Malaysian Trumpet snail questions

[driftwoodhunter]

I'm considering posting a WTB for some MTS, but I have a few questions first.

These will be going into dirt tanks - I've already been assured they do well in them (my substrate would benefit from them I'm sure), but does anyone here actually have them in dirt tanks, and have they brought soil above the cap when moving about = mucking up the water, leaving silt on top of the cap?

Also, if they overpopulate, can they be removed with the same trick that works on other snails - namely luring them with skewered veggies or lettuce and removing them in groups? I don't want to ever introduce assassin snails as I have a population of ramshorns I adore.

Thanks!

[somewhatshocked]

They can occasionally bring dirt up through the cap but that doesn't happen often. Generally, it's barely noticeable.

Easy to control their population just like you do with others - just have to do it after lights out. They give live birth, so there's never an egg situation to deal with.

[angelsword]

Not too many things I hate as much as MTS. Never had a dirt tank so I can't offer any experience on that. Just thought I'd throw my two cents in.

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by angelsword

Not too many things I hate as much as MTS. Never had a dirt tank so I can't offer any experience on that. Just thought I'd throw my two cents in.

Why do you hate them? I have no experience them them at all....

I also have a fairly thick cap (1" minimum) of natural creek gravel;

[inthepacific]

as far as my MTS go, they dont really go that far down into the substrate. usually just down far enough so you can see just the top of their shell and it looks like its part of the substrate. i dont think they should bring up any of the dirt if the cap is thick enough.

[angelsword]

Originally Posted by inthepacific

as far as my MTS go, they dont really go that far down into the substrate. usually just down far enough so you can see just the top of their shell and it looks like its part of the substrate. i dont think they should bring up any of the dirt if the cap is thick enough.

I agree, I don't think they go deeper than the OP's one inch cap.

[DogFish]

Originally Posted by angelsword

I agree, I don't think they go deeper than the OP's one inch cap.

That is not accurate. Last spring I syphoned off my Black Diamond Cap that was 1-1.5" deep. That left a 2" layer of MTS. There were snails coming up out of the dirt.

I can not say the were coming from thew bottom, nor do I know how deep into the dirt they were. They were without question deep than the sand cap an in said dirt.

[angelsword]

Once you have them they're hard to get rid of. People say oh you're just feeding too much. Even in a a heavily planted 55 gallon that had no fish and therefore no food added they maintained a population of about 17 billion. The only way I've gotten ahead of them is with Assassin snails. There are others out there that hate them too. Including stories of attempts to bleach them, freeze them and dry them out. I have no idea why they don't breed out of control for some people. Maybe they like my water.

I've also noticed no benefit to having them. In tanks with sand that's 2 - 3 inches I still get icky spots in the sand. They don't seem to have had an affect on any type of algae I've dealt with.

I don't have any dirt tanks but, I just thought I'd make sure you knew that there are people that regret intentionally adding them to their tanks. Oh, also I've ended up infesting all my tanks somehow. Even my brackish tank and I thought they couldn't live in the salt.

[somewhatshocked]

The issue isn't that you're not providing food. In a 55 gallon tank, there's a ton of surface area for biofilm to grow. Tons of room for bacteria to develop in the substrate. That's an endless food supply.

Originally Posted by angelsword

Once you have them they're hard to get rid of. People say oh you're just feeding too much. Even in a a heavily planted 55 gallon that had no fish and therefore no food added they maintained a population of about 17 billion.

[angelsword]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

The issue isn't that you're not providing food. In a 55 gallon tank, there's a ton of surface area for biofilm to grow. Tons of room for bacteria to develop in the substrate. That's an endless food supply.

My point exactly! I'm just saying that the advice to just cut back on feeding is not really a solution to an MTS infestation. With no food going into the tank they were still surviving and breeding heavily. Hey if someone likes them that's great. I just thought I'd offer the opposing view point for the OP.

Assassins are slowly winning the battle for me. Don't know what they'll eat once the MTS are gone though. If I get down to the last tank with no MTS, hopefully I'll have enough pond snails for them.

[DogFish]

Cindy - I have them in my Dirted tanks and in my submersed bare bottom grow-out tank that I grow plants in Clay pots in. Never have I see MTS dig up dirt. In my tanks the Cap is 1 to 1.5" deep. In the clay pots maybe 1/2" deep.

About the only observation on this I would offer in my tank with Sakerete all purpose sand with has fine sand to very small pebbles. I feel it separated faster with the snails.

I cull about every two months. Algae wafter in a net over night. I pull everyone out sm. & tiny ones go back in to work...adults got out.

The benefits of a healthy snail population (MTS & Ramshorns) far out weights any perceived negatives. I would not own a Planted tank without them.

[angelsword]

I wasn't sure. But I wouldn't put anything past them. Heck, i found one in my pony tail once after a long day of cleaning tanks and filters lol

[DogFish]

This topic comes up regularly.

In my 40 I didn't face the tank with sand to hide the dirt along the front and sides. You can clearly see the layers. The next time there's a snail next to the side under the sand into the dirt, I'll post up a pic.

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by DogFish

This topic comes up regularly.

In my 40 I didn't face the tank with sand to hide the dirt along the front and sides. You can clearly see the layers. The next time there's a snail next to the side under the sand into the dirt, I'll post up a pic.

On another member's thread (which I shamelessly hijacked, but apologized for!) I posted the same two pics as I did here, and Diana felt the snails would have no trouble getting past my cap to the soil. I'm watching youtube vids as well - they are mostly useless so far- one vid said how the snails decimated his plants! $100's worth, eaten up! lol Even though so many people see them as pests, and I understand they can reproduce fast and in great quantity, I think I will still try to get some. I believe that a greater biodiversity can only help my tank. Having the snails root under the cap will help my soil, their waste will fertilize my plants (I am strictly low tech) and hopefully they would get food missed by my fish on the cap, before it adds to the ammonia levels (although I think my ramshorns do that). Speaking of which, one of the vids said they add a tremendous amount to the tank's existing bioload - so don't add them to tanks if you are concerned about the ammonia that the snails make. Confusing? Yep!

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by angelsword

I wasn't sure. But I wouldn't put anything past them. Heck, i found one in my pony tail once after a long day of cleaning tanks and filters lol

eww! I always put my hair up in a twist bun! LOL