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Re: NFC: Pond Snails
Well I introduced the snails(six in each tank) and the Black mollie fry gorged themself's on the egg's but other then that thay seem to be doing fine.
Nicole
Thomas DeWitt <tdewitt at tamu_edu> wrote: Nicole,
Pond snails (i.e. taken from local ponds) usually turn out to be those in the genus Physa (=Physella; tadpole snails), Planorbella (=Helisoma; ram's horn snails) or Lymnaea (=Stagnicola; pond snails). In my experience these have minor impacts on live plants and they can be a blast to watch. Mating behaviors of Physa, in particular, are very entertaining. The main problem, especially with Physa, is they tend to over-reproduce in aquaria and become a nuissance.
One case where I have had good luck with snails (without overproduction) is in tanks with soft, acidic water. Here the snails harvest tons of algae from my tank walls and grow pretty well, but they don't reproduce. (Actually, they lay eggs but no hatchlings result). White shells in these water conditions indicate the water has too low a mineral availability, and trace elements (available at pet shops) can be added to the water to help them out.
On a related matter, Malaysian trumpet snails often find their way from petshops into our tanks. These snails fight encrusting algae and aerate the substrate (they are burrowers). However, these do not really belong in a native fish tank. They are highly invasive when they get out into the wild. They are now problem alien species in about 5 US states, especially TX, and also in Mexico.
Thom DeWitt
>>> a_moogi at yahoo_com 04/11/02 08:31AM >>>
Hay everybody!
Will pond snails hurt A fresh water aquarium (Mom won't let me them in it untill I find out)?
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