will mystery snails eat eggs?

[jimmilfish]

Hi,
finally 2 months ago bought 2 discus (,my first since I lost 10 when on a holiday and came back to about 2 cm of uneaten food due to there carer missing feeds and then tripling up.)Last week they spawned on a thermometer,this week they started laying on the thermometer and half way through moved to a spawning cone.Soon after they ate the eggs on the thermometer and were tending the ones on the cone.This morning eggs were gone,possibly they ate them in the dark or would a large mystery snail be the culprit?
Cheers
jim

[Merrilyn]

Hi Jim, unfortunately mystery snails or any snail for that fact, will eat eggs. What they don't eat, they destroy. Snails in the breeding tank is not a good idea, however, they are ideal in the fry grow out tank, as they will eat any left over food.

Snails also need fairly hard water to supply the calcium they need for their shell. Not the ideal water for getting a good hatch of discus eggs, which need very soft water to be fertilized.

Best to keep your snails for the grow out tank, where both the fry and the snails will benefit from the harder water.