Snails

[FishFreak]

I have a 10 gal water tests are great and would like a snail but have soe qustions
1 do they eat algae
2 how much bioload do they produce
3 what snail should I get
I am wondering because Otto's are hard to find around here and there like 10 bucks each so I lost 3 withing a month of quarintine
thanks for replys
Freak

[Bernie]

1 do they eat algae.....Yes! but some snails species more than others (will also eat the live plants).

2 how much bioload do they produce....Not much at all (but they still cause their own type of mess.)

3 what snail should I get...Ramshorn, Apple or the Mystery snail might be the better choices, although Apple snails and Golden snails may be labelled as Mystery snails in the shop.

The problem with snails is that you tank can become overrun with them in no time, as many species are hermaphrodites and can reproduce by itself. Snails also need alkaline PH (which I think you have anyway) and they also need calcium added to keep their shells healthy.

If there is an on-going algae problem, it is still advisable to try and find the underlying cause of the algae, not mask it.

[FishFreak]

Right now the algae has stopped growing but my cloth won't get any off and like I said ottos are a bit expensive I do have a live plant witch is java fern but I don't want my tank overrun by snails what snails can't reproduce by them selves

[Brad79]

Otos expensive? They are $1.99 here. Why are they so expensive in BC?

[FishFreak]

I honstly don't know probaly because every one buys them so there almost sold out

[Bernie]

They cost around $8 - $10 in the LFS' here!

[FishFreak]

Really same

[alan j t]

they are cheap here, but thet are wild caught.
i've bough them before with no luck.even with plenty of food for them to eat.

[FishFreak]

Yep that's what happened I even gave them some cucumber