for snails, and visa versa.. high PH will be brill for snails as itll generally be quite hard, which is great for making shells.. low PH will dissolve snail shells, but shrimps will love it.  so one way or another, you can build a good algae army!



Not entirely true Matt, as many shrimp varieties actually do better at a slightly higher pH.  The problem usually though is that these same varieties are the same onces that are more sensitive to dosing and the like, so when folks put them in their nice planted tank with uber EI dosing or the like, they die.  Of course as always it can't possibly be the dosing at fault, so pH gets the blame.

Shrimp however tend not to usually like very high pH.  By high I am talking about 7.8 tops.  But this is plenty high enough to have both shrimp and snails in the same tank.

Ade


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (22 Jun 2008)

Wolfenrook said:
			
		

> Matt Holbrook-Bull said:
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I was thinking more extremes than that.. out of the tap my water is about 8.2 which they really DONT like  My point was that if a person was experiencing shrimp death due to PH, then snails would love it.. not that PH was the be all and end all.

Interesting your thoughts on dosing effecting shrimp.. Id be very surprised if it was the dosing on a normal EI schedule effecting them as masses of people run shrimp in heavily dosed tanks very well.. even Mr ADA himself!


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## thebullit (30 Jul 2008)

heres a link to some MTS snails for sale.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0270643521


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## BeBea (30 Jul 2008)

Superman said:
			
		

> Anyone got any spare trumpet snails or something similar? Looking for smaller snails to keep things clean.



I've got loads!  PM me and I'll give you my address.  If you then send me a large sae I will send you some 

Zoe


PS I love my snails  As you can probably guess by my avatar >  

I've got purple, blue, ivory, pink and yellow - they are so great to watch and their bodies match their shells (i.e. the pink snail has a pale pink body, the powder blue has a dark blue body, the purple has a deep purple body etc...........)


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## thebullit (1 Aug 2008)

lovely looking snails you have there Zoe.


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## Superman (9 Nov 2008)

Thought I'd bring this thread back up rather than start off a new one.

I've had MTS added to my tank in the past but don't really see them that much now, not even on a night.

I'm thinking of adding some more snails to my tank, just wondered if I should add Nerites or more MTS? Not sure if I'd like a "larger" snail like a nerite - wouldn't get a big apple snail again. Would Nerites climb up leaves and bend them down? Just wondered how they cope in planted tanks?


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## thebullit (9 Nov 2008)

they will be ok in a planted tank as they wont eat them. they will graze on the algae nd b4you know it there wontbe any algae left, so you will have to suplerment there dietry needs.


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## Egmel (9 Nov 2008)

My nerites tend to stick to the hardscape and tank walls rather than clambering all over the leaves.  That's not to say they don't use them just that they seem to prefer the hardscape.

I've got a couple of the bee-staghorn ones too, while they're really cool they do tend to look a little lost in a tank my size (125l) they'd be better in a smaller tank, or more than the 2 I've got I suppose it the other option.

I think it depends on your tank size and layout as to how big a snail you want.  If your tank is full of petite plants with small leaves then I'd stick with the smaller snails, if you've got a larger tank with some larger plants then the nerites will be more balanced in comparison.

Spixi apple snails are also a nice size, but they have a nasty habit of eating anything green if they're feeling hungry and mine have started laying egg clutches all over the place too.


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## joyous214 (10 Nov 2008)

i has staghorn ones too and they really do look lost in a 125L. i have ramshorns (which never seem to go away) and apple snails, there are now "mini" apple snails that dont grow too big, very cute. Watch them for hours. Think apples are more out going then some of the other snails.


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## Superman (10 Nov 2008)

Just wodering what would be better, add more Ottos or snails.
I'd like nerites and the Staghorn ones might be best for me as they're smaller, but as others have said they might get lost in the size of my tank (180ltr)


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## Egmel (11 Nov 2008)

Looking at your journal I think staghorns would get very lost. I'd be inclined to get some nice nerites *and *some more ottos.  8)


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## Wolfenrook (30 Nov 2008)

Matt Holbrook-Bull said:
			
		

> Interesting your thoughts on dosing effecting shrimp.. Id be very surprised if it was the dosing on a normal EI schedule effecting them as masses of people run shrimp in heavily dosed tanks very well.. even Mr ADA himself!



Sorry for the late reply, but I rarely come on here these days.

As to the dosing, I never said I was dosing EI, I was dosing TPN+ when I lost the shrimp, and it effected my cherry shrimp as well, making them lethargic and shy (a classic sign of copper poisoning.  However I can happily link at least 1 article by another shrimp keeper who stopped dosing CSM+B (I believe this is the trace mix used in EI) as he was getting signs of copper poisoning in his shrimp, and upon stopping the dosing this stopped, and as soon as I reduced my dosing back down lower the the amounts recommended on here, my cherry shrimp recovered, it was too late for my macrobrachium lanchesteri however, these been a much more sensitive species than Amano or cherry shrimp.

As to Takashi Amano having no problems with EI dosing and his shrimp, I was not aware that Takashi Amano used EI dosing, the books and articles I have read by him (I have a TFH digital subscription) suggest quite the contrary, and the levels he doses traces at are a fair bit lower than those espoused on here.

Ade

PS. I forgot to mention, I stopped using TPN+ a couple of months back now, and now dose using Pro-Fito, Nitro and Fosfo from Easy Life, using a dosing schedule loosely based around the Redfied ratio.  My plants are still growing great, only now I have no potassium deficiency and my shrimp are much happier.


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## beeky (19 Jan 2009)

Has anyone else found their Nerites on the carpet?!

I find my one (I only have the one) on the carpet a few weeks after putting it in. It must have climbed up the glass out through a hole for the cables and then fallen off. I don't know how long it was out for, but it was dry. I put it back in and a few hours later it was moving around again, unharmed.


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## thebullit (20 Jan 2009)

generaly if a snail leves the water its A- looking for some were to lay eggs .Not in this case. B- something in the water they dont like. just my pennies worth.


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## spikey4me (22 Feb 2009)

I have found that certain species of nerite are more prone to actively cruising above the waterline looking for food - they often clean the algae growing over the coverplates in my aquariums.   I went to Thailand last year and was able to witness nerites in their natural habitat.  They seemed to spend most of their time - 60% or more - out of the water crawling on the branches & rocks overhanging the river - resting alot but also grazing on algae. So its very much part of their natural cycle and shouldnt just be associated with them not liking the water conditions.  So in short, a tight fitting lid is a necessity!


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## daniel19831123 (28 Dec 2009)

I'm tempted to add this snail to my current tank. But can anyone clarify their algae eating ability? As far as I can find, they mostly buried underground to munch on rotten plants. If they do eat algae, would be useful to know which algae they eat and which they don't. can't find anything as such online... Maybe someone with MTS can conduct an experiment with barebottom MTS tank and feed them algae? lol


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## AdAndrews (28 Dec 2009)

Ive just added a zebra nerite snail, you should see him go!


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