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Is this the Malaysian trumpet snail? I suddenly have an outbreak and I'm not
concerned but I still would like a positive ID. Thanks.

Is this the Malaysian trumpet snail?

Yup (unfortunately).

What is so bad about them?

They breed like rabbits and are damn near impossible to eradicate (I suffered an outbreak, dumped everything out, replaced the substrate, cleaned the tank and woodwork, and still did not manage to get rid of them).
A severe infestation looks somewhat unsightly (especially when the lights are out and the snails come out to feed), but would not harm the fishes otherwise.
If you can live with that, then it's fine, really.

All I have in the tank is a pair of Julidochromis marlieri (Burundi) and their fry.
I would add a botia but I'm afraid the Julidochromis will kill it. Maybe I'll try to remove
as many as I can by putting a piece of cucumber in and taking it out every night after
the snails are covering it. I do have AQUARI-SOL which contains copper salts and if I
remember correctly the copper salts will kill snails. What is your opinion on that idea?
I will be selling the fry soon and maybe the parents to because I want to use this 30
gallon long for a pleco breeding tank (imagine that). Maybe it would be best to treat
the tank when it has no fish inside and then I can do a 100% water change in preparation
for some catfish. This way I can hopefully eliminate the snails and change the water
chemistry at the same time.

I have had fairly good results with snail traps. And netting them out after dark when they gather on the front glass and surface, never managed to eridicate them but have kept them under check.

I have seen a snail trap recently made by a company called JBL, I haven't used it but was told it worked - but then again so would a plastic fast food container with holes cut small enough to let in snails but not fish. Costs the same but you get a free lunch!

As for Botias, I have found that only the larger ones such as B. modesta (blue or orange fin loach), B. macracanthus (clown loach) and large specimins of B. hymenophysa (tiger or banded loach) have any success against these particular snails, they seem to be a lot tougher for the fish to crack. I imagine puffer fish would make short work of them.

As Silurus mentioned they are generally nocturnal and spend the day hiding in the gravel, but when they come out en masse after food it isn't a pretty sight.

Not disagreeing with anything said in this thread, but just want to point out that 1) you get as many snails as there is left-over food & algae for them to eat, and 2) they actually do no harm, but perform useful janitorial service (e.g. leftover food & dead fish are quickly disposed of). Plus, these particular snails will tend to eliminate other nuisance species of snail through eating their eggs.

So they're not all bad. I certainly wouldn't use a toxic heavy metal like copper, which will kill micro-organisms, plants, and snails alike, plus potentially harm the fish, to get rid of them. Killing thousands of MTS's and have them rot in your sediment may also ruin your water quality.

But it can look gross/unnerving when the entire sediment is moving because there's tens of thousands of MTS's in it. Trapping with e.g. salad or cucumber works.

I really don't like to use chemicals in my aquariums unless it's absolutely necessary so I will
put up with the snails for now. Many years ago I had a problem with these same snails
and I used a skunk loach (Botia morleti) to eliminate them but with the spawning pair of
Julidochromis in the tank I can't use this tactic under my current circumstances. This pair of
fish are very aggressive and do not tolerate others. I'll try to remove as many as possible by
hand and maybe can come up with a good trapping method.

I was a little disturbed when I turned on my tank light and saw several large piles. I also
agree that a mass killing of snails could cause some water quality problems.
I found an interesting article here.

If you have another tank just set it up for your fish. Put your fish in and lace the other tank with saltwater or fill it with boiling water and you can have escargot.lol

Just some ideas.

Clown Loaches work well aswell.

Actually these snails (Melanoides tuberculata) need salt to build their shells so softer water
(when I switch over to a pleco spawning set up) may reduce their numbers substantially.

^thats interesting. you learn something new everyday

Even botia sp. will not be able to eat this species of snail. MTS (short for malaysian trumpet snail) are notoriously tough. "...only the giant Osphrononemus goramy seems willing to eat them. There may be a few cichlids that will eat them but I haven't found one yet." --from Alfred D. Castro's respone to a reader question in Aquarium Fish Magazine, March 1997, p. 17.

Some people want them to stir their substrate. So if you do have a lot, try selling them on ebay or aquabid. Most times they are free hitchikers at petshops.

I personally don't think lower ph will do a thing to harm them. The buggers survive just about anything: poor water quality, no filtration, no water at all (have discovered they can survive shipping for over 4 days with nothing but moist cotton), and even soap! I drop them in with my african clawed frogs, a shallow, unheated, unfiltered set-up, and there are still live MTS in there!

One reason you may only be noticing them now is because the babies (MTS are live-bearing) are tiny, smaller than a pinhead.

You can also get a plate and put lettace or zuccinni slices on it. Put it in the tank at night and lift up the snails that are on the plate in the morning and throw away. It is cheap and an easy way to control snails.

An MTS explosion is a sign that you're over-feeding your fish and there's excess food lying around.

As Silurus reports, even boiling and bleaching may not succeed in completely eradicating MTS. However, many Botias and puffers, and some Synodontis, X-doras and X-acanthicus among others, will keep the number of MTS down to the point that you'll rarely or never see them.

Malaysian trumpet snails are good for turning the substrate (getting in the gravel or sand and aerating it, making it a good environment for plants to take root in). They also will not eat plants, making them perfect for planted aquariums. Do pet stores usually sell these snails? I would like some because my plants are not doing the best. The sand in my aquarium packs down enough that the water doesn't flow between the grains.

How many would you like?
Email me yor address and I'll find a way to mail you some (if you really want them).

trumpetsnails are useful yes, unfortunately their mutiplying rate has a very bad effect.......

A severe infestation looks somewhat unsightly

true, but not my biggest problem.

MY problem is that every single one poops ammonia, and also their lifespan is really short.
they grow fast and then they die; an infested tank always shows lots of empty shells.

now ask yourself: what happened to the occupant?

disintegrated and busted up your waterquality, that's what happened!!

an infested tank often has a much bigger bioload of snails than of fish, in effect: you're keeping snails with fish as dithers!

the hard shells of the adults and subadults are impossible for almost any fish to cope with, yes, but now their fast growthrate and their short lifespan gives us a handhold on eraditcation:
the baby trumpetsnail.

baby trumpets do not have the sturdy house their elder siblings and parents posess; there are literally DOZENS of fish that can and do eradicate baby MTS!

-the better Botia species: B macracantha, B striata, B sidthimunki, B modesta, B morleti etc
-Puffers (although I'm not fond of them; they die at the drop of a hat when nitrates peak -often happens in a snailbusted tank- and nip other fish)
-Hoplo's and several Doradids eat baby snails! 1-2 days in the week without food will turn adult Kwi-kwi's and several Doradids into agile snailbusters, searching for tiny baby snails. the fact that MTS is nocturnal and pops up after dark works in advantage here.
-Megalodoras! if you have a big tank, THIS is THE fish for you. he even swallows loads of adult MTS digesting them.
-Victorian Haps! several Victorians feed on snails, I've found Labrochromis ishmaeli able to eradicate MTS; this particular species is extinct in the wild, but bred by hobbyists. it's a quite mildmannered fish for Victorian standards and ignores catfish, most of the time.
-Neolamprologus tetracanthus and N tretocephalus make short work of any MTS plague; these are suitable for Tanganyikan or Malawian tanks.