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How did I get snails?

3K views 36 replies 18 participants last post by  flight50 
#1 ·
I haven't brought anything new in over 1 month. I noticed hundreds of specs in my moss, and wondered what it was, looks like shells. I did a water change about 2 hours ago and I didn't see this. All of a sudden bam there are literally hundreds, Ido have Amanos but doubt it's them

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#6 ·
Malaysian trumpet snails. Most likely had eggs on some plants and then they hatched and buried into the substrate, that's what they do. You probably never seen them because they don't tend to come out during the daylight hours. I'm guessing the water changed disturbed them in the substrate so they came out of hiding.
 
#15 ·
Given that these are MTS we are talking about, there's one big benefit beyond acting as cleanup crew...

MTS burrow around and aerate your substrate, preventing pockets of anoxic decay.
 
#21 ·
Dead right! Aside from shape, they are a totally different animal and serve a very different pupose in a most benign way. Once they get into your substrate, you would be hard-pressed to realize you even had 100's.
 
#22 ·
Actually, looking closer at the pictures at the top of this thread, I'm not entirely sure those are MTS..

They're out in the plants when the lights are on, AFAIK MTS ( Melanoides tuberculata) are normally very reclusive when there's lights on.. Their bodies also seem to have a steeper taper (shorter cone) than MTS, which are normally rather long and skinny. The shells are also slightly translucent, while MTS have a rather opaque shell...

The physical traits I might chalk up to stunted growth due to lack of calcium or something... but the behavioral trait... seems odd..

Perhaps this one of the conical river snails that is native to North America?
 
#23 ·
Ya made me look! I agree, these aren't MTS. Don't know what, but def. not MTS. I see juvenile MTS on the glass of my 180G every so often and they look like .........mini MTS. I don't think they go through any shape transitions.
 
#24 ·
Plants are the number one cause of hitch hiking snails. They can be unsightly and some of us don't want them. Once their numbers get out of control, there will be some effort involved to get rid of them. MTS are good as mentioned. The only downside I see with them is if you have a dirt tank they could mix up the cap over time. Its probably more obvious with a sand cap. Otherwise they are a great addition to a cleanup crew.

Note to self, when ordering or buying new plants, its advised to quarantine them just as fish. Give the possible eggs enough time to hatch and fall off or at least visible enough to see to pick off. Once snail hatch, then you can do plant dips. Unless your buying from a reputable place, the chances of having hitch hikers is high.
 
#25 ·
If quarantine isn't practical and you really don't want snails, check the leaves carefully then do a dip. I would suggest doing an alum dip for this purpose. Alum dips are more effective than bleach against snails, less effective against algae. Alum can be found in with the spices at the grocery store.
 
#32 ·
I would go for getting any of a number of loaches. There are nice looking loaches who do not get too big. But then I also don't understand the big problem if a fish does get too big. Most of us are able to take a fish to a shop who are willing to do a store credit for the fish. And what is the very last and worst case? You might have to GIVE the fish away but that would be after he has done what you needed. Anybody here who doesn't understand letting an employee go when he has finished the job?
 
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