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#1
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Mystery snails
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 |
#2
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Mystery snails
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 |
#3
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Mystery snails
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 a 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 |
#4
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Mystery snails
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/ |
#5
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Mystery snails
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/ |
#6
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Mystery snails
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?" |
#7
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Mystery snails
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/ |
#8
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Mystery snails
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/ |
#9
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Mystery snails
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?" |
#10
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Mystery snails
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/ |
#11
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Mystery snails
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/ |
#12
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Mystery snails
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. |
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