# I have life!



## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

Other than my plants of course...found some snails on the glass & plants yesterday. Oh yeah....!

29G Biocube planted tank was started on NYE, with EcoComplete & 6 plants. I thought only reef tanks while cycling you get cool free creatures, but apparently not.

I tried to take pics even with my new 35x zoom on my camera, but I couldn't get a clear take on any of them because of their size....otherwise I would've posted some here.

Anyhoo, still waiting for the QT to finish cycling, so that I can finally get some swimmers.

QT was started on 12/27.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Are they in the shape of a horn or the shape or a snail?


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## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

Horn? Not sure what you mean. I'd say snail.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

There's 2 types of snails most people get with their plants. Common pond snails and MTS. Either way, you'll probably want to invest in some Assassin snails to keep their numbers manageable, as they breed profusely.

Or, you could let them breed out of control and use them as a cleanup crew. They are great at tank wall cleaning, gravel bed cleaning, and they're fun to look at.

Note: MTS = Malaysian Trumpet Snails.


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## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> There's 2 types of snails most people get with their plants. Common pond snails and MTS. Either way, you'll probably want to invest in some Assassin snails to keep their numbers manageable, as they breed profusely.
> 
> Or, you could let them breed out of control and use them as a cleanup crew. They are great at tank wall cleaning, gravel bed cleaning, and they're fun to look at.
> 
> Note: MTS = Malaysian Trumpet Snails.


I'm going to get a couple Cherry Shrimp as part of my clean up crew eventually. 

Assassin snails? Where do I get these?

Do I have to wait for the tank to finish cycling to get my shrimp? Can Assassin Snails co-habitate with shrimp?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

igot2gats said:


> I'm going to get a couple Cherry Shrimp as part of my clean up crew eventually.
> 
> Assassin snails? Where do I get these?
> 
> Do I have to wait for the tank to finish cycling to get my shrimp? Can Assassin Snails co-habitate with shrimp?


Assassin snails can be found at LF-specific stores, usually LPS's like PetsMart and Petco won't sell them. You can also have them shipped. And I would wait until your tank is finished cycling, because Assassins aren't cheap ($1-$2 per snail).


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

igot2gats said:


> Other than my plants of course...found some snails on the glass & plants yesterday. Oh yeah....!
> 
> 29G Biocube planted tank was started on NYE, with EcoComplete & 6 plants. I thought only reef tanks while cycling you get cool free creatures, but apparently not.
> 
> ...


plants in Fw as well as macros/live rock in marine tanks come with hitchhikers.

Every planted tank I have started has always had a large snail bloom. then a year later only a few are left. The bloom comes from eggs on the plants which at first have no preditors (like fish) and therefore have a very high hatch rate.

If you look really really close (like with a magnifying glass or microscope you should also see a bunch of fw pods. Just like macros in salt tanks. If you don't see them you will see your first fish constantly picking on the plants. Obviously they know they are there. *old dude

my .02


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> There's 2 types of snails most people get with their plants. Common pond snails and MTS. Either way, you'll probably want to invest in some Assassin snails to keep their numbers manageable, as they breed profusely.
> 
> Or, you could let them breed out of control and use them as a cleanup crew. They are great at tank wall cleaning, gravel bed cleaning, and they're fun to look at.
> 
> Note: MTS = Malaysian Trumpet Snails.


I always have snails in my tank and never had a problem with them. I only get big populations when I overfeed the fish.


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