# Trumpet Snails



## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to get some Malaysian trumpet snails. I have a few questions about them like:

Are they good algae eaters?

Will they crawl all the way out of my aquarium (like on the outside of the glass?)?


I have 2 tanks will all sand bottoms and one of them is getting bubbles of air under it seen from the glass and I hear these snails are great aerators of the sand. If the bubbles of gas are already present before the snails are in the tank, will it kill the snail to plow through them? 

I'd hate to get them and then kill them as they are the only snails I kinda like (the pointy shells)

On a side note, I found a few snails with the same type of shell as the mts in a clear spring in FL a long time ago. Their shells were solid white but I didn't keep them because I freaked out when they started moving Now I wish I had...


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

no, they don't eat the algae on the glass. I think they prefer fish food.

they can, but its not common if you have a lid on.

IDK. If the bubbles are air, from filing the tank with a hose, (or from a leak) it will be fine. If CO2, probably fine. But HS or something really noxious? no clue and won't it also kill fish if snails disturb it?


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

The bubbles are under the sand and visible through the glass. I don't have any fish in this tank, just plants but I wanted to get the snails so I could put fish in the tank too. Not sure how it would work out. 
I think I will just buy a few plants from a tank infested with the trumpets. This way if the snails die, i'll still have the plants.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I throw out several hundred MTS every 2 weeks when I do my tank maintenance. They eat cucumber I put in for the plecs, shrimp pellets, fish food. They come out at night and crawl over the surface of everything. I am hoping they aren't eating algae. They reproduce like rabbits. They do seem to need hard water. A friend tried them in slightly softer water than I have and the shells unravelled.
It is a bit odd to see the gravel moving about seemingly by itself !


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

Mts will move through the sand and help aerate it. The bubbles you see are hydrogen sulfide gas produced by anerobic bacteria. This can be harmful to fish. I move the sand in my tanks when vacuuming and keep it moving to keep the bubbles to a minimum.


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

I just got 25 mts today. So far they are not burrowing. I guess they need time to adjust to their new home. Hopefully they will make it and help aerate my sand for me.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

also buy some cuttlebone..they are cheap and last for quite awhile.you will have to weight it down...just break off a piece and tie some kind of weight to it...the snails need the calcium from it for their shell....


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

Ok thanks, I think I have some I never used when I had my parrot(the same thing used for parrots right?)


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

yep.....that's the stuff..a must have if you keep snails...


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## marcshrimp (Jun 16, 2013)

where did you get them from? im trying to find some myself to burrow around in the sand. none of my lfs seem to have any.


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

I had to buy them off aquabid.com, got a good deal.
My lfs had some but when I went to get them they were out and said they would not get more because they came in on the plants and were not actually ordered to begin with.

They are burrowing today, I see the sand move every now and then


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## marcshrimp (Jun 16, 2013)

ok thanks!!


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