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#1
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are
they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? Marty |
#2
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants:75331
"Martin A. Gross" wrote in message news You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? Most snails will eat your plants. Few snails are plant safe. MTS's, and a couple varietys of Apple snail, to name a couple. I have one tank with no plants, and I let the snails be, because they *do* keep the place clean. I kill them with extreme prejudice in my planted tanks. I have enough to worry about with the damn SAE's eating the anubias blossoms. billy |
#3
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
Martin A. Gross wrote in message news You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? Marty Depends somewhat on how you feel about snails. The common pond snail is a pest due to its high visibility and excessive reproductive nature. My opinion. But I think snails in moderation are more help than hindrance. They are indispensable in my breeding tanks. Snail poop is much easier to siphon out that leftover food or fish poop. Jim |
#4
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
"Martin A. Gross" wrote:
You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? The ones that I've had arrive on plants are commonly called pond snails. In my heavily planted 20 gallon, I've got a fairly large population of these snails, and I see no evidence at all that they're damaging my plants. I've also got a truckload of MTS, a ramshorn, and until recently a true bridgesii apple snail, none of which ever hurt a plant in my tank. In fact, the only snail I've ever had problems with is Pomacea canaliculata (which was sold to me as being bridgesii), of which I have perhaps two dozen in a ten gallon snail-only tank. I started out with just two of them, and they bred. They still lay clutches of eggs every few days, but I destroy all the eggs now. -- www.ericschreiber.com |
#5
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
"Martin A. Gross" wrote
You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? I'm on the nuisance side. They're unsightly and eat little or no algae. When my dwarf cichlids breed they eat the eggs. -- Graham Ramsay You might be a Bright: www.the-brights.net |
#6
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
"Martin A. Gross" wrote in message news You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? I vote pest. I think snails in my planted tank are unsightly. I squish everyone I see- I'm down to two or three a day. Note to self- soak *all* new plants! -- Toni http://www.cearbhaill.com/aquarium.htm |
#7
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
I vote "benefit." Snails are the best at keeping algae under control. I've
never had a problem with pond snails eating my plants. But they are hell on algae. If you read the archives of the this group, you'll find that many a hobbyist has introduced loaches to get rid of snails, then found themselves with an algae problem instead. Some people find snails unsightly, but I don't. I consider them a natural part of the ecosystem. Of course, you don't want your tank overrun with thousands of them...but as long as your tank is in balance and you're not overfeeding, the snail population will stay in check. The only drawback to pond snails is that they can get into the filter and, in some instances, damage the impeller. Or at least make a racket, rattling around in the impeller chamber. I use a foam prefilter on my filter intake to keep the snails (and the baby fish and shrimp) out. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#8
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are
they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? Marty They add to your bioload, multiply worse than rabbits, require occasional intervention of removal.... pain, not a pest... more of a pain.... |
#9
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Snails - Benifit or Pest?
I like snails, I find them fascinating to watch. But I don't want them
in my tank, partly because of population control issues, and partly because (tho this may be misinformed, I am pretty new to this) I heard they scratch the acrylic. I figure I'll do enough damage myself that I don't need any help. I find my otos and ghost shrimp (when I can keep them alive) keep the tank spic and span. And plus they don't poop alot either like snails do. Or at least the plant eating ones do. I do have a bucket of plants infested with pond snails (good thing that I decided to quarantine them first!). I was thinking maybe it's time to expand further into the hobby and get a tank large enough for loaches, seeing that I already have free food for them... Martin A. Gross wrote: You know those little snails that come with every plant you buy? Why are they considered to be a pest? Don't they virtually eliminate algae on plant leaves? What is everyone's opinions of them? Are they beneficial to planted aquariums, or are they a nuisance? Marty -- direct replies: yelohk AT yahoo |
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