apple snails

[littlehattie]

my gma breought me some apple sanils for my 9 1/2birthday which for those who don't already know was yesterday, we had chinese and cake

well they are soooooooooo cute but have a couple of questions

are they ok in a community tank, will they do any damage or will anything damage them? I have heard that clown loaches are a bit mean to them

I have them in my fry tank at the mo (6 platys and 1 guppy, dont know where he came from) and they look really sweet. but how big will thwy grow, 1 have 12 will they breed what do they eat

help???!!??

Hattie

 

[Boggle]

Happy Birthday

As for the snails, they eat algae, lettuce, mine even eats brussel sprouts, algae wafers, and left over food eg shrimp and flakes.

Your water ph level should be above 7.0, or the snails' shells can get very damaged. You need to keep a lid on the tank where you keep them, because they can climb out.

If the snails are staying at the top of the tank, and breathing through a 'tube', it means there isn't enough oxygen in the water and you need to add an airstone.

It's hard to say how big they will get, as there is many different types of apple snails. Some get as big as 15cm!

Sometimes you will get snails that eat lots of the plants in your tank, but other than that, they don't really damage anything.

And yes, clown loaches can be very mean to snails, I have one that's 5cm, and they still try to pick on him!

If the snails are really small, chances are your clown loaches will eat them.

 

[Jimmy927]

clown loaches will eat them enyway. take them out of the tank with the loaches and and put them in a different tank.

 

[MissClaire]

clown loaches will eat them enyway. take them out of the tank with the loaches and and put them in a different tank.

yikes, I added some clown loaches on the weekend and noticed him having a bit of a 'nibble'
My apple snails are quite large, shell about the size of a 50c coin so they hang out of their shells are fair bit and are a easy target.....if I loose them, I loose them I guess...I much rather the clown loaches....but I heard if an apple snail dies it stinks out the whole tank is this true? (sorry to hijack your thread and happy birthday!)

 

[Jimmy927]

yes when a apple snail dies they add toxins in the water this cannot be reversed and all your fish die there is no way of curing the infected fish.
I want them but i dont want my fishys to die of toxins.


James

 

[MissClaire]

yes when a apple snail dies they add toxins in the water this cannot be reversed and all your fish die there is no way of curing the infected fish.
I want them but i dont want my fishys to die of toxins.


James

are you serious!?!?
They are going back!!!!!

 

[lady_tanksalot]

i have just brought some they're in my fry tanks cus they're so small, now i'm thinking they might need to go

 

[smithrc]

yes when a apple snail dies they add toxins in the water this cannot be reversed and all your fish die there is no way of curing the infected fish.
I want them but i dont want my fishys to die of toxins.


James

Ignore this advice - its poop.

I lost one last week... no adverse effects to the tank everyone in there is fine.

Just keep an eye on them. its normal for them to stay in their shell for a couple of days every now and again... but if they dont shut fully give them a quick tap, if they pull in - its still with you... if it dosnt move (or even flinch at all) it's dead and will need removing.

If you endup with a floater then it's starting to decompose and then it will smell.

 

[Discomafia]

yea, it's not like it can happen in a couple of seconds...

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Snails are cool. You can end up with too many of them... but they are cool. If you do end up with an excessive amount just put some in with your clowns.

I've never had any problems with dead snails, and the ones we had were the size of golfballs. Most of the time we didn't even notice they were dead till we found an empty shell in the tank, all the other fish ate the body.


Jimmy, I don't know who told you that, but it's just not true

 

[Jimmy927]

i found it in a book called THE QUIDE TO TROPICAL FISH i was looking through at my LFS and i saw what i said.
sorry if this gave enyone bad advice i am just repeating what i read.

 

[wetwetwet]

I have 6 apple snails between 3 to 5cm dia. and a couple of largeish clowns 10-14cm long and have had no problems (thats just me though)

As far as any damage - they have given my plants a right pasteing.

They generate a fair amount of waste also and should be included for stocking purposes.

yet to see any eggs from them though as they are no where near as prolific as common 'pest snails'.

Fascinating creatures though...



www

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Jimmy, it's cool, Don't worry about it. We all read something that we take as a fact because they seem to know more than we do, but don't realize it's just bunk.