[Fishstein]

Apparently some Malaysian Trumpet snails hitched a ride on plants I got from a fellow hobbyist a few months back and the little buggers multiplied. Then when my C02 tank ran out and I didn't have time to fill it for a few hectic months, they chewed up our prize large Indian Red Amazon and a few other prize specimens. They seem to leave my more plain plants, like corkscrew val and green crypto and dwarf sagittaria alone.

I have a planted Tanganyika cichlid tank - what's the best way to get rid of these guys in that type of environment?

I think with my CO2 going again the snails won't be able to keep up with the rapid plant growth, but I'd like to get rid of them if possible. So far I've been controlling them by sucking them up with a siphon at night when they come up. I've gotten 40-50 at a time that way and they are fairly in check because of this regular "pruning."

I know they play one beneficial role in "aerating" the substrate - by borrowing in in the morning and out at night, they help move nutrients in the substrate and help them get to the plant roots.

 

[KDahlin]

I've heard you can collect them by putting a piece of cucumber on a string and dropping it in the tank at night and pulling it up a couple hours later but to be completely rid of them you'd probably need a loach -Botia striata.

 

[Fishstein]

There is no way to get rid of them completely that I know of short of using a clown loach. I do mechanically collect them from time to time - unfortunately there is enough good munchy plant matter for them to eat that I don't know if a lettuce would attract them more. But I'll give it a shot. I just wish I could "borrow" a few clown loaches (they like to be in schools) and adapt them to my water long enough for them to take out these guys. I may just have to settle for the MTPs being there and not being able to keep up with the vigorous plant growth once I refill my CO2 tank.

 

[spypet]

MTS have very hard shells that most loaches can't eat through.
I LOVE my MTS and there are always people here who want them.
Just wait a few hours after lights out as they are easy to remove
manually and dispose of as they crawl up the glass.

 

[Overfloater]

Tenacity. Mechanical removal or extermination is the best way to deal with any snail problem.

 

[crazie.eddie]

Yeah, clown loaches usually have a hard time with MTS. Fortunately, MTS do not lay eggs, so you should just spend time to physically remove them. It may be time consuming, but eventually they will be gone.

 

[IceH2O]

Can't say I've ever seen my MTS eating live plants. The only time I've seen them eating on a plant was if it wasn't doing well or was a leaf that had fell to the tank bottom.

You say that the CO2 ran out and you lowered your lighting. Red plants,especially if their used to high light/co2, will start to weaken. Is it possible they were just eating the weakened state of the plant? You say they didn't go after any other plants so I'd assume the reason is that the reds were slowly dying.

The plants you say they are leaving alone are lower light plants and wouldn't be affected nearly as much as the higher light plants.

 

[kevbshields]

I am under the impression that MTS do not make a habit of eating plants. I also have the impression that they do a terrific job of aerating the substrate, have some pretty rich manure and in the event you can place a few in your filter, make great additions to the mechanical filteration process.

Personally, I cannot vouch for some of these things, although I've gone to the extent of adding MTS to one of my tanks. We'll see once the reproduction process gets going as to whether they turn in little lawn mowers in the tank. Hopefully not, because I don't have room for any loaches right now.

Kev.