Dawn Moneyhan wrote:
> Larry,
> The first question I would have asked would be what species of snail was in question? There are various species of snails that people refer to as "pond snails", yet they make up a wide range of species, some of them herbivore, some of them omnivore, and some of them, like the trumpets, that are detrivore.. and yes there are carnivore snails, too.
I don't know the species. Unlike the MTS, which were put in the tank
deliberately, the "pond snails" were unwelcome hitchhikers on some
plants I *thought* I had sterilized.
>
> Another consideration is the plant species mixed with a specific snail species... some snails tend to like certain plants more so than others and find them irresistible.
>
The tank in question has contortion val, a couple of apongetons, and a
red melon sword. The snails like all of them, as well as a rock covered
with algae.
> There are also a number of species of snails that look a lot like each other, and can be confusing to properly identify, especially when they are young. Apple snails and mystery snails are often confused, especially in the pet stores, for example. I would suggest maybe asking Rhonda what species she was speaking of and then compare it to what you have or maybe even get some help properly identifying the species you have...
>
I get the magazine at the library so I don't have it available, but IIRC
the terms she used were "small snails" and "pond snails". Pretty
generic. I don't know the exact species in my tank, and, again IIRC,
the article implied she didn't either.
> Also remember that snails are not the only creatures in an aquarium that can eat plants, leaving holes behind. Some types of plant diseases can also leave holes, as can problems with environment for a given species... lighting that is even a little "off" can also cause issues. Some species of fish are also good plant eaters...
True enough, but I've watched them graze. If I had the money and the
talent, I'd set up one of those slow motion cameras and produce a video
:-). And none of the fish in my tanks (currently only two) show any
interest in plants and the tank without snails has no holes in the plants.
I googled, FWIW, and most sites seemed to think that pond snails do eat
plants. One that Even if the didn't was Rhonda's :-). Here's a
quote from aquaticcommunity.com:
> Yes, snails do eat plants, but most species actually leave healthy
> plants alone and prefer to feed on dead and decaying plant matter that
> would only end up fouling your water anyway. Healthy plants tend to
> produce cyanides and other poisons and are therefore not appreciated
> by most snails. There is however exceptions to this rule, e.g. the
> Pond snail, which should never be introduced to the aquarium since
> they can rapidly devour even healthy plants.
Amen, brother! Even if the grammar is suspect :-).
I'd be glad to send a few to someone with a planted tank if they don't
believe me - on second thought, I don't want an irate plant lover coming
after me :-).
Larry B
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