Malaysian Trumpet Snails ( A useful addition to planted tanks especially)

[WebberMoore]

I have tons of Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) in my planted tank that I'm considering of selling some of these active yet valuable critters!
They have an appetite for algae on your aquarium walls and driftwood. These MTS have been so helpful in not only keeping algae concentrations in check but also
keeping my substrate dynamic.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46563415@N03/4508878414/
Due to their characteristic behaviour of burrowing into substrate (even tough and rugged gravel), these critters are quick and efficient in picking out
mass of uneaten food that reach and get wedged in the substrate. Moreover, this burrowing behaviour is truly useful in ensuring that your substrate is loosened up and thus encouraging
delicate root growth. Toxic gases produced in anaerobic pockets of decaying matter in the substrate are hence also avoided with the constant loosening of aquarium substrate when the MTS
explore deep into the substrate for scraps or just to seek some refuge (they re more active at night but that doesnt apply for my case!)

What started to be a single accidental introduction has led to become a really nice home for the snails and my aquarium plants alike. I saw a single but sizeable one on the aquarium wall when I first set
my tank up, but 3months later, one became eight separate individuals. Apparently, after much research, these MTS reproduce by parenthenogenesis which means all of them are female and give birth asexually.
MTS are livebearing, meaning they do not lay eggs, interesting fact given that I had very much thought most invertebrates like these lay eggs to reproduce.

I personally find MTS a truly useful addition to my tank over those other snails which probably die so easily(they have problems trying to establish a sustainable colony) or have problems with puncturing your precious aquarium plants. While MTS doesnt score exactly much in the aesthetic department, they re probably the employee of the year in aquarium management.
Nevertheless, while their presence in a planted tank is harmless and in fact beneficial, their prolific success may cause fish keepers to feel a little annoyed or worried that their population will be uncontrollable. This is one critter that i dont mind overtaking my tank, but due to aesthetic reasons, controlled feeding will keep their numbers capped and to those who plan to keep the difficult and petty
brackish pufferfish, a colony of MTS will be able to sustain their ferocious appetite for invertebrates.

Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-rimmed_melania

[lucasjiang]

Thanks for the info, the neon green font is a little hard to read though Personally, i find they dont really eat algae, nerites are better for the job. They do aerate the substrate rather nicely

[stormhawk]

I'm wondering why you posted this same text in 2 separate posts Webber. In any case, the correct term is parthenogenesis. Based on the link you gave, there are both males and females for this species so them being fully asexual is erroneous.

The problem with MTS is not their ability to keep the substrate "fresh" by tunneling and clearing out uneaten food, but it is with their insane reproductive ability. I used to have them until I got sick of manually removing a lot of them at night every now and then, plus they are not exactly superb at dealing with algae. From what I recall, those I previously had, would rather spend their time looking for detritus and uneaten foods, especially meaty foods, instead of algae types like hair algae and such.

[Navanod]

The main problem with this snail...is overpopulation.



Makes a great feeder for assassin snails and puffers though

[stormhawk]

Haha Don, even your Coolie Loach can't deal with these super snails.

[WebberMoore]

HAHA! Pardon my inaccuracies! While i do know that there are female and male MTS, they are predominantly female and thus undergo asexual reproduction( parthenogenesis)
oh, and i didnt know they ll be that prolific though! I do have a sizeable number of them but not to that extent
So what should i do with these guys, perhaps get a puffer to appreciate them?

[WebberMoore]

Oh! And i just got some kuhli loaches for myself! I ve never seen them in aquarium shops before! They're small though, im wondering how large and thick they can get?

[Jeremy747]

I use them to clean my tank and whatever excess snails I have, I crush them, and my cherry shrimps have a feast.

They do a pretty good job cleaning the tank glass.

There's a video on you tube showing them clean up an algae encrusted tank

[stormhawk]

Young puffers, especially dwarf puffers, can only handle the babies. Only larger puffer species are able to crack the adults' shell. Coolie Loaches can get pretty thick, but usually those are the females. The largest specimen I saw was in a display tank at a LFS.

[WebberMoore]

I just got myself a green spotted puffer!!! Terribly excited, and have added marine salt for this cute 4cm long bubblefish
Any tips when keeping a green spotted puffer?

[Navanod]

Hi WebberMoore,

I've no experience with puffers but from my limited readings (during the time I was considering using them for snail control) they're not exactly easy to keep. This being the invertebrate sub-forum, I'm not sure if you'll be getting the right tips!

[WebberMoore]

Haha, thanks Navanod for the reply. hmmm, I did some research, and found out that they're often sold in freshwater or brackish display aquariums, but the truth is that, while juveniles can live temporarily in freshwater, as they age, they need more and more salt to do well. In nature, such young puffers live in estuaries where the water is mainly brackish. However, as they age, they move out into the ocean and spend much more time there. Hence, they would also like a pH of 7.9-8.1 too. Gonna add a little baking soda to achieve that alkaline range.

[WebberMoore]

oh, and my adorable and inquisitive green spotted puffer is doing so well in terrorizing my MTS Not a single MTS at sight! They'r probably burrowed for safety and would most likely only come out of the substrate when it is completely dark at night.

p.s, I love this website, people actually view and discuss things on the forums

[doppelbanddwarf]

I used to have this snail terrorizing my tanks! I tried using dwarf pufferfish to control the population but it seems that these snails will burrow and stay in the substrate when there are puffers around. If trying to get rid of the snails, Kuhli loaches or assassin snails tend to do better than pufferfishes. Also overfeeding of food in the tank usually is the main cause of overpopulation of these snails.

[WebberMoore]

But now with the puffer around, I actually worry for the eventual fate of my snails-extinction. Since I have yet to establish a reliable source to feed my puffer, I m depending on these snails to keep him satiated in the mean time. I hope i can find some live ones and scoop them up into another set up just in case my production goes to a permanent halt.
To chongyu, try one large puffers, trust me, they will obliterate the snails in no time . note that puffers should be kept singly in a singe tank or in a large tank with similar or much larger sized tank mates as puffers often see other smaller fish as meals on their menu

[shikimijos]

The main problem with this snail...is overpopulation.



Makes a great feeder for assassin snails and puffers though

Ohmigosh.. ewwww... so many!

[doppelbanddwarf]

I'm now MTS-free. I got mini puffers then because it was a community setup with no place for a large one. In fact if I remember correctly the mini puffers will nip the fins of other fishes too.

[Jeremy747]

I actually went to catch some from the wild to help with my algae problem. They did a great job. The tank had nothing except java moss and filamentous algae and lots of muck on the floor.

The prawns did not last long in there because of the muck.

The 20 snails did a good job. They ate the algae on the walls and fed on the muck. Their rate of reproduction was crazy.

After that, I tidied up the moss and threw away as much fliamentous algae as I could and added the shrimps and started vacuuming the floor of the tank with a siphon.

In about a month, the tank was crystal clear and now has my new yellow shrimps and a couple of rabbit snails and a few MTS to keep the algae in check.

I have read on the web that they self regulate their populations. I noticed it myself. When there is an excess of food, their reproduction rate is scary. Right now, its almost come to a stop. If I just siphon the stuff from the bottom, I don't think I will see one of the babies turn into adults.

I also crush some of the babies that crawl to the top as a treat for the shrimps. Just make sure you don't over feed and leave food on the bottom of the tank.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[wshyang]

Hi hi!

I just restarted my tank and would like to get some MTS for the benefits that they can bring to the substrate. Is the OP or another forumer still selling them?