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So, what is your take on freshwater snails? I want snails that will eat dead things and algae but not my plants. And I want to avoid parasites, toxicity, and overwhelming population growth....

To be put in a 30 gal planted, community tank with fish all under 2-2.5"

I have had a few in the past....mystery and ramshorn, but never felt I got good advice.

Thanks!

My experience has been that all apple snails and most ramshorn snails (the columbian ones - big'uns) will eat live plants.

I have heard that Japanese Trapdoor snails will leave the plants alone, but have never tried it.

It has always been my understanding that ALL snails eat plants,
but it's possible that Japanese trapdoor don't.

We normally only use japanese trapdoor in ponds outdoors.
We can see snail damage but there's also always local small Pond Snails present.

Short answer is I don't know but I doubt that they do not eat plants.

I have a lot of the Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) in my heavily planted 39 gal tank. They do not damage the plants. They are beneficial in that they will burrow through the upper layers of the substrate, very earthworm-like, but without damaging roots. They are shy, and mostly nocturnal. After lights out on my tanks, I can see them rise from the substrate, up the side of the glass (quite a troupe of them now!), and start tooling around for the night.

I think they're great, and have introduced them to my other planted tanks.

There are two main varieites. Both have long, conical, trumpet-shaped shells, and average 3/4" long, not exceeding 1.25" long (the 2 yr old "big mama" of my tank). They are trapdoor snails, meaning they have an operculum which they can shut tightly. They are also livebearers, meaning they give rise to fully formed, but miniature baby snails, rather than laying eggs. The plain type has a dark grey to brownish shell, with little ridges around the opening. The "mocha & cream" type have a light tan shell, with darker brown flecks throughout. The ridges at the opening seem less prominent to me. They will interbreed, too, producing a snail with a medium dark shell and slightly darker flecks.

HOWEVER, be aware that once you decide to introduce MTS, they will be with you until you tear the tank down.

Because they burrow, they would be hard to eliminate from the tank, as there would almost always remain a few that are buried and can elude you. As they are trapdoor snails, they can survive loaches trying to eat them. Being livebearers, they reproduce quickly, and are not subject to egg-eating fish. Another caveat is that if solitary, they can self-fertilize.

So, consider carefully if you really want them.

That said, I am a big fan of MTS. They do not damage my live plants, yet will eat debris, including dead stems of plants that die with normal growth turnover. I also have the mini ramshorns, which are egglayers. I have few of them, as the sparkling gouramis eat the eggs.

Other well regarded algae eating snails are Olive Nerites. These will lay infertile eggs. They only successfully reproduce in brackish water, so you're guaranteed to be able to control the population.

Apple Snails eat plants.

Ditto for "Mystery" Snails (brigsii). Brigs will prefer other food, but aren't above making a salad of your plant centerpiece.

Columbian Ramshorn Snails (the big 1"+ ones) will DESSIMATE plants.

Pond Snails will eat algae until they run out, then will eat plants. These guys have a football-shaped shell. They will also reproduce like crazy. They do not have an operculum though, (can't close a trapdoor) so loaches will happily feast on them. Early on, I used a loach brigade to get rid of them. I think the MTS are highly preferable. (Go Loaches!)

In a heavily planted tank, algae eating shrimp are handy, too. I keep a fleet of cherry reds. They're always busy delicately picking at the plants, and my tank is remarkably algae-free.

Hope this helps!
-Jane

my experience is the same as jane's,except that if i see
any snails i will introduce loaches to eradicate them.i hate
them all.
trumpet snails appear to eat plants,however what they eat
is older,decayed plant leaves and algae.
pond snails-_ (you do not want to introduce these to your
tank-ugly and reproduce like crazy).

Hmmm, I've never found snail damage in my MTS-only tank. But then, I'll put in an algae wafer now and then, and the snails will swarm it like bees.

Also, I've just found this adorable little snail (so far, called "mini Mystery" snails, some member of the Viviparidae family) that simply DO NOT damage live plant matter. They'll starve if there is not enough algae, and while livebearers (viviparous) they reproduce very slowly.

They're very tiny, and will travel out to the very tips of small leafed plants in search of algae. They also seem to eat black-spot algae, yippee!

More about these guys as I learn more!
-Jane

what is
MTS-only
?

Oh, sorry. My MTS-only tank has only Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

I was referring to the snail-population in the tank, not that they're the only inhabitants.

That tank is a planted 20H, with Yo-Yo loaches, Bolivian Rams, Australian Desert Gobies (newly removed from another tank where they consumed all the juvenile Cherry Red Shrimp (*ouch*)) and some Gardeneri Killies. Weird combo, but all semi-agressive.

The MTS (Malalysian Trumpet Snails) are the only snails who can survive the fish inhabitants!

My point was that in that tank (where there are only MTS) I've never seen any snail damage. A previous poster said they will eat plants, but I've seen no evidence of that. They will eat DEAD plant matter, as well as algae and other leftovers, but I've never had them damage live plants.

Sorry to confuse!
-Jane