is it good for angel fish to eat snails???

[Magnum Man]

I've got a couple medium sized angels, in a 45 gallon, along with other fish... & in one batch of Java ferns, that I bought a while ago, I inherited some bladder snails I think there was a nest, as I noticed the babies 1st... & so did the black lace angel )... I already had some Inca Gold Snails in that tank, so was a little hesitant about hiring an assassin... well the bladders seem to be reproducing, & one angel wants nothing to do with them, & eats anything I put in the tank... the other, the black lace, actively hunts the snails, & has gotten really picky with food... I'm worried about the snail eater, as it's thin in the belly area, & the other kind of fat ( probably because it's eating both angels food )... I know their mouths are pretty small, but I'm wondering if the small snail shells might be harder for the fish to digest, & or pass... that black lace used to be very vibrant & active, both have been in the tank for about 3 months, with the black one actually about a month longer than the other angel ... now snail eater sits under the shadow of the drift wood I assume watching for snails small enough to eat ( he doesn't try to eat the larger ones ) he is pretty much not eating regular foods... once in a while he'll take a dried blood worm... he used to eat all the foods, like the other??? if he was a little fatter I wouldn't worry

 

[Colin_T]

As long as the snails are free of parasites (usually worm larvae), the angelfish is fine to eat them. However, if the angel is not eating anything else, that could be a problem. You could try live brineshrimp or frozen brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworms or mysis shrimp. you can also try raw/ cooked prawn/ shrimp or marine mix.

 

[Magnum Man]

I've not been able to ( easily ) find frozen foods, we don't have a decent fish store anywhere close... I have freeze dried brine shrimp, tubiflex, daphnia, & blood worms as well as several pellets & flakes... he used to really like the freeze dried brine shrimp

 

[sharkweek178]

I've not been able to ( easily ) find frozen foods, we don't have a decent fish store anywhere close... I have freeze dried brine shrimp, tubiflex, daphnia, & blood worms as well as several pellets & flakes... he used to really like the freeze dried brine shrimp

I love this brine shrimp hatchery. It is incredibly easy to use. The design is ingenious. My fish are small enough to just feed the baby brine shrimp. You could also set up a small tank to grow out the baby brine shrimp into adults and feed those to your fish.

Amazon.com

 

[jaylach]

I love this brine shrimp hatchery. It is incredibly easy to use. The design is ingenious. My fish are small enough to just feed the baby brine shrimp. You could also set up a small tank to grow out the baby brine shrimp into adults and feed those to your fish.

Amazon.com

Looks cool! I just ordered one to give a try. I don't know if my rope fish will scarf them up but I'm sure my cichlids will. Also looks pretty cheap to buy more eggs.

 

[Colin_T]

Do you have a supermarket nearby because most of them have a seafood section and you can buy raw or cooked prawns that are fresh or frozen. Keep them in the freezer and use one a day.

 

[Byron]

Bloodworms are not good food, especially the dry type, and this can cause intestinal issues. This holds for all freeze dried foods, I haven't used them for years Another thought, if the fish is taking food and spitting it out, that does not mean it is not eating; this is how most fish break off bits at a time.

 

[Magnum Man]

I actually used to buy frozen pop corn shrimp ( back then $1.00 a bag ) at the local grocery... I fed them whole to my Pacu & a couple others back then

 

[sharkweek178]

Looks cool! I just ordered one to give a try. I don't know if my rope fish will scarf them up but I'm sure my cichlids will. Also looks pretty cheap to buy more eggs.

The only thing you need to add is some salt for the water.

 

[jaylach]

The only thing you need to add is some salt for the water.

I always have salt. Just have to figure out how much salt to water as I don't have a hydrometer and not likely to get one. I'll probably make water in 1 gallon batches.

 

[sharkweek178]

I always have salt. Just have to figure out how much salt to water as I don't have a hydrometer and not likely to get one. I'll probably make water in 1 gallon batches.

5 level teaspoons per gallon. The hatchery holds a little less than one gallon.

 

[Magnum Man]

anyone remember Sea Monkeys??? ( maybe I'm just old )... anyway, they did not look like Monkeys... when I was a kid I always thought they looked like they would make a good live food...

 

[sharkweek178]

anyone remember Sea Monkeys??? ( maybe I'm just old )... anyway, they did not look like Monkeys... when I was a kid I always thought they looked like they would make a good live food...

They were brine shrimp, so yes.

 

[Magnum Man]

I'm still digging...
"Sea-monkeys is the marketing term used for a hybrid breed of brine shrimp" "artemia nyos"
I'm wondering if they really were "hybrid" or if they just said that... I was thinking they were a little larger than the typical brine shrimp???

Interestingly, I'm finding they were an actual hybrid...

"These brine shrimp were bred from various brine shrimp species and were named after the New York Oceanic Society."
"Artemia usually has a lifespan of two to three months. Under ideal home conditions, pet sea monkeys have been observed to live for up to five years" ( I doubt that )

but a larger variety of brine shrimp might make an interesting live food... if cross breeding generates hybrid vigor... that may be all the Sea Monkeys were, was a cross between two of the 5-6 types of artemia???

one last bit off the www...
"Keeping the original Sea-Monkeys alive was “a terrible struggle,” von Braunhut told the Sun; typically, just two of the shrimp would live for a month (the inventor got around their short life spans by offering a “sea-monkey life insurance policy,” good for two years after purchase). He and D’Agostino began cross-breeding shrimp from the genus Artemia to make a heartier species, which they named Artemia NYOS, after the Montauk, Long Island, lab (New York Ocean Science) where they were created."

 

[jaylach]

5 level teaspoons per gallon. The hatchery holds a little less than one gallon.

Thanks. Saves me from looking it up.