Choosing the right snail for a planted tank

[sSjey]

I'm still wondering why they were banned over here for a while. It all started when one species of Pomacea snail showed up in a Spanish river, and before you knew it, the EU had banned importing and breeding all Pomacea snails across the board. Initially, they even wanted to stop plant imports from areas where these snails are native, but they eventually settled on requiring a snail-killing chemical treatment for those plants.

I was taken aback when the UK government decided to lift this ban after Brexit. I genuinely thought it'd be low on their to-do list and that we'd have to wait decades for a change.

Edit to add - just a heads up, Pomacea snails are now only allowed in England, Scotland, and Wales. They're still off-limits in Northern Ireland.

[fineman]

I've got a couple of nerite snails in my 29-gallon tank and a single one in my 5-gallon. They've been doing a fantastic job of keeping the glass algae-free, which was a bit of an issue in both tanks before I added them.

[Fable]

I'm quite fond of apple mystery snails, personally. They're fast growers, and if you're into that sort of thing, they come in a wide variety of colours.

I've heard they can totally destroy planted tanks.

[Fable]

What's the tank size you're working with? I'm a fan of mystery snails, they've got so much character. My rule of thumb is one per 5 gallons - so a single snail in a 5g tank, or two in a 10g tank. But honestly, they're happy to live alone if you only want one. They grow to a nice size too, roughly golf ball-sized, or a bit bigger. I also have ramshorn and bladder snails in my tanks, and while they're cool, they do breed pretty quickly.

I'm starting my silent cycle with the snails in a 13-gallon tank.