snails snails snails!!

the little tank I have going at the moment with my 2 cats in has a real plant in it, when I bought it,it must have had suome snails eggs in it, because I now have 5 little snails in my tank, I am currently cycling my new tank which is ready for action on sunday. when I transfer the cats can I put some of the snails in or are they just a pain, I was told they were good for the algae and then someone said they create more algae, which of these is right? also is it a plec or pleccy that is the best for munching through algae on the tank???

 

Yeah, your snails will get the algae. So will the pleco. Maybe they can tagteam.... Depends on the pleco, though. Common and bristlenose plecos are famous for algae control. The common pleco will approach 12 inches long while the bristlenose tops off at about 4 or 5 inches.

 

The snails should be ok, and probably better than the pleco because the pleco can grow up to 18 inches and are known for pooping commonly, which will not help the tank.

 

Snails can become quite the pest in your tank and will breed like crazy. I had them so bad in my 20 gal. long that I got 4 yo yo loaches to control them. I really haven't seen where pond snail have helped much with the algae control in my tanks. Some people like them though. If you want a snail for algae control, take a look at the apple or mystery snails.

 

what are yoyo loaches? x

 

oh they're cute, and they don't grow nearly as big as clown loaches.


They are called YoYo loaches because (on some more than others) there is a pattern of Y's and O's (though on some it is more like a L)

 

Oh cool, I never realized that! How long do they get?

 

3-4 inches I think.