jamesbarr Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 (edited) hey so i was just curious about peoples opinion about whether or not having too many mts could actually effect my plant growth? The reason I am wondering this is because of the amount of poo that the mts eat. I have so many that I can actually scoop with my little fish net after feeding time and fill the net. I have put some in my sons tank, but they have procreated like bunnies as well, so Im flushing a few periodically. My plants have been sort of stunted, tho the cycle has begun to break with the addition of a new trace fert. Any thoughts? Hard to believe that I got them all from 6 little guys that I got the lfs woman to scoop and throw in a bag for $1 Edited July 27, 2012 by jamesbarr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonNeko Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 (edited) Instead of flushing them, you could toss them in a garden. They make great fertalizer. I've heard that birds like them too. To lower the numbers snail eating fish or snails work. I would imagine that even though the snails are eating the poop, they're also producing a lot as well. Having so many in the sand may disturb the roots, which could stress the plant and slow growth. Hope that helps, and sorry if I'm wrong about the plant part, was partially guessing. Edited July 27, 2012 by DragonNeko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 If your cycle is being affected in a heavily planted tank, I think your snail population is way too high. If their population is uncontrolible, you're feeding WAY too much - they tend to only populate to the extend that they can all be fed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Depening onthe tank, the cryptohero nanaluteas I have in my 75g make great snail killers, I have 4 in with guppies, neons, small tetras and few others all non aggressive including my corys and they are gentle giants except for the snails, but extremely comical watching them eat the snails, very beautiful and love to socialize with their owner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 I dont find my population of MTS to be having any sort of adverse affects on my plants. But I do agree with jvision that if you are seeing that many snails coming out at feeding time you probably are overfeeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbarr Posted July 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2012 sweet, thanks for the advice. I will be sure to reduce my food at feeding time. So what about the nutrients to my plants? do they eat only food, or do they eat detritus? I know that my plants are supposed to enjoy fish waste, does the snail pop reduce that effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbarr Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 so i have reduced my feeding (setting aside my love for feeding frenzies) and I have noticed a drastic reduction in my population of MTS in my tank. Now seems to be at a manageable and enjoyable level again. Thanks again for the insight. This is why I love this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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