![]() It is important to observe the relevant safety regulations when handling chemicals. Any adhering snails are stunned or killed. Some aquarists treat newly purchased aquarium plants with a short bath in mineral water or in an alum solution. Freshly hatched snails are very small so you should give them some time to grow so they can be seen better. As a rule, snail eggs hatch after about 7-14 days, so the quarantine should be carried out for at least three to four weeks. Only if an infestation with snails or their eggs can be ruled out, they can be planted into the show aquarium. Newly purchased or privately traded aquatic plants first enter a separate quarantine aquarium. Here, the plants are cultivated in sterile cups, they are thus free of snails, other parasites, foreign plants, algae and pathogens.Īnother option for prevention is a classic quarantine. Avoiding the introduction of snailsĪs aquarium snails are particularly often introduced as stowaways in aquatic plants, this problem can be solved elegantly by purchasing in vitro products. But you can never rule out entirely that the snails won’t just eat particularly delicate and tasty plants. Up to a certain degree, those snails can be kept from eating your aquatic plants by feeding them vegetables (peeled, blanched or dried) or special food with a high vegetable content. Marisa cornuarietis pictured above) are a typical example. If the invertebrates get out of hand, the aquarium owner should definitely reconsider his feeding behavior.ĭepending on the type of snail present in the aquarium, it may happen, that some plants may get nibbled at. ![]() In aquariums with a dense fish stock, and accordingly intense feeding, the snail population can be high due to the high feed intake. ![]() As a rule, this will even out later: Through a lower food supply and food competitors, the population goes back to normal. During start-up, it always comes to growth peaks in various species of algae, which are excellent snail food - again directly noticeable in the propagation of the snails. Very often snail plagues come up during the cycling phase of an aquarium. If the snails find plenty of food, this will reflect in their population density. One has to keep in mind, that explosive growth always has to do with the framework conditions. Many aquarium enthusiasts, however, perceive snails as optically unpleasant, especially when it comes to a massive increase in their population - a snail plague. They are often introduced when purchasing new aquatic plants. Typical species that are more common in aquariums are bladder snails (see photo), ramshorn snails, and Malaysian trumpet snails. Finally, bacteria and other microorganisms - the decomposers - break up the remnants into their mineral constituents.Īn aquarium containing snails is therefore ecologically a much more stable system and the overall impression usually much cleaner. As so-called consumers, they process food leftovers and pass them down the food chain. All of these things contain organic substances that - if not utilized -increase the water load and also the number of bacteria in the water. More specifically sludge, fish dung, dead plant parts, carcasses and food leftovers. They do not exclusively eat biofilms and growths - and are therefore important algivores - but they also eat all the “dirt” that’s accumulating in your tank. ![]() If one regards an aquarium as an independent ecological system, snails (and also other invertebrates such as shrimps) cover a useful, almost irreplaceable function. Here we explain the advantages and disadvantages of keeping snails in aquariums. Snails are always a hot topic in aquaristics. For some, they are a plague, for the others a welcome enrichment in the aquarium.
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