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Re: Plant eating ramshorns
in V2 #949, Frank writes:
>I've got a bit of an algae problem in one of my tanks, so yesterday I
>picked up three large (1.5 inch) ramshorn snails to see if they would help
>a bit. Despite an abundance of algae, they chewed into my plants with a
>speed I found quite astounding. One 4" by 1/2" leaf became a 4" by 1/4"
>leaf in about 20 seconds as I watched a single snail travel down it.
>They went back to the store this morning.
>>
There are different species of ramshorn snails. The instant I saw 1 1/2", I
knew where the rest of the posting was headed. The large brown and white
stripes ramshorns are commonly refered to as Columbian Ramshorns, and they
will destroy a planted tank faster than you can get them out of there. The
ramshorns that are useful for algae control in planted tanks areVenezualan
ramshorns. I have never seen one reach 3/4 ". They have reddish bodies, and
until the acidity of my South American cichlid tanks etches their shells,
they are also quite an attractive transparent reddish-rusty color. I had
noticed this string the last couple days talking about ramshorns without
specifying which ones. Make a note folks, let's be careful about proper
idientification
Bob Dixon