Do Mystery Snails grow fast?

[dmpfishlover]

I have never kept Mystery Snails before. I bought three Mystery Snails about a week ago. When I put them in my aquarium, one of them was emmediately active and perusing the tank. The other two took a little while to become active and start moving around the aquarium.

One of them started moving around two or three days after it was added to the tank. The third one took a little while to "come out of it's shell" (pun intended..LOL). The third one didn't move until about 5 days after being added to the tank. Now all three of them (Sandy, Shelly and Carl) are all actively moving all around the tank. I absolutely love them. They are so interesting to watch!

I swear that one of them has grown significantly in the past week. Sandy looks like she/he has grown quite a bit since I added the snails to my tank. Are mystery snails known to grow really fast, or am I just imagining things?

 

[Retired Viking]

I had golden mystery snails and they were a lot of fun to watch until they went after my live plants. The only plants that seemed safe were my ferns, They are now in my bother-in-laws tanks where they can eat all the plastic plants they want.

 

[utahfish]

Depends on how many of your live plants they eat

 

[dmpfishlover]

I had golden mystery snails and they were a lot of fun to watch until they went after my live plants. The only plants that seemed safe were my ferns, They are now in my bother-in-laws tanks where they can eat all the plastic plants they want.

I heard that they only eat parts of plants that are dead or dying, and so far that has proven to be true? Hopefully it continues to be the case.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I heard that they only eat parts of plants that are dead or dying, and so far that has proven to be true? Hopefully it continues to be the case.

Mine have never touched my plants

 

[dmpfishlover]

Mine have never touched my plants

Everything I am reading online indicates that they don't eat live plants. What I am reading is that they will eat plants that are melting or dying, but won't eat live parts of a plant. All of the research I have done indicates that they eat algae and detritus (which includes dead plant matter)?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Everything I am reading online indicates that they don't eat live plants. What I am reading is that they will eat plants that are melting or dying, but won't eat live parts of a plant. All of the research I have done indicates that they eat algae and detritus (which includes dead plant matter)?

That seems to be correct. I think the only ones that eat plants are if they are misidentified and sold as mystery snails when they arent

 

[Aussie_Bristle]

Mine eat my frogbit and duckweed.

 

[utahfish]

Mystery snails and " apple snails" are very similar looking and often misidentified and while mystery snails arent voracious live plant eaters like apple snails they are known plant eaters. While google research and fish shops may suggest otherwise the numerous reports over the years if mystery snails eating plants suggest otherwise. About 10 years ago i worked at PetSmart and we were told to tell customers that purchase mystery snails that they eat plants. Numerous times we would have customers come in saying their mystery snail ate their plants. The snails you have now may just be eating dead leaves but once those dead leaves are gone chances are theyll look for other vegetation, namely your plants. If not lucky you! and still i wouldnt recommend them for planted tanks. To each their own though and good luck. They are fun to watch though.

 

[utahfish]

Mine eat my frogbit and duckweed.

Thats a good thing as those grow like weeds. Im constantly throwing handfuls of frogbit in the garbage so it wont take over the world.

 

[Retired Viking]

They sure went after my hornwort, moneywort and jungle val with a vengeance. When I bought them I was told they were golden mystery snails but apple snails do look similar and I was no snail expert at the time. They would just leave the bare stem.

 

[Aussie_Bristle]

Thats a good thing as those grow like weeds. Im constantly throwing handfuls of frogbit in the garbage so it wont take over the world.

not really when I can’t even get a good batch of floaters because they eat them

 

[Essjay]

When we could buy apple snails in the UK there were two species common in the trade. We have never used the term mystery snail, just brig apple snails and cana apple snails. Occasionally some of the other Pomacea species would show up in shops but brigs and canas were the common ones.
I think brigs are the ones you all call mystery snails, Pomacea diffusa. Brig is from the old latin name. These grew no bigger than a golf ball and only ate dead plants (in theory)
Canas, Pomacea canaliculata, grew to the size of a tennis ball and did eat live plants.

Of course many shops mis-identified them so you could by a snail labelled as a brig only for it to turn out to be a plant eating cana.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

When we could buy apple snails in the UK there were two species common in the trade. We have never used the term mystery snail, just brig apple snails and cana apple snails. Occasionally some of the other Pomacea species would show up in shops but brigs and canas were the common ones.
I think brigs are the ones you all call mystery snails, Pomacea diffusa. Brig is from the old latin name. These grew no bigger than a golf ball and only ate dead plants (in theory)
Canas, Pomacea canaliculata, grew to the size of a tennis ball and did eat live plants.

Of course many shops mis-identified them so you could by a snail labelled as a brig only for it to turn out to be a plant eating cana.

Just bought back a memory, years ago ago there were a whole load of yellow snails in my dad's tank, about the size of a normal snail, but a bright yellow. Then he was given a pair of botia, and the snails all mysteriously vanished, lol.

 

[Essjay]

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.