Burrowing Snail / Malaysian Trumpet Snail

Hey,

im wondering what everyone think about adding Malaysian trumpet snail to a sanded aquarium? How quick do they multiply and are they easy enough to remove if needed? I don’t mind taking risks or chances, but I don’t want to be stupid either. I’m familiar with mystery snails, but I want interesting snails to watch if I can.

So any advice will help…

 

First of all they’re extremely beneficial to aquariums with a sand substrate. Malaysian trumpet snails burrow and thus are sand sifters, providing oxygen underneath the substrate. Despite the burrowing I still see mine during the day.

They reproduce rapidly so if you get a MTS infestation or if you add them yourself I’d say there’s no removing them. This isn’t much of a issue because they‘re not known for doing much damage if any damage at all.

 

I have lots of these in my 44 gallon but they are mostly buried in the gravel at all times.

I've yet to consider there number a problem but they have multiplied fast from nowhere.. I don't even know where I got em from.

 

I figure mine came in with the plants. When I get too many, I siphon them up during water changes.

I have at least 4 types of snails that rode in on plants. As long as I take care not to overfeed, there are not too many.

 

They're beneficial for tanks with sand, but incredibly prolific. I do a big monthly "purge" of them, where I add a piece of romaine lettuce and remove it a few hours later, covered in snails. Even then, it barely dents the population.

Permanently getting rid of them without ruining your tank can be extremely difficult, and sometimes requires a whole team of puffers, loaches, or assassin snails. Even copper treatment doesn't work sometimes. If you get them, they're pretty much there to stay.

I would instead do rabbit or assassin snails. They both burrow in sand, but they aren't nearly as fast-breeding as MTS.

Assassin snails have special dietary requirements (they're carnivores, and love shrimp pellets, ramshorn snails, and anything else meat-based), but aren't hard to care for. Rabbit snail care is almost identical to mystery snail care, but they prefer more plant matter in their diet than mystery snails.

If you want an entertaining snail, mysteries are just about the best candidate for that. They're active, big, and colorful. Rabbit snails, however, are entertaining and colorful, but will also sift sand, which mystery snails do not.