namida Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Alright, so I bought some Ramshorn Snails from a LFS in Adelaide the other day because I like my betta tank being close to the window for reasons of the beautiful natural light complementing my boy - but if course that made the algae population get a little out of hand. The snails (two per tank) did the job. And they did so in an astonishing tempo. However they did also lay quite an astonishing number of eggs as they went. (I've counted 5 clusters so far) So I've been doing some reading on them but for all I read it just keeps getting more confusing. So probably you guys could clarify some questions for me? 1. Do Bettas eat baby snails? I've found sources that say they do and I've found sources that say they don't - I don't quite know what to believe anymore. 2. Do I have to feed them? When I bought them I was thinking they'd feed of the algae and that's it but now I'm reading they need to be fed salad and spinach leaves and also need supplemented calcium. True for my two-snail-clean-up troop or only if you're actually breeding them on purpose? 3. Can they overpopulate and turn into a problem? Or will they cease reproduction now that the worst of the algae is finished off? I have recognised that whilst I had five clusters of eggs in the one tank that really had a serious algae problem (read: feast for the snails) the two snails in the second, newer, tank haven't laid any eggs yet (or at least I haven't found any). So for me it seems like population control by food ... which kind leads back to question number two. And then with the baby snails - I think the first cluster has hatched a day or two ago - I've read that it's normal for them to disappear into the gravel after hatching. Mine sure did since I can't find them anymore after they left their shells. Any ideas when I can expect to see them again - given that my betta didn't actually turned them into Lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 1. first mistake was to buy ramshorns..... not all Bettas will eat baby snails and not all baby snails will stay out in the open to be eaten.... they will hide away in filters, under driftwood, deep in dense plants, etc...... 2. Feeding ramshorn snails only encourages them to multiply..... they will eat anything the fish dont and then more if you drop it in the tank..... 3. Ramshorn snails will definitely overpopulate a tank in a very short time - they don't always lay eggs on the glass where you can see and remove them..... once you have them it takes quite a bit of work to get rid of them fully..... On the plus side.... Ramshorns are good if you never want to share plants with friends - they won't want plants with the chance of having a snail infestation a week away!!! The best snails to have for cleanup are mystery snails - their eggs are easy to remove if you don't want too many around and they won't bother your fish at all.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girlz0r Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Take them out!! The'yve gone crazy in my tank, and they eat the plants, leave little holes in them, and they breed like crazy, AND you will never get rid of them once there're babies in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 You can eradicate them eventually. Just have to be dilligent about removing any that you see. I completely cleared one of my tanks of ramshorns once. Took about 4 months of daily removal. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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