Are MTS (trumpet snails) worth it?

I found out a LFS has some MTS and was really close to grabbing some, but wanted to hear others experiences with them first. I am wondering do they reproduce like pond snails? Will I have to get some assassins not to long after the MTS to keep them in check?

I have a 5 zebra nerites and more and more ramshorn snails each day so dont know if I want to add and MTS or not. What do you guys think?

Also I use blasting sand as a substrate, not sure if they are needed with that type of substrate or not.

Thanks in advance, Ben

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Permalink Reply by Ben Fritz on November 14, 2011 at 1:58am

Thanks Mike. I was thinking the same thing. Would you use these in a dirted tank as well? Or would you want to avoid that to prevent the dirt from surfacing?

For 10 cents a piece I will be going back there to grab a handful of them.

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Permalink Reply by 2apes2gp667wr on November 14, 2011 at 9:20am

Very good snail to have. They do a little algae eating, but like you know their most valuable for aerating substrate.

Using them in a dirted tank is fine, but they will almost never make it very far into the dirt, depending on how thick a layer you have. They don't burrow that far down. You don't have to worry about the dirt surfacing. They don't move fast enough to allow it and I think the shape of the shell is the way it is to create an instant backfill as they move.

Don't worry about population explosion. It's mostly a myth. They will only breed beyond control when there is an excess of food to be found. If you see a large increase in snails, you are obviously feeding too much. Or don't have enough ground foragers to clean up the excess. Feed less and their numbers will decrease.

Ten cents a piece is a really good price if they are not readily available in your area. An LFS that doesn't have any in their tanks will sell them, if they have MTS in their plant sale tanks they might throw them in for free. Buy a plant and ask if they will toss in a couple of snails. Most will do it as they have so many. It's worth a shot.

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Permalink Reply by Hmoobthor on November 14, 2011 at 12:44pm

I have them in my 20L tank (can be seen on my video).

They serve their purpose and do their job. I like them and i was quite spectic of using them in the first place but now they are growing up and I been seeing babys.

You can always get assassin snail later on to control if you want.