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What you favorite snail and why?

7K views 43 replies 19 participants last post by  zdrc 
#1 ·
Just at the title says, what is your favorite type of snail to keep in a planted tank and why? I post this as I consider adding some type of snail to my tank. I have, up until recently, been the person who fears snails and a population explosion, unsightliness, etc... I recently 'adopted' a pond/ bladder snail in a plant purchase, and have actually found myself enjoying it cruse around the aquarium.

So, I pose the question; What is your favorite and why? Bonus points for pictures!
 
#4 ·
I just ordered snails for the 1st time, have gotten many "Free" snails if you know what I mean... but got 3 Nerite's coming and actually pretty excited. The free ones (100's) I have do a great job cleaning algae and I don't get why people wouldn't like them except for overbreeding of course.
 
#6 ·
Overbreeding and aesthetics, at least for me. I'd rather use my biofilter capacity for beautiful snails and shrimp than grotesque things like bladder snails or ramshorns.

Another wonderful thing about nerites is that they don't breed in the tank, so I can have large numbers of them. Mystery and chopstick snails I can only keep singly, but that just makes them centerpieces.
 
#5 ·
I like my little ramshorn snails. Most people consider them a pest, but they eat algae and decaying plant matter, they love my hard water, they don't leave little white eggs everywhere that are impossible to remove, and some of them get some pretty iridescent colors in their shells.

The only bad thing is they do reproduce easily, but I just remove the extras when I do tank maintenance.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk
 
#8 ·
That's a bladder snail or pond snail. Yes, usually considered a nuisance. I don't like them because they look like bloated ticks to me...probably the elongated shell. But they will clean algae and detritus like other snails, and you will have a never-ending population of them.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk
 
#13 ·
Hey, no don't get those, just get regular ramshorn not the mini ramshorn. The mini's are really tiny like a mm or two. You want regular ramshorn, they usually are available in blues, reds, leopard patterns and get to be around 1/2" - 3/4"
Okay, good to know! I'll research those more. Snails... a world I though I would never research. Shrimp soon maybe?? Haha
That is pretty sweet looking- thanks for sharing!
 
#15 ·
I love nerite snails as hard workers and green spot algae cleaners.
Ramshrons snails are my fav 'pest' snail for diatoms. Blue leopard ramshorn are the jackpot-use to have but can't find the old old old photos.
MTS are good for sand substrate to sift and avoid air pockets+ give poop root feeding plants like swords.
See my avatar for nerite, giant brown ramshorns (with pink ramshorn following and pond snail ontop of) below
 
#18 ·
Lovely photo! I've had a few zebrea nerite. Would like a horned nerite some day.
They will climb out of the tank entirely. When my 55g sprang a leak (seam on bottom pane of glass-worst.place.possible.) I had an emergency move everything to a 40g breeder, when the 55g was fixed I could not find my nerite-it had climbed out during the move back. Found it before it dried up (or was eaten by dog) thankfully.
 
#20 ·
A combination of MTS and assassins. The MTS because they're pretty much unavoidable, it seems, they keep the substrate clean & aerated, and the babies are very efficient algae eaters. The assassins because they keep the MTS under control--eating the big ones but leaving the babies, multiply slowly to match their food source, will eat uneaten food, and devour any fish that might die while I'm out of town so they don't foul the tank. And because they're pretty in their own right with their brown & yellow striped shells.

I'm fascinated by the giant Sulawesi rabbit snails, and the Sulawesi chopstick snails. The chopstick snails will aerate the substrate, and the rabbit snails are large and impressive, but there are some reports they may eat some plants. Both are supposed to breed slowly, and prefer warm & hard water.. Does anyone have experience with these snails, and will they eat plants?
 
#26 ·
I like the free ones the best.

The ones that came in my recent online plant order were typical bladders. The newly hatched ones feed my Chopra Danios, and the ones that survive end up eating the algae in my shrimp tanks. Everyone wins!
 
#31 ·
I have 5 nerite in my cichlid tank. They're very cool looking and hard workers, but no real personality.

I have some free ram snails and I have to admit I spend time watching them. They're so much more entertaining than I could have imagined.

Check out the one I call "Turbo" pretending hes in a circus, walking a tightrope of hair algae. The further out he got the more the tightrope wobbled, so he turned and went back haha
 

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#34 ·
I have nerites in my Spec V and really have grown to dislike their egg laying habits. I have blue ramshorn snails in my other tanks and vastly prefer them. They reproduce fairly quickly but that doesn't bother me, I am happy to have the extra algae removal help.



 
#35 ·
I'll happily buy extra blue footed blue ramshorns off you! I just wish it wasn't below freezing AAAAAHHHHH, maybe in spring.
 
#39 ·
I was wondering the same -- I saw the eggs show up on lava rock, but weeks? months? later, they were gone. Now I cannot remember the last time I saw a nerite egg.

To the OP:

For personality & entertainment: Mystery snails, 100% You can keep multiple & if they lay eggs it is above the surface of the water, so they're easy enough to find & you can swipe them off and toss them if you don't want them.

2nd place for me would be ramshorns -- I got some as hitchhikers last year and they have more personality than I thought they would. They reproduce steadily though, so be ready to crush them or have a place to give them away (friends with pet turtles or piranhas would be good). I really am growing a little attached to them, and I think they're a little more useful on the cleaning front than mysteries.

Nerites are great cleaners, but no personality, imo.

Bladder & Pond snails are inevitable and not worth the fight, imo. They're good cleaners & also a good barometer of whether or not you are overfeeding your tank (if you are, their population will explode).

I haven't had any of the others, though I'm a little intrigued with the idea of substrate sifting snails...
 
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