Do Mystery Snails grow fast?

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Those sound like brig apple snails Can't get them now though (or at least we shouldn't be able to get them) as the EU banned the import into and spreading of all species of apple snail within the EU. I know we've left but it'll be donkeys years before the governement get round to repealing it.

Yep, I discovered that when I saw someone selling purple mystery snails in the US, and really wanted to get some. They were cool! But apparently also banned? When I mentioned the yellow snails to LFS guy, he said they were banned.

Also got the last two water lettuce he had for sale, asked if he was getting any more in, and he said it looks like it might be banned for sale soon, invasive species reasons. Glad I got those before they were out of stock, and they propagate like mad, so I get it.

 

[Essjay]

One species of apple snail (I think it was P insularum) was found in a river in Spain so the EU decided to ban all apple snails throughout the whole EU, even in those countries where it's too cold for them to survive the winter.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Fingers crossed that my Mystery Snails don't start eating my plants... I will keep a close eye on them, and if there are signs that they are eating plants, I may have to consider re-homing them, sadly. I really hope they don't, as I really enjoy watching them glide around the tank. They are so interesting. I am considering getting some Nerite Snails as well. They don't eat plants do they?

 

[Essjay]

My nerites have never eaten any of my plants but they tend to be the ones that fish don't eat such as java fern and anubias.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Fingers crossed that my Mystery Snails don't start eating my plants... I will keep a close eye on them, and if there are signs that they are eating plants, I may have to consider re-homing them, sadly. I really hope they don't, as I really enjoy watching them glide around the tank. They are so interesting. I am considering getting some Nerite Snails as well. They don't eat plants do they?

Nope, nerites don't eat plants. They do however, poop a LOT, and tend to leave little white eggs everywhere which are a nightmare to remove.
Some people love em and don't mind the eggs, I just swear, two nerites pooped more than all my guppies. It showed up well in my light gravel.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Mystery Snails eat plants like a salad - be prepared for that.

If you want another cleanup snail that reproduces fast, I recommended BRH snails. If you want some cool looking snails, get Nerite Snails.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Nope, nerites don't eat plants. They do however, poop a LOT, and tend to leave little white eggs everywhere which are a nightmare to remove.
Some people love em and don't mind the eggs, I just swear, two nerites pooped more than all my guppies. It showed up well in my light gravel.

Hmmm.... not sure I want "pooping machines" in my tank! LOL

But they are pretty! I guess beauty has a cost, right?! LOL

 

[dmpfishlover]

Mystery Snails eat plants like a salad - be prepared for that.

If you want another cleanup snail that reproduces fast, I recommended BRH snails. If you want some cool looking snails, get Nerite Snails.

I have been considering Zebra and/or Tiger Nerites... They have such beautiful shells!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Hmmm.... not sure I want "pooping machines" in my tank! LOL

But they are pretty! I guess beauty has a cost, right?! LOL

Lol. It probably doesn't affect water parameters that much, maybe if you have a darker substrate, it won't show up so much! They tended to hang around on a piece of driftwood, and when I moved the driftwood, poop just poured off of it. Then they covered it in bright white eggs I had to chip off individually with a razor blade...

But I don't mean to sound so negative about them, I just found that to be kind of too much for me, and decided against getting any more right now. But it's good to be forewarned about the cons as well as the pros. They certainly did a good job cleaning algae. All that poop came from them munching through algae all day, and they were cute and fun to have as an addition. If there was a patch of algae on the glass, you could see little 'lawnmower' tracks where they'd been munching.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Lol. It probably doesn't affect water parameters that much, maybe if you have a darker substrate, it won't show up so much! They tended to hang around on a piece of driftwood, and when I moved the driftwood, poop just poured off of it. Then they covered it in bright white eggs I had to chip off individually with a razor blade...

Are you speaking of Nerites? Also, Nerite snails eggs can be removed with your finger nail, its as easy as that. (Only the females lay eggs. If you are lucky enough to get a male - no eggs.

I have been considering Zebra and/or Tiger Nerites... They have such beautiful shells!

I really like Zebra Nerite snails. They have such a long life and look really good. I like them much more than mystery snails, because they don't reproduce in freshwater.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Are you speaking of Nerites? Also, Nerite snails eggs can be removed with your finger nail, its as easy as that. (Only the females lay eggs. If you are lucky enough to get a male - no eggs.


I really like Zebra Nerite snails. They have such a long life and look really good. I like them much more than mystery snails, because they don't reproduce in freshwater.

Yes, nerites. Once the wood was out of the tank and dried, it took more than a nail to chip them off. Plus my driftwood was full of dips and crevices that were hard to reach into with a nail, so the point of a razor blade helped.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Yes, nerites. Once the wood was out of the tank and dried, it took more than a nail to chip them off. Plus my driftwood was full of dips and crevices that were hard to reach into with a nail, so the point of a razor blade helped.

No, I was speaking of what you said about them pooping a lot?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yep, they did. Seemed like so much poop from them every time I did a gravel vac or moved the driftwood. LFS guy reminded me that they eat algae all day. Lot of food going in, it's gotta come out.

 

[utahfish]

Fingers crossed that my Mystery Snails don't start eating my plants... I will keep a close eye on them, and if there are signs that they are eating plants, I may have to consider re-homing them, sadly. I really hope they don't, as I really enjoy watching them glide around the tank. They are so interesting. I am considering getting some Nerite Snails as well. They don't eat plants do they?

Nerites dont eat plants and will eat a ton of and lots of different kinds of algae. Super algae eating snail that doesnt reproduce in freshwater gets no bigger than a dime is ok by me. The white eggs depends on the snail.
Ive had nerites in the past lay lots of eggs my current nerite, none so far.

 

[LarsB]

Mystery snails live about a year. The fastest growing and those that SURGE are probably females.... males do not grow as large.
This is something I put together for my facebook page RG Guppy
'I read a long time ago, they were called Mystery Snails, because sometimes they just disappear! LOL
Actually, there are 3 species that original came into the hobby about the same time, and since they were so similar the confusion was left to mystery, so it was lumped together.
The common pet in USA is the least invasive species Pomacea diffusa, formerly known as Pomacea bridgesii, which lays pinkish eggs,

• then the others lay greenish clusters (Pomacea haustrum)
• yellow/orange to bright pink clusters, Pomacea canaliculata,
• also there are others Pomacea paludosa or Florida applesnail , Pomacea maculata or the island applesnail

Pest Snails I often wonder what starts the "hate the snail" thing. They are just part of letting you know your tank is thriving, also tells us when something maybe out of balance (like over feeding.... is the worst thing happening in most early aquariums!
I have 7 or six species of snails ( say that 10 x fast) and most are considered pest snails (amber & common ramshorn, pond snail (those little black ones you speak of) 2 types trumpet snail, golden mystery (2 other colors, too) , Spixi snails . Just saw on aquabid this guy selling ramshorns (I have a ton) for 25 for 1 cup - $13 shipping! dont hate on the lowly snail! hehehe
I pull out over populations with the fork/zuc/cuc trick, when a tanks gets close to out of hand... I have dried them out and crush for feeding back to mystery snails, garden, chickens... Hey, they ate the food, so back on the wheel!