Mystery snails

[jtwigs]

i am a relative newbie when it comes to planted aquariums and this afternoon
i discovered a tiny snail making it's way across the glass. i assume that it
was introduced to the tank with some of my plants.

should i be worried about there being more in the tank? are they potentially
dangerous to my plants? are they a benefit in terms of keeping the tank
clean?

any advice would be much appreciated...

~jon

[Dave Millman]

jtwigs wrote:

> i am a relative newbie when it comes to planted aquariums and this afternoon
> i discovered a tiny snail making it's way across the glass. i assume that it
> was introduced to the tank with some of my plants.
>
> should i be worried about there being more in the tank? are they potentially
> dangerous to my plants? are they a benefit in terms of keeping the tank
> clean?

From the FAQ
http://faq.thekrib.com/snails.html

[wiggywacker]

I had that too when I first got my aquarium and some PLANTS, so the first
fish that I bought were Clown Loaches (Botia Macracantha) to munch them
away......and in fact, the clown loaches turned out to be my favourite fish
in the aquarium because they're so gentle, always busy, always
together......oh and they live 15 years + and get rather big, so make sure
your aquarium is large enough.

I've had absolutely no problem with snails eating plants, only botia's
eating snails =D
A link so you can see what they are:
http://www.users.bigpond.com/rjeb/clown.html



"jtwigs" > wrote in message
...
> i am a relative newbie when it comes to planted aquariums and this
afternoon
> i discovered a tiny snail making it's way across the glass. i assume that
it
> was introduced to the tank with some of my plants.
>
> should i be worried about there being more in the tank? are they
potentially
> dangerous to my plants? are they a benefit in terms of keeping the tank
> clean?
>
> any advice would be much appreciated...
>
> ~jon
>
>

[LeighMo]

>I've had absolutely no problem with snails eating plants, only botia's
>eating snails =D

I'd agree with that. I've never seen those little snails eat plants.

However, I have seen clown loaches eat plants. They are hell on plants. Don't
get me wrong, I love clown loaches. They are probably my favorite fish. I
have no plans to get rid of mine, despite the holes they leave in my leaves.
But getting clown loaches to get rid of snails can be trading a small problem
for a big one.

Don't worry about those snails. They help keep your tank clean, by eating
leftover food and algae. They won't take over your tank, unless you overfeed.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[Bruce Geist]

Huh. I have two four inch clowns, and another smaller one. I have never
seen thse guys do anything destructive to my plants. What type of behaviour
have you observed? -Bruce Geist
LeighMo > wrote in message
...
> >I've had absolutely no problem with snails eating plants, only botia's
> >eating snails =D
>
> I'd agree with that. I've never seen those little snails eat plants.
>
> However, I have seen clown loaches eat plants. They are hell on plants.
Don't
> get me wrong, I love clown loaches. They are probably my favorite fish.
I
> have no plans to get rid of mine, despite the holes they leave in my
leaves.
> But getting clown loaches to get rid of snails can be trading a small
problem
> for a big one.
>
> Don't worry about those snails. They help keep your tank clean, by eating
> leftover food and algae. They won't take over your tank, unless you
overfeed.
>
>
> Leigh
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[kush]

Bruce Geist > wrote ...
.... I have never seen thse guys do anything destructive to my plants. What
type of behaviour
> have you observed?

I don't have clown loaches but I do have two four-inch botias. I've never
seen them eat a plant but they dig incessantly and uproot everything I try
to plant in their tank. Eventually, I was reduced to only being able to put
anubias and "clumps" of thoroughly rooted plants which I'd established in
other tanks in with them.

Then I did something REALLY stupid. I had a 2-1/2 gallon tank that I was
keeping feeder guppies in and cultivating a nice thick turf of lileaopsis in
for eventual placement in another tank. Well, I was replanting the tank the
botias were in and thought, well, why don't I just put them in the 2-1/2
gallon for a few days...

(more on lileaopsis later)

Back to the original thread on snails: my experience with snails is that
they are the very best scavengers and algae-eaters of all while they are
small but that, when they get larger, they are prone to damage tender
plants - particularly pinnate plants. However, when they get to that size,
it is quite easy to pick them out of the tank and feed them to the botias -
or crushed as guppy food, yum yum.

kush

"You can't have everything - where would you put it?"

[LeighMo]

>Huh. I have two four inch clowns, and another smaller one. I have never
>seen thse guys do anything destructive to my plants. What type of behaviour
>have you observed? -

When they were small, they left the plants alone. And when I move them to a
new tank, they leave the plants alone for the first few months. After that,
they start chowing down like there's no tomorrow...no matter how much I feed
them.

They even chew on plants that are supposed to taste bitter, like anubias. My
feeling is that they do it as much for entertainment as anything. As I've
said, they are intelligent fish, and get bored in the same old tank after
awhile.

I've watched them punch holes in leaves, chew long "tracks" in them, cut leaves
off at the stem so I find them floating at the top of the tank, etc. They've
totally denuded Hygro, until there were only bare stems left, and turned
anubias leaves into lace.

Here's a scan of a crypt leaf I found floating at the top of the tank, courtesy
of the resident botias:

http://members.aol.com/leighmo/plant.jpg

My solution was to put the critters in a high-tech tank where the plants grow
fast enough that the damage isn't too noticeable. There are a few holes in the
sword leaves, but in general, they seem to prefer Hygro, and it grows fast
enough in this tank that they aren't too destructive.

And it's not just me. If you search Deja/Google, you'll find a lot of loach
keepers complaining about holes in their leaves. Often, they don't suspect the
loaches at first. Because loaches generally take awhile to start eating
plants, and they either hide or come to the front of the tank to beg when you
approach. But if you watch them from around a corner or something, so they
can't see you, you may catch them in the act.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[Bruce Geist]

Wow.

I will be on the look out. I hope mine don't change their current habits.

Thanks for the heads up. I have always attributed holes in the leaves of
my swords to be from my pleco... As you suggested, I will have to watch.

Thanks for your reply. -Bruce Geist


LeighMo > wrote in message
...
> >Huh. I have two four inch clowns, and another smaller one. I have never
> >seen thse guys do anything destructive to my plants. What type of
behaviour
> >have you observed? -
>
> When they were small, they left the plants alone. And when I move them to
a
> new tank, they leave the plants alone for the first few months. After
that,
> they start chowing down like there's no tomorrow...no matter how much I
feed
> them.
>
> They even chew on plants that are supposed to taste bitter, like anubias.
My
> feeling is that they do it as much for entertainment as anything. As I've
> said, they are intelligent fish, and get bored in the same old tank after
> awhile.
>
> I've watched them punch holes in leaves, chew long "tracks" in them, cut
leaves
> off at the stem so I find them floating at the top of the tank, etc.
They've
> totally denuded Hygro, until there were only bare stems left, and turned
> anubias leaves into lace.
>
> Here's a scan of a crypt leaf I found floating at the top of the tank,
courtesy
> of the resident botias:
>
> http://members.aol.com/leighmo/plant.jpg
>
> My solution was to put the critters in a high-tech tank where the plants
grow
> fast enough that the damage isn't too noticeable. There are a few holes
in the
> sword leaves, but in general, they seem to prefer Hygro, and it grows fast
> enough in this tank that they aren't too destructive.
>
> And it's not just me. If you search Deja/Google, you'll find a lot of
loach
> keepers complaining about holes in their leaves. Often, they don't
suspect the
> loaches at first. Because loaches generally take awhile to start eating
> plants, and they either hide or come to the front of the tank to beg when
you
> approach. But if you watch them from around a corner or something, so
they
> can't see you, you may catch them in the act.
>
>
> Leigh
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[Bruce Geist]

> I don't have clown loaches but I do have two four-inch botias. I've never

My clowds like to root around in the substrate too. My forground plants
are
mostly chain swords (Echidnidorous Tenellus), and are pretty much able to
take a licking and keep on ticking. Thx. -Bruce Geist

kush > wrote in message
...
>
> Bruce Geist > wrote ...
> ... I have never seen thse guys do anything destructive to my plants.
What
> type of behaviour
> > have you observed?
>
> I don't have clown loaches but I do have two four-inch botias. I've never
> seen them eat a plant but they dig incessantly and uproot everything I try
> to plant in their tank. Eventually, I was reduced to only being able to
put
> anubias and "clumps" of thoroughly rooted plants which I'd established in
> other tanks in with them.
>
> Then I did something REALLY stupid. I had a 2-1/2 gallon tank that I was
> keeping feeder guppies in and cultivating a nice thick turf of lileaopsis
in
> for eventual placement in another tank. Well, I was replanting the tank
the
> botias were in and thought, well, why don't I just put them in the 2-1/2
> gallon for a few days...
>
> (more on lileaopsis later)
>
> Back to the original thread on snails: my experience with snails is that
> they are the very best scavengers and algae-eaters of all while they are
> small but that, when they get larger, they are prone to damage tender
> plants - particularly pinnate plants. However, when they get to that
size,
> it is quite easy to pick them out of the tank and feed them to the
botias -
> or crushed as guppy food, yum yum.
>
> kush
>
> "You can't have everything - where would you put it?"
>
>

[LeighMo]

>Thanks for the heads up. I have always attributed holes in the leaves of
>my swords to be from my pleco...

It's easy to tell the difference between pleco damage and loach damage. If a
pleco is the culprit, the leaves will look scraped. As if they've been sanded.


Loaches, OTOH, make a clean hole. They don't scrape, they bite the leaves.
Often, the holes they leave are v-shaped. And they eat small leaves, like
babytears and Diandra, that plecos wouldn't bother with.

I used to have a magnificent stand of Didiplis diandra. Then one day the
loaches decided they liked it. They totally denuded it. Nothing but a few
bare stems left. (Which I'm leaving to float at the top of the tank, where
they are recovering.)

Good thing I love 'em, or they'd be fish stew. <g>


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[Bruce Geist]

I really appreciate the information. I will definitely be on the look out.
I had no idea clowns ever ate plants.

The damage I see now generally consists of holes in my broad-leaf plants--
the shape of
the holes many times look like the outline of my pleco's mouth.. There may
also be
scraping damage, as you suggested is typical of plecos, leading too a hole
in the
center of the leaf. I certainly hope its not my clowns.. As I said, I will
be on
the look out. The image of the crypt leaf you posted is helpful. Thanks.

-Bruce

LeighMo > wrote in message
...
> >Thanks for the heads up. I have always attributed holes in the leaves of
> >my swords to be from my pleco...
>
> It's easy to tell the difference between pleco damage and loach damage.
If a
> pleco is the culprit, the leaves will look scraped. As if they've been
sanded.
>
>
> Loaches, OTOH, make a clean hole. They don't scrape, they bite the
leaves.
> Often, the holes they leave are v-shaped. And they eat small leaves, like
> babytears and Diandra, that plecos wouldn't bother with.
>
> I used to have a magnificent stand of Didiplis diandra. Then one day the
> loaches decided they liked it. They totally denuded it. Nothing but a
few
> bare stems left. (Which I'm leaving to float at the top of the tank,
where
> they are recovering.)
>
> Good thing I love 'em, or they'd be fish stew. <g>
>
>
> Leigh
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[paulladelfa@hotmail.com]

In memory of a good friend and his wonderful burden. John F. Kennedy
Jr. was murdered because he was a good Prosecutor and an independent
Journalist. We cannot blame the weather again. Every single bad
Journalist and every single bad Prosecutor is partly responsible for
the murder of John F. Kennedy because these abusibve propagandists
[Rush Limbaugh in particular] are responsible for creating a world
where bullshit triumphs and the truth is routinely buried. God Bless
JFK Jr.

http://www.johnjohn.2ya.com

Please link to his homepage, to keep his vision about the need for a
free and independent press, alive ! THIS IS REALLY, not politics AS
USUAL ! ! !

As a pilot I have my doubts about the claim that it is possible to
disorientate automatic pilot. I am well aware of what a low time pilot
can get into but frankly I am not satisfied with the FAA/NTSB
explaination of the crash. But then again, I'm not satisfied with
that great piece of fiction called the WARREN REPORT.