# Trumpet Snails : Good or bad?



## beachtan

I'm getting a new large tank including sand that has trumpet snails - is this a good or bad thing?


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## MalawiLover

It can be both.

Malaysian trumpet snails are burrowers so they continuously turn your sand and are very useful in preventing anaerobic pocket problems. Plus they scavance any food particles.

The problem with themis they reproduce asexually and they do it continuously. Their breeding rates coinside with the amount of food they get. Over feed once or twice and the little buggers will double in number practically over night. The later on if your feeding causes a bit of famine you can get some die-offswhich may result in ammonia and nitrite spike (unfortunately they don't seem to eat each other in lean times.)

I have them in most of my tanks. I have tried to get rid of them or not iontroduce them to a new tank, but all it takes is a single tiny baby (pencil point size) to transfer on a net and blam you have snails in the new tank.


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## gnomemagi

They turn over and sift the sand so that you don't have to stir it up to remove the compressed spots that turn black in sand - anaerobic bacteria. Supposedly these spots if left unchecked for long periods of time can release poisonous toxins into the tank.

That being said, some find them to be a nuisance. I guess keeping them in control is the main thing.


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## beachtan

i read they only come out at night. If this is true, I wont even see them right? do they leave all tracks across the sand that people dont like or something?

I just want to make sure theres not some negative reason I'm missing. I could easily replace the sand before I set this tank up, but it kinda sounds like I SHOULD have the snails.. (once the tanks set up I'm not changing it!! lol) :wink:


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## 24Tropheus

I have em in some of my tanks but not in others but not sure if it will last.  
Came in with some plants I failed to fully de snail I guess.
Prob is they can get in the filters too. Do not underestimate their potential pest status.
They can breed to plague proportions. Do you want to have to half starve your fish to help keep the numbers down or try adding snail eating catfish etc?
I would get rid of mine if I could and replace with a less fecund species.
Big sales of not cheap assassin snails to try and control them, not something I have tried.
The idea of introducing em to a tank on purpose seems rather odd to me when there are so many fish that will turn your sand for you.

bad bad bad IMO


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## hollyfish2000

I HATTTTEE them. I have them in both planted tanks. They do not just come out in the evening, alas. They multiply continuously (as noted). If I were you, I'd do everything in your power to avoid them. Loaches eat them, I think, but neither of my planted tanks are large enough for that option . . .


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## beachtan

So maybe I DONT want them!! I'll be getting the tank drained, but with the sand (which will be mud ) in the tank . Is there anyway i can easily "clean" the sand and kill them?? really hot water? its getting cold here so I dont wanna risk cracking the tank in my backyard!!

Any EASY tricks to get rid of them before I add fish? I wont have much time...


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## 24Tropheus

I do not know of a way to get them out of the sand and kill them all.
I would use fresh sand and maybe soak the tank with bleach and rinse.
But there may be eggs still in the filters. :-?  
If you are in a hurry to get the tank re set up with the bacteria in your filters intact I am afraid I do not know a way. Maybe someone else can help. There are snail killing chemicals/products on the market but I have not tried them.


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## JacobF

I like MTS in my tanks, but as mentioned they do breed like **** and that can be a problem.

A great solution are assassin snails, but it is all too easy to trade one pest problem for another.

In my new tank i want to keep their numbers down. What im thinking of doing is removing as many MTS as possible then introducing a single assassin snail, as they need a Male + Female to breed this single assassin snail cant become a pest.

Im hoping this solution will keep MTS counts down but not totally wipe them out.

Im also contemplating starting a small breeding tank for them where i could sex them out for use in my bigger tanks.

check out this interesting article about them; http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=29339


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## hollyfish2000

Anyone have actual experience with an assasin snail? Interesting option that I had not heard of. Not sure I could even buy one around here . . .

As for trying to remove them from the sand, I don't think it 100 percent possible. The hot water might be a good move. Don't use the snail-poison products as I'd be worried about lingering after-effects. Sorry, I don't have any good ideas on the subject . . .


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## MalawiLover

Honestly, sand is pretty darn cheap, just get new substrate.


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## beachtan

I've been looking for pool filter sand with variated color and can only find the solid off-white. Anyone know of a pool chain store that may carry something else?

I really like the look of that real lake Michigan sand in the tank I'm getting but am worried about those trumpet snails and someone told me about algae silicates. :-? So I think I should start over.

One more q. about those pesky snails - if I rinse everything out of that tank and let it dry outside completely, wont all snails and babies dry up and die? (without using bleach etc).


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## Sprungster

Get a horse-face loach, they will go through the sand and do a better job than the snails...










Those snails should be avoided the fact that you cannot control them if you decide to get rid of them is something which I cannot accept, I like to control my tanks 100%.


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## MalawiLover

He's so cute!

Infact if you hav africans (and even some CAs and SAs) they dig enough to turn the sand. My mbuna re-scape the tank almost daily.


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## hollyfish2000

Yes, I'd think drying the sand out thoroughly would kill all the snails. The problem is you also lose any "good bacteria" you were trying to salvage from that tank.

Wuv the loach!!


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## MalawiLover

hollyfish2000 said:


> Yes, I'd think drying the sand out thoroughly would kill all the snails.


I am not so sure it would work to just dry it out. Snails have this annoying ability to encapsulate themselves in dry harsh conditions and then come back once wet again.

I had a couple of the trumpet snails stuck in a net (didn't notice them when transfering fish) that sat out dry for two weeks. When I used it to cover a bowl with a female I was about to strip, two of the snails eneded up in the water. By the time I had finished stripping they were both sliming their way across the bottom of the bowl.

I would just get new sand. There is not that much bacteria in the substrate that it would screw up your whole filtration. Lots of people switch out gravel for sand while a tank is active with out any problems


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## fish

Clown loaches cleared my tank of them. Wish I still had them though. Yellow labs eat them and will eliminate them also.


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## Donnixd

i didnt know back then but i asked to buy some MTS.. the owner laughed and gav me some for free..
there's in my 20G shelldwelllers and their not a pest.. 3 months in and no mass multiplying nor causing any troubles..


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## kuni

Dwarf puffers are exceptional snail-killers that work for almost any size tank.

However, they're not exactly good community fish...


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