# nocturnal snails??



## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

Last night I got home (after finally getting some guiness in me) and noticed all the spots on the front of my glass, hundreds of spots. On closer inspection they were all snails! I see maybe 1 or 2 during the day digging around in the gravel, but I had NO idea there were that many fishing around under the gravel. The shells are long and spiral upward, are these ramshorn?

Funny thing is that when I turned on the room light they all vanished! I shined a flashlight in the tank on one and it fell of the glass and dug into the gravel.

Will these guys mess with my substrate/plants? I should probably harvest these guys should I not?


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## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

If I'm not mistaken those are the good guys - they keep the substrate aerated and eat crap


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## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

heh, would you look at that... here I am thinking they are doing me harm when in fact they are doing me a favour!


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## ranmasatome (Mar 14, 2006)

Over here they are known as MTS.. not not multiple tank syndrome like we all have.. but Malaysian trumpet snails..

They breed like rabbits.. and can infest your tank.. HOWEVER!! (notice it is big) they only come out in full force in the dark.. which wont really affect your aquascape when you wanna take pictures of it..since the lights are on.

It also how i aviod anerobic substrate since they stir it up for me and i save money not buying a gravel heater and all taht crap jazz...


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## kent1992 (Mar 20, 2006)

Yes, the snail that you described sounds very much like Malaysian Trumpet Snails, which have a very uniquely shaped shell (hence their name).


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## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

very cool... I have gone from hating them to loving them! They are definitely cool to look at. I believe they caught a ride from plants I got at the menagerie. I have a Pea puffer in my tank, he probably keeps the population in check.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I hear the pea puffer cant break MTS shells but i could be wrong... Your peas will take care of naughy snails for yas though! 

I have tonnes of MTS and i bloody love them....Mine do stay out during the day from time to time... but off go the lights and its a snail party!


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## Plant Crazy (Mar 24, 2006)

They're almost impossible to eradicate, however clown loaches can keep them under control to the point that they're not visible. Manual removal via cucumber slice (sink a cucumber slice before the lights go out, and remove the cucumber slice in the morning (will be teeming with snails), and repeat). Of course, snail killer chemicals exist (many are copper-based), however these are NOT recommended for a planted tank since it can harm your plants as well.


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