So i just came across my first snail today. I did some reading and if you put lettuce in your viv before you go to bed, you will attract most of them to it, and than can pull it out in the morning. I will do this.
However, what i want to know, and why i am writing this thread is to ask you guys if my tank is "doomed" with a snail problem for all of eternity. I have multiple, rare pepperomia, ficus, brom and orchid species living in this viv, all worth a fair amount of money - as it is my main display tank. Are any of these guys going to be harmed by these wretched encased demons? If so, I will buy the lettuce by the crate.
Is this a frog tank? I find that snails seem to like the spilled supplements more than the plants. But, then, I don't have many special plants in my vivs. Maybe they are tastier.
I'd do the lettuce thing. Just be sure to check it early, before they go hide. I find that cucumber works too. Maybe even better. They get down into the holes left by the seeds.
Yeah, iv'e had tiny little snails for a while and they have never really done anything (they must just eat random crap in the dirt like springtails). I wouldn't worry about it, Its the slugs that are the real trouble anyway.
Haha thanks guys. Earlier yesterday I saw a skinny whitish worm crawling over the leaf litter. It was about 1mm wide And and maybe 6 or 7mm long. That's not some weird tropical slug that I don't know about is it? These 'slugs' you talk about are just ordinary looking slugs I hope.
Nemerteans have a disgusting proboscis that they shoot out. You'll see it as they climb around on the glass. Hate them. As far as I know, neither will hurt the frogs. My tree frogs ate the nemerteans. Which really grossed me out. Nemerteans will eat your microfauna, so, they're a pain.
microfauna, microshmauna.. I have enough springs on the go to keep any froglets alive. But, what about other stuff.. what all consists of microfauna in a vivarium setup?
Microfauna refers to any and all bug/beasties that live out a full life cycle in your viv and breed in your viv. Some are desirable and some are not.
This can be springtails, isopods, nematodes, nemerteans, spiders, mites, worms, etc.
The microfauna that we normally try to deliberately establish is generally springtail species and isopod/woodlice species.
Nematodes and nemerteans are often confused. Nematodes are harmless scavengers. They are often blamed for egg deaths but they do not harm eggs. They only feed on dead things. (Eggs were dead already, the nematodes and simply cleaning up the mess) Nemerteans are the Devil himself. If you get them, they will decimate your springtail population. They will compete with your frogs to get the fruit flies. A good isopod population can sometimes co-exist with nemerteans.
Actually I would be willing to bet that there are a lot of nematodes in the tank... There are potentially one million species of nematodes of which only about 28,000 have been identified and of those 16,000 are parasitic... To say that it is unlikely to have any parasitc nematodes in the tank is a mistake.. At the very least, the snails are probably infected with thier own parasitic nematodes which won't infect frogs are still parasites....
Not that it matters but they probably came from your plants. I introduced new broms to my pumilio tank and found slugs eating my tads.
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