Quote:
Originally Posted by Je55*e
Are these snails carnivorous? Forgive me if that's an idiotic question, but OP said they could find any (unfortunately) dead fish in the tank.
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From my experience, and I could be wrong, the apple snails are omnivores...they really LOVE cukes; zuchinnis when I put them into the tanks. They devour seemingly anything that hits the bottom of the tank - I have seen them hurry (lol) to sit right on top of a veggie round; algae disc or shrimp pellet before the fish get to it. But if a fish dies in the tank, they help devour it also. ( found them eating a dead oto in my fry tank!
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One of my very small apples died, and I found it on the bottom of the betta tank, covered with malaysian trumpet snails. When I pulled it out, the apple snail shell was completely empty!!! They cleaned it totally out. So that would make them almost cannibals..
So ya know when a fish mysteriously disappers, as if taken by aliens, I feel better knowing that usually the snails will clean it up before it makes the water cruddy and increases the nitrates.
I have found, however it is a delicate balance between overfeeding and making sure that all species are getting enough food when you have a tank of mixed fish. So having said all that, I believe the benefits outweigh the negatives ( hmmm, don't think I mentioned any negatives). The snails are way more interesting and fun to watch than most would assume!! Thanks for your interest!
Val
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Great video! 
