My Neice bought two snails, some kind of "Horn" snail. They laid eggs, they hatched, then all her guppies died. What happened? I love snails but am afaid to put a couple in with my beta bowl guppies, who by the Brett, won't stop reproducing.

jane

i think you can put the snails in i have some snails in with my fish fry and they are doing great :)

:rolleyes: ive been told by a number of people that they have fry with snails,i soppose it all depends on the snail really.but i know fry are safe with apple snails,just dont use any chemicals in the tank with them especially white spot as it contains malachite which will kill snails.

The guppies may have died from an ammonia spike, perhaps from the extra snails but also the extra fish. Some snails reproduce a lot and some don't. The ramshorns are pretty good breeders. Snails will eat any stationary fish eggs or fry. Most newborn fry lay on the bottom for a short time. At that time, snails could eat them. Once the fry are free-swimming in a day or two, the snails can't get to them. In such situations, the snails can be helpful to eat up uneaten fry food as well as any deceased fry, helping to keep the fry tank clean.

Snails are sensitive to many so-called medications such as the malachite green and copper sulfate. Not all ick medications contain malachite green. Mine has the copper sulfate which, in low doses, does not kill the snails.

Thank you, I'll watch the ammoia...how would I do that? :blink:
Jane

Any fish store will have an ammonia test kit.