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Keeping the Sand Clean (Snails?)


Cheeseball

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I have a small 10g aquarium with some (~10, with one berried) Yellow Neocaridina shrimps. They seem to be fine, but all of their waste, bits of plants, and other miscellaneous debris settle on top of the sand. I don't think it is harmful, but it isn't very good looking. I was thinking that maybe some snails would help turn the soil a bit, covering up the waste and letting it decompose away from view. So, I bought two Nerite snails to see how they would do before I bought more. The snails seem fine and healthy so far, but they are not really serving their purpose. They mostly stay on the glass, and they contribute a lot of waste to the layer. So, I was thinking of using Ramshorn snails instead.

 

So, my question is this: should I use Nerite snails or Ramshorn snails to turn the sand? Or, alternatively, should I go without snails?

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If shrimp waste is settling on top of the sand, then your sand is most likely too fine. With a coarse sand, like pool filter sand, waste should work it's way down into the sand to decompose eventually, as well as provide nutrition for your plants. With fine sand, anaerobic pockets become a worry, especially if it's over 1" deep. Regardless, what you want is Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS)... not to be confused with "multple tank syndrome". MTS will burrow into sand and feed off of debris during the daytime... which will be churning your soil in return.

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On 10/11/2018 at 2:56 PM, madcrafted said:

If shrimp waste is settling on top of the sand, then your sand is most likely too fine. With a coarse sand, like pool filter sand, waste should work it's way down into the sand to decompose eventually, as well as provide nutrition for your plants. With fine sand, anaerobic pockets become a worry, especially if it's over 1" deep. Regardless, what you want is Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS)... not to be confused with "multple tank syndrome". MTS will burrow into sand and feed off of debris during the daytime... which will be churning your soil in return.

 

Thanks for the help, I will look in to  Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

Also, I am growing a grass carpet, will the snails cause problems for the plants/grass?

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