Best Burrowing Snails?

I want to stay away from MTS for obvious reasons, but do any of you have experience with burrowing snails that won't eat plants?

 

Why don't you want MTS. I think theyre great and add them to all my tanks.

 

Why don't you want MTS. I think theyre great and add them to all my tanks.

Because the multiply horribly & snails already make me a bit squeamish

 

I have mts and they come out about an hour before lights out. I rarely if ever see them during the day any more.

 

My assasin is great at burrowing.

 

My assasin is great at burrowing.

Same here. The only time I see them is when they come out to eat.

 

My assasin is great at burrowing.

Same here. The only time I see them is when they come out to eat.

I don't want to get assassins and them eat my other snails though

 

Get some chopstick snails they burrow and only have 2 babys a year. These are thiara wenteri, they dig and eat leftover food and algae.

Oops posted the same link twice these are the thiara wenterI snails

 

If you want snails to burrow in your sand, the MTS are the ones to get. The MTS spend the majority of their time in the sand so you don't even see them.

And many fish stores will give them away for free since they are considered pests.

 

Get some chopstick snails they burrow and only have 2 babys a year. These are thiara wenteri, they dig and eat leftover food and algae.

Oops posted the same link twice these are the thiara wenterI snails

I originally wanted chopstick snails. But they are super hard to find and there's absolutely no way I am ordering from that website. Aquatic Arts have them but they're out of stock

 

If you want snails to burrow in your sand, the MTS are the ones to get. The MTS spend the majority of their time in the sand so you don't even see them.

And many fish stores will give them away for free since they are considered pests.

That's how I got mine. They were in every tank in fish gallery and I asked for some and the guy gave me like 20.

 

Because the multiply horribly & snails already make me a bit squeamish

I don't want to get assassins and them eat my other snails though

oops, I was assuming since snails make you a bit squeamish you didn't have any pet snails. If you do then no, you don't want assassins.

 

That's how I got mine. They were in every tank in fish gallery and I asked for some and the guy gave me like 20.

I've actually never seen any in my LFS, weird, I know.

oops, I was assuming since snails make you a bit squeamish you didn't have any pet snails. If you do then no, you don't want assassins.

Well lets say the pond snails freak me out. But I got rid of them, and them in mass numbers freaks me out. I find rabbit snails and mystery snails cool, though I would never touch them unless I have to

 

oops, I was assuming since snails make you a bit squeamish you didn't have any pet snails. If you do then no, you don't want assassins.

I have nerites and mysteries with assassins. And have for years.

They will only go after large snails if there are no pest snails at their disposal. And even then they need to get in a group to take one down. I rescued a mystery who had 3 assassins on him. I then noticed that the tank was free of pest snails and moved those assassins to my tanks that still have plenty of pests.

Also worth mentioning....this was a tank that was getting daily water changes so it was also extra clean making it even harder for them to even find some leftover food or something.

Basically they will only go after large snails if they're absolutely desperate

 

I have nerites and mysteries with assassins. And have for years.

They will only go after large snails if there are no pest snails at their disposal. And even then they need to get in a group to take one down. I rescued a mystery who had 3 assassins on him. I then noticed that the tank was free of pest snails and moved those assassins to my tanks that still have plenty of pests.

Also worth mentioning....this was a tank that was getting daily water changes so it was also extra clean making it even harder for them to even find some leftover food or something.

Basically they will only go after large snails if they're absolutely desperate

I don't have pest snails, I would hate to have to introduce pests just to feed the assassins lol. Unless I go with MTS, then assassins might be a good addition.

 

So with all the options I have, and considering I don't have pest snails at the moment, what would you do if it were your tank? I want a mystery and a nerite for sure.

 

I don't have pest snails, I would hate to have to introduce pests just to feed the assassins lol. Unless I go with MTS, then assassins might be a good addition.

I was just sharing my experience because I do see people often say that assassins will kill large snails too, but I just was clarifying that they will only do that when they are absolutely desperate. That has been my experience anyway.

But it doesn't apply to you if you don't currently have pests.

If you get MTS and you feel they are getting out of control, you could add assassins at that point if you wanted to.

The only tanks I see my MTS in are my bare bottom tanks and my one gravel tank (because they don't have sand to sift in in those tanks) I didn't intentionally put them in those tanks, but they have found their way into those tanks somehow. Likely on plants or ornaments or something. So if you have sand, you will barely even notice them.

 

Rabbit snails are the best snails ever! They crawl around, eat a bit, then bury themselves and go to sleep. They are so cute. They do need feeding though, mine eat pretty much all vegetables I've tried although they won't eat algae wafers. However they are not suitable for a lot of tanks since they need very warm water, 80f+. They do need sand to burrow in but I'm assuming you've got that if you're asking this question.

 

Rabbit snails are the best snails ever! They crawl around, eat a bit, then bury themselves and go to sleep. They are so cute. They do need feeding though, mine eat pretty much all vegetables I've tried although they won't eat algae wafers. However they are not suitable for a lot of tanks since they need very warm water, 80f+. They do need sand to burrow in but I'm assuming you've got that if you're asking this question.

Yes, I have sand. I was going to get the minI rabbit snails from Aquatic Arts but I didn't know they needed such warm water. It said 72-80 on their site

 

So do you all think I should do MTS, nerites and Mysterys? Then maybe assassins if MTS get out of control?

 

Yeah I had my rabbit snail in with my cpds and it was not doing well. Almost hibernating. I thought it was dead for real but it never stank so I left it. Then one day it moved so it for sure was alive. I did a little more research and realized my water was way too cold for it. I moved it in with the Betta and it is super happy.

 

Yeah I had my rabbit snail in with my cpds and it was not doing well. Almost hibernating. I thought it was dead for real but it never stank so I left it. Then one day it moved so it for sure was alive. I did a little more research and realized my water was way too cold for it. I moved it in with the Betta and it is super happy.

How big of a tank do they need?

 

The website I use says that do to their size they need a 29 gallon. Mine is currently in a 10 but it's only 2 inches from tip to toe.

 

How big of a tank do they need?

Supposedly they get quite big but mine have maxed out at about 2 inches. Mine are fine in a 5 gallon. They are not super active.

 

Supposedly they get quite big but mine have maxed out at about 2 inches. Mine are fine in a 5 gallon. They are not super active.

I have a 5.5 gallon betta tank, I was wondering if I can maybe get one in there. They have the minI ones that max out at 1” but they only sell them in packs of 5. I think my 29 is going to be too cool for them