Right from time, even today, there has been a myth, and it is still being believed that the purpose of keeping snails in fish tank is for them to eat up the fish poops, thereby, keeping your aquarium clean. Well that’s just a myth and nothing more. But the issue is that, people do believe this, that even mystery snails could eat fish poops.
Do mystery snails eat fish poops? No, they don’t eat fish poop. As a matter of fact, no snail can eat fish poop. Snails can eat only algae and left over fish foods with other things, but not fish poop.
Mystery snail is one of the largest species of aquarium snails, infact they are so big that they eat alot and almost everything that comes their way, wonder why so many people do have the notion that they do eat fish poop, which is a pure fallacy.
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Although almost all species of aquarium snails, apart from assassin snails could eat all manner of things we call dirt’s, or waste, little wonder why people do believe for ages that they can also eat fish poops, especially mystery snails, judging from how big they are and how ferocious they could eat.
Although mystery snails and almost all snails could eat anything, but it has not been scientifically proven that they do eat fish wastes, infact, the reverse is the case here.
But people believing this doesn’t make it a fact, but only a myth!.
What do Snails do in Fish Tank
As Snails doesn’t eat fish poop, you might be thinking, ” what then do they do in fish tanks, and why would people put them there or believe they do what they believed they do?
What do Snails do in fish tank? Snails do help to clean up fish tanks by eating all the algae and leftover fish foods in fish tanks.
Like I mentioned before, snails can eat anything they could, and so helps in cleaning up the tank by going after some of the things that could dirty or contaminate the fish tank, with the exemption of fish poops and few other things.
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Although they do not literally eat fish poops, but could eat them by mistake.
That’s if smaller particles of the poops mix with what they want to eat, then they will have no option than to eat all.
Mystery snail does this alot.
Not all snails eat what we call rubbish, a specie of snail like assassin snails does not eat anything else apart from meat and sometimes rotten aquarium plants.
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But they are still very useful in fish tanks because they help to eat any dead fish, etc, thereby riding the tank off possible pollution and diseases that might emanate from having decaying or decayed aquarium animal in the tank.
So you see?, all fishes are important in fish tanks.
What Happens to Fish Poops in the Tank?
If snails do not eat them, then you might be wondering, ”what happens to them.
What happens to fish poops in tanks? Fish Poops do break into small pieces or particles after sometimes and then rest at the bottom of the tank.
There is no way fish poops could escape from fish aquarium if you don’t clean them yourself.
Don’t believe any myth telling you to do this or that, so that your fish poops could just vanish into tin air.
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Well, am sorry to disappoint you, it doesn’t work like that!.
Hoping on some myths or miracles could only lead to having a dirty tank and a hard water for your fish which could be very harmful to them.
The fact is, when fish poops break into smaller particles, they rest at the bottom of the aquarium, and if you have concrete and sand in there, then, it becomes somehow complicated because those particles will decay there and contribute alot to hardening your aquarium water.
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If you want to have a very hard water, then fish poops could do just that for you.
How to Remove Fish Poops from Fish Tank
Now, you know that snails can’t help you with cleaning your fish tank, then what next?.
To Remove Fish Poops from your aquarium, you will have to use either vacuum or remove the water entirely and clean the sand and stones.
We all know that once the poops rest at the bottom of the aquarium, if it has sand and stones in it, then there is every possibility that the poops will enter into the stone, caves and even mix with the sand in there.
So how do you remove them?.
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Although vacuum could help to filter them out of the water, but personally, I prefer doing it manually.
That’s removing the water and relocating the fishes to another tank, then remove the sand and replace it, remove the concrete and filter them before putting them back.
In that case, you should be able to boast of a 100% clean fish tank.
Do Crab Eat Fish Poop?
Also I have heard some stories about crab eating fish poops and so on. Many people do believe this too. But the question is, do they really do that?.
Do crab Eat fish Poop? No, crab do not eat fish poop. They do eat many things, including rotten things, but not fish poop.
Crabs, just like snails, shrimps, and crayfish could eat many things, including flesh, but when it comes to eating fish poops, no specie of crab does that.
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So if you can’t clean your fish tanks, and you are looking for crab or snail to eat up your fish wastes, then, you I’ll be highly disappointed, because non of them will
eats fish poops, not even ghost shrimps.
Does anything Eat Fish Poop?
Maybe you are still curious to know what do eat fish poop, since Mystery snails and others do not eat them.
Does anything Eat fish poop? Yes, only plants does that. They eat fish poop by absorb them from the soil once the poop mixes with the soil. There is no animal that is known for eating fish poop.
You might be wondering, ” how does plant eat them” well the answer is very simple, plants only eat things through their roots, and they absorb already formed nutrients in the soil.
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This means that before plants could eat your fish poops in your aquarium, that means the poops will have to decay in the tank and dissolve into the soil for plants in the tank to absorb them.
This might be the only way, but it is unbelievable, as you will only end up getting both dirty and contaminated water, which will definitely end up hurting both your fishes and any other creature in that tank.
Do Snails Eat Leftover Fish Foods?
Yes, they do help to clean up fish tanks by eating leftover fish foods and algae in the tank.
These leftover foods do contribute to aquarium dirtiness. So by eating them, they are helping to keep the tank clean.
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This might be the main reason ancient fish keepers do put snails in their fish tanks, in order to help them eat up leftover foods and algae in the tanks, which some people might have misinterpreted as eating fish poops.
Conclusion
Believe it or not, no animal can eat fish poop, not even a mystery snail. I will advise you to get a vacuum or clean your fish tank manually.