Do they eat plants, and are there different species? I have noticed
that they vary quite a bit in their coloration and are sold
differently based on color - are they still the same species?
Aquarists seem to prefer the red ramshorn snail, is it a particular
species or just a pretty color?

I'm looking into these and other snails as possible inhabitants for my
heavily planted tank as MTS have miserably failed.

Thanks for your time.

Ramshorns are the best. I periodically go into the tanks to cull snails to
feed my botias and baby guppies (crushed, yum yum) but I always leave the
ramshorns alone. In my tanks, I've seen that almost every kind of snail
will eat plants after they reach a certain size, except I've never caught a
ramshorn at it (I can't say for certain what happens after the lights go
out).

Red ramshorns are reputed to eat blue-green algae. I don't know if they're
really a separate species/genus. I'd be inclined to think not, for no very
defensible reason.

I wouldn't think you'd need to "buy" them, though. I seem to get them free
with about every other plant shipment.

The unique benefit to MTS is that they aerate, or loosen, the substrate in a
planted tank, like earthworms in the garden. Ramshorns won't do that. On
the other hand, if you use straight gravel, like I do, it's not really an
issue.

kush

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

Allen Smith wrote in message
om...
Do they eat plants, and are there different species? I have noticed
that they vary quite a bit in their coloration and are sold
differently based on color - are they still the same species?
Aquarists seem to prefer the red ramshorn snail, is it a particular
species or just a pretty color?

I'm looking into these and other snails as possible inhabitants for my
heavily planted tank as MTS have miserably failed.

Thanks for your time.

I suppose I've had the luck (or unluck as some may have it) of never
getting foreign inhabitants. I used to be judicious in washing my
plants throughougly, but now I just plop them in. Leeches, bugs and
all, and nothing ever has survived and they seem like tasty snacks for
my fish. Snails just never caught on, once had 2 or 3 ramshorns get in
on plants, but they died off; probably the gourami or for whatever
reason.

No snails seem to survive in any of my tanks except that one 20
gallon, not the 72, not the 55.


Ramshorns are the best. I periodically go into the tanks to cull snails to
feed my botias and baby guppies (crushed, yum yum) but I always leave the
ramshorns alone. In my tanks, I've seen that almost every kind of snail
will eat plants after they reach a certain size, except I've never caught a
ramshorn at it (I can't say for certain what happens after the lights go
out).

Red ramshorns are reputed to eat blue-green algae. I don't know if they're
really a separate species/genus. I'd be inclined to think not, for no very
defensible reason.

I wouldn't think you'd need to "buy" them, though. I seem to get them free
with about every other plant shipment.

The unique benefit to MTS is that they aerate, or loosen, the substrate in a
planted tank, like earthworms in the garden. Ramshorns won't do that. On
the other hand, if you use straight gravel, like I do, it's not really an
issue.

kush

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

Allen Smith wrote in message
om...
Do they eat plants, and are there different species? I have noticed
that they vary quite a bit in their coloration and are sold
differently based on color - are they still the same species?
Aquarists seem to prefer the red ramshorn snail, is it a particular
species or just a pretty color?

I'm looking into these and other snails as possible inhabitants for my
heavily planted tank as MTS have miserably failed.

Thanks for your time.

In article ,
oSpam (LeighMo) wrote:

No snails seem to survive in any of my tanks except that one 20
gallon, not the 72, not the 55.

Interesting. That says to me that the Onyx substrate isn't the problem,
then.
If the problem was a substrate incompatible with burrowing MTS, then ramshorns
and other non-burrowing snails should be fine in the tank.

I can vouch its not the onyx. I've got onyx sand and gravel in tanks with
trumpet snails, ramshorns, and bridgesii apple snails as well as one
sneaky canna. They all do just fine. OTOH my water comes out at 6.6-6.8
so I up it to 7.4 for them.

But they aren't. So it's probably either snail-eating predators or water
quality that's the problem.

FWIW, I've never had any problem with ramshorms of any color.

As for the variations in color...a lot of that seems to be related to
environment. I got some ramshorns that were pale brownish gold with darker
spots (hitchhikers on some plants). But after a few weeks in my tank, their
shells darkened to the point that they looked like "normal" red ramshorns. I
think they tank they came from was just so acidic that their shells were very
thin. Thin enough that the color of the snail's body showed through the
shell.

The coloring is in the protein coat on the snails shell. When that gets
damaged by bumping/falling etc then the white that shows is the shell.
The shells can get more or less color due to food though. I've got two
albino apple snails (bridgesii) that are pink/purple from eating the pink
guppy food.


I've heard of people putting cuttlebones in their tanks for the snails (the
kind sold for birds). I have no idea how well it works, though.


It works but I just get straight Calcium Carbonate for them. The brewing
stores sell human food grade CaCO3 that I just dump in directly until I
get up to a pH from 7.4-8.0. The cuttlebones supposedly work but they
dissolve slowly and they get gunky. Mine got gross and I threw it out and
switched to the CaCO3.

BTW, if anyone wants bridgesii babies they don't eat plants and I've got a
bunch left that are about 3/4" long now. I'd be glad to trade them for
plants or ship them to you if you want them.
-Eileen

--
Why do I always think of great sig lines when I'm nowhere near a computer...