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I’ve got a new planted tank aid I want to shout about.

The humble Malaysian Trumpet Snail.

I never had these guys until I changed to a sand substrate. Whether they came with the sand or hitch hiked on a plant I don’t know.

I first saw one months ago. Thought nothing of it. Came home late one night when the tank lights were off and put on the room light. Strangely I thought the tank was throbbing (wasn’t sure if I’d more Guinness then I thought !). Looked in and the whole thing was heaving with these snails . They were everywhere , hundreds of the critters, big and small.

After that I noticed how clean the tank suddenly was. Previously if you waved your hand about all sorts of dirt flew up. Now nothing. Even during water changes the vac swirling yielded nothing. Substrate was gleaming. The mosses which I were actually thinking of dumping because they were always full of crap and dirty looking is now a sparkling bright green.

These little guys were grooming the tank over every night and keeping everything sparkling.

They have never touched a healthy leaf. I have literally thousands of leaves in the tank and I swear not one of them has as much as a pin hole.

I’m not sure of their algae eating capabilities (not having too much algae ) but do spend a lot of time on the plant leaves so they must be getting something.

Has they are nocturnal you simply don’t see them when the lights are on so there’s no problem there.

Really I can’t emphasise how much cleaner the tank is with these little guys they are a huge help. I give a big thumbs up for these critters. Best clean up crew I’ve ever seen.

While I’m at I might as well post a pic of the tank. Haven’t shown any in a while, folks will start to think I suffered some terrible algae crash.

I’m really happy how this one has turned out. Amazing thing is it’s probably the easiest tank I’ve ever had to maintain. Real easy and very little work. I truly look forward to getting home in the evening and lay on the sofa with a cup of joe and a smoke watching it.


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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Good post, bensaf.

Wholeheartedly agree, and many others on these boards will testify the same. Oppostie situation happened to me - I had a ton of them but when I switched my substrate they all got thrown away

Thanks for reminding me to replace them

And for those who want to keep them but who also have snail-eating loaches, it is very possible to still keep MTS. I've found that loaches will indeed eat MTS despite what some have occasionally claimed. The way to get around this is, add a whole bunch at once. Dump 50, 75, 100 in at once. This will allow them to keep breeding enough to replace the eaten population. This cycle went on in my tank for a number of months before I changed substrates. You may not get the swarming masses effect Bensaf describes above but they still do the job. Just wanted to add a bit of information there.

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Back in the saddle!

First of all, awesome tank Bensaf (what else is new )

Now on to the snails.
Yup, I have heard about their abilities to help clean the tank and I was rather excited when I set up my big tank 6 months ago to see one or the other coming in hitching a ride on the first plants. rarely do I see one now, although I never check on the tank at lights out time, my fishies need rest. I will check one of these days though. Giving my occasional () algae fight I would assume that I don't have any, or only a few.

One additional positive side effect of MTSs is that they supposedly eat other snails as well, at least that is what I read. And they keep the substrate lose, which is important in particular if you have a sand substrate like you do Bensaf.

Nice report, nice snails, and even nicer tank picture

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

A great looking tank Bensaf!! And thanks for the info on the MTS.

Is it best to introduce them at the start up of a new tank or would it be better to let the tank get established first?

As I'm preparing a tank for setup (I know it takes me forever, but I don't have a lot of spare time and I'm also building all the cabinetry) was curious as what the timing should be. Sounds like they can help keep some of the tank maintenance to a minimum, which would greatly benefit my schedule.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I am not the great Bensaf, Jim, but I dare to answer:

Yes, add them at the beginning as they surely will help you with the almost unavoidable brown slime algae (diatoms) outbreak in a new tank.

Right Bensaf ?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF, I don't have MTS, but I do have MTS. So is it my shrimp and corys working overtime on their lean diet.

Bensaf, by-the-way the tank that those snails are in is very nice too.

"Master - let me do your bidding"
See how the plants blend into each other creating the illusion of hills, interest etc. It's not flat looking. I particularly like the area in the center where that orange fish is hiding. It creates good depth and interest. What is that plant right above the fish (moss growing out and cascading a bit?) and is that hairgrass under the fish?

Guess I'm gonna have to step up my game even more after looking at Bensaf's amano paradise. I was wondering if it still existed.



My Scapes

Wow!

You have so much depth in that take just through the use of plants. What size tank is it?

What do you all have in there for fish?

It seems that most people don't want snails in their tank becaue they will over take it. What do you do to keep them down? Or is there even a reason to do so?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

I've never heard of MTS eating other snails. I do know that if you see a number of MTS headed for the top of your tank during the day, you most likely have a water quality problem. In tanks with a sand substrate they do a fantastic job churning the sand. They are nocturnal but will come out during the day as well. And while they do a good clean-up job like other snails they also leave a fair amount of waste.

I actually breed MTS to sell. In addition to letting them forage around the tank I supplement their diet with bottom feeder wafers, and veggies such as broccoli, cucumber, and sweet potato; makes for a wide variety of shell colors.

Small pile-up on half an algae-wafer:




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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I've found that MTS's seem to outcompete physids (pond snails, pest snails, what have you) in all of my tanks. I've never seen the MTS's attack them directly, but the physid population drops to near zero after a month or two in every case.

Whereas, with apple snails the MTS's will latch onto their operculums and eat holes through them. They also get inside their shell openings and eat away at their bodies. Apple snails don't seem to have much of a defense against this. If the MTS population is small enough, it's not a big problem. But, in my experience, if you feed enough for the apple snails, it's more than enough for the MTS's.

Just a thought for apple snail lovers. I now keep all of my tanks that house them MTS-free.

In most other cases they are a very beneficial addition, especially in planted tanks. My betta and clown loaches are very fond of them as well.

BTW - I applaud the prominent placement you gave that weed (wisteria). It's very deserving . Is that the aromatica to the right of it or are you holding out on us.

My Scapes

On the snails:

The MTS are carnivorous by and large. While they may not eat other snails they will glady attack snail eggs. Trumpets are livebearers. So I could see a situation where they would easily outcompete other species of snail. This leads to one dis-advantage. They will gladly go for fish eggs - so maybe not the best choice if your are trying to breed fish.

They will eat diatoms so yes are good to put in at start up. Always best to start as you mean to continue.

On the tank:
Tetra has quite the eye

The area where the orange fish is (Cherry barb BTW) is a nice little spot. Actually the plant just above growing horizontal is actually narrow leaf java fern. It has a nice tendency if the light is bright to spread out horizontal, gives a nice sweep. The bright patch just above it is actually some riccia and Xmas moss that got tangled up in the fern and I just left to do it's thing. Bits float way and pop up elsewhere, i just let it do it's stuff.
Shame the pic doesn't pick up the finer details but that area the barb is hanging around is quite nice. Under the fern overhang there is a pile of Taiwan moss, Anubias pettie, and some small stones, it's a neat little playground, you never know what's gonna pop out of there. In the pic it's just a black space.
Tetra caught what I was trying to do - I didn't just want bunches of plants beside one another. I want to blur the lines where one ended and another started so as they seemed to flow out of one another. The shape of the wood , kind of a crescent shape, with the ferns and Anubias helped to create a gentle flow from the left down to the middle and gently rising to the right. This will become more apparaent as the N.L.Java Fern fills in further.

Wisteria is a weed. But a lovely one. I really like the leaf shape, it's easy grow and is about the easiest plant to "sculpt" and shape. Very pliable and great for filling space while creating a full look.

The Aromatica is to the right of the Wisteria - it's bit lowerer then usual after a trimming. I usuaully let it get just a bit higher then the wisteria. Too tall and it throws the shape of a bit.

There's some hairgarss in there. It hitchiked on the Glosso and has started to spread out. I must admit I prefer the hairgrass to the Glosso. I will probably let it fill in that area completly and move the glosso to another small tank I'm going to be doing next week.

A very very easy tank to take care of. The trimming of the Wisteria and Augustifolia is the only real work. The Aromatica and Walichii is very easy to handle and the other plants don't really get touched at all.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

I love my trumpets and you can buy them in various interesting colors. Some do attack other snails. All my applesnails are dead now because the trumpets ate through their operculums and then once dead ate the entire snails. I'm not sure if they just eat eggs or actually attack other smaller snails but all other snails nearly dissapear with trumpets around. There's also 2 different species of trumpets so perhaps it is one species that is attacking other snails and not the other. The applesnail.net forum was exploring several possibilities last time I was there.

Loaches will try to eat trumpets but they can rarely get through the shell. They use more of a surprise sneak attack to catch them while the snails are out of their extremely tough shells. Loaches can lower the population and keep the snails in hiding but they won't eliminate the population once it's established.

First off, that's one beautiful tank Bensaf !

I have regular mts in the 10 and fancy ones like Theresa's in the 40. My 10g is sparkling, I don't even have to wipe the glass. There are mts, ponds and ramshorns in there. I had a ramshorn prob in my 40g but noticed as the mts population increases, the ramshorns are almost gone !

This thread has reminded me of a concern as well as raised a couple more. I've been told also that MTS will go for fish eggs and that's one huge concern for me, I want the angels to try parenting in the tank. The new concern is I have had a purple brig snail (applesnail) in the 40g for a few months now and I enjoy seeing it in the tank. I just looked at her shell, no holes yet but do you think I should re-home her ? I also have 3 european red ramshorns in a nano and was hoping to add them to the 40. Holding off on that now. This is great info thanks, you've saved the lives of a few of my snails




The Amazon Nut...

DaMossMan,

When I moved my all applesnails to a MTS-free (fish-free, for that matter) tank, they were much more active and healthy in my opinion. They cruise all over the tank, antennas waving. Before, they just sat closed up at the bottom. They have put on a lot more weight (as is evident in the size of their foot), as well as a lot of new shell growth, that's a much more vibrant color.

So, if you have an available tank, I'd recommend moving them. Plus, Angels aren't the best tank mates. They can be agreesive, and require much softer water than a snail can thrive in.

Moreso than holes in the shell, look for holes or thinning of the operculum (trap door). That's were the damage is most evident.

I had an outbreak of these little guys, they came with my substrate.
I generally didnt like them, sure they clean and aireate (sp) the substrate but mine were ALWAYS out, they didnt wait until night to come out. My floor of my tank was literally covered with them.
I hated how ugly they made my tank look.

Sorry, they are no longer with us.

Thanks Georgia

My apple snail is active, and does not hide. My angels pay it no attention that I notice. It's the mts vs the applesnail that concern me. I'll have to check that trapdoor out.

My 40g parameters are ph 7.5, gh 142ppm, kh 249ppm.
My angels were domestic bred, born in water with same parameters as my tank so they should be ok. You're thinking wild caught ?

Time to contact a good friend who is a moderator at applesnail.net. She breeds several snail species as well as keeps angelfish. I am wondering what she keeps with what. I'll post back when I get a response



The Amazon Nut...

This just in from my snail expert extrordanaire.

"Don't worry about the MTS with Slimie. There was a long thread over at applesnail.net about this very thing, and the consensus of opinion, after many many months of watching and testing various diets, is that it wasn't the MTS that caused the holes in the shell and operculum. MTS can and will go after fish eggs, but they don't tend to go after food that's hard to 1-catch, 2-eat, 3-gnaw through.
Pretty much all my tanks have MTS in them, in varying population densities. It's the little red planorbids that I've got my suspicions about, re baby brigs! Grrrrrrrr......."

I thought the Grrrrrrrr was cute

Anyhows.........

I'll leave 'Slimie' in the tank for now but keep a close eye on her

The Amazon Nut...