# Snails with cichlids



## Dustman13072 (Jan 26, 2011)

Is it ok to add trapdoor snails to my tank or is that not a good idea.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Some cichlids will kill them, others won't. I've never gotten any snails to live in my mbuna tank.


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## ParadoX19 (Sep 22, 2011)

*** heard nerite snails can work but ill know for sure in a few days.
good things about them is they wont reproduce in freshwater and they help clean the tank, i have 5 nerites in my 55 and im adding mbuna this week


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

My mbuna killed my nerites over a period of months. They lasted a little longer with my Tangs. The nerites have done the best with my peacocks/haps.


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## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

Kind of off subject but are nerites as good of cleaners as they are claimed to be?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I don't find them to be any better or worse than bristlenose. They do not voluntarily spend time on the rocks but seem to prefer the glass.


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## ParadoX19 (Sep 22, 2011)

As far as im aware there are a couple different species of nerite and I've heard that horned nerite snails are best with mbuna. But they do clean the glass well


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

2 cents:
I've had success with nerites and mbuna and also with nerties and multi shellies. Granted my mbuna only eat NLS so they werenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t accustomed to trying to chow down on other foreign objects I added to the tank. Nerites are alive and well after 3-4 months. I got smooth shell (olive and zebra) because I figured horned shell could just be more 'handles' the mbuna could use to dislodge or move the nerite. I have no proof or evidence of that idea.

For upkeep I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t notice a difference between them and BN. I do notice a difference if a tank is getting overrun with brown or green algae. Couple nerites, couple days, and the tank is 99% spotless.

The last bonus for nerites is they do not reproduce in fresh water. So you will not be overrun with them like MTS. They do lay egg clutches which look like small white dots about 1-2 mm in diameter. They can be easily scraped off or they drop off on their own after a couple weeks. They never hatch.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I've kept both zebra and olive nerites. See how they do in about a year.

The mbuna don't actually eat them...they nip at the eye stalks and antennae. And knock them continually off the glass. I'd find them on their backs on the substrate at night often enough that the snails starved. They could not get enough algae grazing time on the glass.


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## johnc87 (Jul 26, 2011)

I've never had any luck with snails in my Mbuna tank.After a few weeks I'd find an empty shell and 3 or 4 cichlids fighting over the meat.


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## ParadoX19 (Sep 22, 2011)

Ok day two with yellow labs and I went from 5 to now 2 nerites so I've also had bad luck


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