[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Snails
Here comes the 'outing' of another snail friend! I have in all my tanks
ramshorn snails and I think they do mainly benefit to the system. Even so I
can see them crawl over mops, they seem not to do substantial damage to the
eggs, at least they 'leave' plenty for me... On the other hand they eat food
that may be left over from the fish (BBS!) and detritus and therefore lower
the pollution (facilitate the mineralization) in the tank. My snail
populations are normally stable and only overfeeding can lead to an
explosion of the population.
Of course not all snail species may be suitable! As indicated by others,
pond snails or Malaysian trumpet snails may indeed do damage. Another danger
are planaria(?) ('underwater worms'). There exist many species and they are
easily introduced with life food or plants. They come out only during night
and may exist in a large 'underground' population without been seen!
Sometimes I have the feeling that many failures that are attributed to the
'innocent snails' come from planaria (or other bad conditions!).
Peter Uhlmann