snails. do i want them?

[mpg]

i bought some plants 3 weeks ago from my lfs. and last night noticed 2 little snails crawling around the glass. they are not particularly pretty or interesting, just plain. as long as there are only 2, i think they are fine.

but what are the pros and cons of snails. will they pollute my water, or will they help by cleaning up extra food.

i'm trying to decide if i should get rid of the 2 so they don't start turning into dozens.

 

[geKo]

Snails are good cleaners. They eat alage off leaves and the bottom. They reproduce like rabbits tho so thats not good. Depending on the type of snails you have they can eat plants and really be a pest.

I am currently picking my snails out of my 10gal because my plant leaves have alot of holes in them now. As long as you keep up with water changes and have some otos or a few SAE or CAE them you dont need snails.

I would keep them and if you start noticing eaten plants then start to hand remove them. Dont use a snail killing product because from what i hear they dont work and they kill certain plants!

 

[fishboy]

If you have spiral shaped snails those are the good ones. They are great cleaners but on the contrary to the common myth they do produce waste so it is a good idea to keep the population under control.

Good luck,
Daniel

 

[Abercrombie6202]

Depends, Snails are good algae cleaners, but produce waste and can overpopulate the tank very quickly, most people like myself buy fish to eat snails!! There a pest if you ask me

 

[adamj]

If you have a well balanced habbitat, then the problem should take care of itself. Of cource, i clean all live plants with a bleach solution before i add them to the tank. I've only seen one tiny snail to which your refering to and i believe that was promply eaten I keep two black mystery snails in a 10 gallen packed with plants and they have enough to eat... so.. its your judgement call really.

 

[mpg]

well...

they have eaten some of the algae. i see their little trails on the back glass. not enough to make them indispensable, but good nonetheless.

so i guess i'll keep them. there are only 2. if i get a swarm, i'll have to take action. do you think a white cloud would eat one if i crushed the shell?