I have found that my CRS tank has acquired some unwanted snail’s i.e. Ramhorn, Trumpet and common tiny freshwater snails.
Looks like they were hiding in the plants that I got for the tank.
Any idea how do CRS cope with these, is it ok to have snails or I should start getting worried.
As I know, snail population will grow exponentially if not controlled and they my start competing with CRS for algae and plants.
Shrimp compete directly with snails for food. Shrimp have a huge advantage over snails, though...they are MUCH faster at finding and eating the food. However, if there is already a thriving snail population, then it will be difficult for a couple of shirmp to outcompete them right away. Over time, though, the shrimp should be the dominant invertebrate in the tank.
The other disadvantage of snails is that they are additional bioload in the tank and thus adversely effect water quality with their plentiful excrement.
there is a simple rule with puffer fish; they eat what they can catch. puffers also like crunchy things like snails or shrimp legs. if you get a small enough puffer he will only dismember your shrimp. if you get a larger one he will out-right eat them.
is the tank planted? if not try adding salt. a lot of salt. keep addind till the water can no longer bond with the salt. of course remover your cherrys and anything else you wish to keep alive before adding the salt. let it sit for a while to kill all the eggs then do a 100% water change several times to get the salt out, and resetup your tank.
if that is in practical, try a loach maybee. they will never completly eliminate your snail infestation, and im not sure if they will attack your snails. though, probubly not.
or simply remove snails from your tank each day until the cherrys can compet.
having said that not positive. I keep mine well fed and they dont bother my woods and nonbreeding species. Maybe i am lucky. check mustafa, he will know.
OT: Speaking of dwarf puffers, will they eat guppies? I was specifically thinking of a pea puffer. I'm hoping they can co-exist with guppies and eat snails
I keep my dwarf puffers with my Yamato, CRS and the babies and they leave the babies alone. My puffers have very good behaviours and I am lucky that they literally ignore the shrimps.
My puffs also do not bother shrimps. I also have ottos and true SAEs with them and a few bristlenoses. They occasionally harass the SAEs (nice fins) - so I'd say no to the guppys, probably too big a temptation. They wont eat them (they might eat tiny babies muhaha) they'll nip their finsa and chase them around alot I expect. Plant the tank heavily jungle theme and it would be better. Saying that, you have to try to find out really. What works for some doesnt for others. USually fine with shrimps and ottos tho.
Puffers have individual personalities. The dwarf puffers might or might not harass the adult shrimp (they definitely can't "eat" them), but if they do, they might harass some of them to death. Others will not even look at the shrimp twice and leave them alone.
However, ALL of them will make a quick snack out of shrimp hatchlings and very young shrimp. That's part of their natural diet after all (small invertebrates).
As to their efficiency as snail eaters, I doubt they can do much damage with their tiny mouths. I've kept them with M. tuberculata ("Trumpet Snail") before and they never ate a single snail. They seem to prefer life and freeze dried food to any snail I have seen. On the other hand, they might eat very tiny pond snails and tiny ramshorn snails since they cannot seal their shells. However, I doubt they can do damage to mid-sized and larger snails at all.
Of course...this is all just my experience with them and others may not agree.
