Feeding help

[Jinty]

Hello, I have just a few hours ago collected my first 3 DP's. My lfs also gave me about 20 trumpet snails. Can these snails just live in the tank so that the trio can help themselves or should I keep them in a different tank?

Just discovered this forum Lot's of more reading to do.

[Pufferpunk]

Those are not snails most puffer can crush with their teeth, especially tiny DP teeth! They are known to actually be responsible for the breakage of puffer's teeth that are larger. They would be good for aerating your substrate & eating excess food & detritus in the tank but you need pond snails for food. Put them elsewhere, if you want them to breed.

[Jinty]

Thank you. I can see another ickle tank for breeding appropriate snails arriving soon then. What would be the best ones please?

[Pufferpunk]

library/feeding/basic-snail-breeding/

[Welch4]

I don't know if anyone else has had different experiences but my DPs don't eat the shell but rather suck the snail out of the shell. For this specific reason if I get any MTS (Malaysia trumpet snails) ,that hitchhike into my tank on plants or my rare snail runs to chain pets stores, i drop them into my DP tank rather than my gsp tank. Not sure how the MTS breed but as the articles PP posted mention common pond and ramshorns are great options. Pond snail will breed faster but the ramshorns have more meat to them.

[Jinty]

library/feeding/basic-snail-breeding/

Thank you, basic and easy then. Fab!

I don't know if anyone else has had different experiences but my DPs don't eat the shell but rather suck the snail out of the shell. For this specific reason if I get any MTS (Malaysia trumpet snails) ,that hitchhike into my tank on plants or my rare snail runs to chain pets stores, i drop them into my DP tank rather than my gsp tank. Not sure how the MTS breed but as the articles PP posted mention common pond and ramshorns are great options. Pond snail will breed faster but the ramshorns have more meat to them.

I've read that as well that they suck the snail out and don't eat the shell. Very mixed info on the web which is why I am so glad I found a forum dedicated to the fish, owner experience counts a lot!

[RTR]

MTS are the worst pest snail in FW and light BW. It is correct that DPs do not have dental plates hard enough to crush snail shells in general, so those fish do ordinarily "bite and slurp" the soft body out of its shell. But it is also true that MTS are also highly dangerous to many snail-easting puffers, especially as they seem to be partenogenic females, being born pregnant such that a single snail can eventuually dominate an entire tank with their offspring. Due to that, they are never advised for anyone keeping snail-eating puffers. The risk is just too great.

The only way to clear MTS infestations is breakdown with boiling or baking all substrate and rock-work. That is smelly indoors and difficult outdoor. That is why I QT everything that has every possibly been exposed to tanks. They are not ever suggested for folks who might ever keep puffers. Long-term they are just too risky.

NIMFT, not ever.

[Jinty]

Thanks RTR for your input. Thankfully I now have a 20l tank set up and has 5 rams horn snails in it purely to breed for my puffers.