Zuri_08 Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Hello Earlier this week I found a snail in the tank! My initial thought was: who put it there? But it has probably been there for a while. After a bit of hunting on the internet, I think it is a Malaysian Trumpet Snail. Apparently these snails are excellent for the aquarium; they do not eat plants but help aerate the substrate, eat detritus and left over food that is underneath the substrate (info from: http://www.planetinverts.com/malaysian_ ... snail.html :sage: ). My tropical aquarium is 5 weeks old and I am happy the snail is there; a surprise employee :-) So, 1. Who else has a Malaysian Trumpet snail in their tank? (my snail could only have come from the pet store, so does everyone have these snails?). 2. Any interesting snail facts to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 good lil guys, impossible to kill and they are good at aerating the substrate, Negative is that they multiply insanely fast and normally take over the tank unless a loach or puffer is added. interesting fact is that they are Livebearers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuri_08 Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 good lil guys, impossible to kill and they are good at aerating the substrate, Negative is that they multiply insanely fast and normally take over the tank unless a loach or puffer is added. interesting fact is that they are Livebearers. Thanks for the info. The other day I found a second snail, and yesterday I spotted a tiny one, so that is 3 in total... but I don't know how many there were to start with or when they were introduced to my tank, but 3 isn't bad... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 if you see 3 then you probably have several hundred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 but 3 isn't bad... :-) You've only found 3, so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuri_08 Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 wow - so how fast do they reproduce? The tank has only been running for 5 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 You're going to find out, and fast. There's a reason we say they take over your tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 a common sight.... btw to save yourself money time and potential problems, do NOT try snail rid on these guys, its practically worthless and I read a report by a canadian that claimed they actually bred in a cup of pure snail rid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuri_08 Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Ok, with that photo now I understand... overtaking the tank, yep. Well, I'll just have to see how these snails go in my tank... and if they start to over-run it then I'll be plucking them out myself, and I will get another employee (a loach to eat them). Thanks for all the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 how big is the tank???, loaches really need to be kept in groups or else they tend to get depressed (yes seriously, if you have ever seen a loach that has been seperated from his mates the you will understand) and don't get sucked in by the store assistant who recommends Clown loaches as they get too big for many tanks, try the striatas or chain loaches, these are the most common of the smaller snail eaters. there are plenty more out there, just make sure you research their maximum size well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuri_08 Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 how big is the tank???, loaches really need to be kept in groups or else they tend to get depressed (yes seriously, if you have ever seen a loach that has been seperated from his mates the you will understand) and don't get sucked in by the store assistant who recommends Clown loaches as they get too big for many tanks, try the striatas or chain loaches, these are the most common of the smaller snail eaters. there are plenty more out there, just make sure you research their maximum size well My tanks now seems way too small for tropical fish keeping; 28L. I like the comment about the loaches getting depressed! I will be sure to get some as a group, eventually, but maybe not for this little tank ;-) Keeping tropical fish has turned out to be far more complex than i first thought! It is fascinating though. And distracting. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 28L is probably too small for all but 3 chain loaches, better off using it for 2 or 3 dwarf puffers, you won't be disappointed, http://youtu.be/6o1fw9jtRNc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 plus the additional bio load of the snails may affect such a small tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuri_08 Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Great video, thanks for the link :-) And I was thinking the snails would reduce the 'bio load', but if they add to it... that is something else to consider with the complex process of tropical fish keeping!! If snails add to the bio load; is this because they also use oxygen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 more because they also produce waste and nitrates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Snail rid is copper sulphate which some fish are very sensitive to. Most shops down here no longer sell it as they have too many complaints about dead fish.Your snails will hide in the gravel during the day and come out at night. If you want to know how many you have then turn on the lights in the middle of the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 My tanks now seems way too small for tropical fish keeping; 28L. Yeah, that's too small for just about anything, goldfish(Which can grow huge) or tropical. You should upgrade to at least a medium sized tank. A 1200X600X600 is a good mid sized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 hrmmmm.... Dario dario, bororas species, Betta's, Chain loaches, pygmy cories, shrimp, glowlight danios, dwarf puffers, paradise fish, Dwarf gourami, minnows, small tetras............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuri_08 Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Hello again so a tank of 120cm (long) x 60cm (high) x 60cm (wide) is 'medium'?? To me that seems huge! I worked out it would be 144L, and my 28L tank would fit into that 5x! What size is considered to be a 'large' tank? I do actually like the little fish and I like how my neons are schooling now too. I also like guppies and plan to get a couple of them at some stage. Was that a list of other little fish, F15hguy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 yeps, and licorice gourami, bumblebee gobies, male guppies, celestial pearl danios..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Hello again so a tank of 120cm (long) x 60cm (high) x 60cm (wide) is 'medium'?? To me that seems huge! I worked out it would be 144L, and my 28L tank would fit into that 5x! Don't know how you got 144L, there's no simple way to do the math wrong and get 144. Those dimensions give you 432liters. So your 28L bucket would fit about 15 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 a 1200x600x600 is a nice sized tank but I would say that it is on the larger end of medium tanks for most people other than 'freaks'. another popular mid sized tank would be 3ft x 18in x18in (~900 x 450 x 450) that would give you about 180L to play with edited for wrong length Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 3ft = 900mm =P (914mm to be exact) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 yep I got that wrong :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuri_08 Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Don't know how you got 144L, there's no simple way to do the math wrong and get 144. Those dimensions give you 432liters. So your 28L bucket would fit about 15 times. Oops; you are right, I put in the wrong number! length x width = surface area surface area x height = volume volume / 1000 = liters Now I think that size tank is gi-normous! You could keep sharks in a tank that size? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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