Quick Snail Question

[PrairieSunflower]

Nelly is like a snail on drugs... she is unstoppable... quite hyperactive.  LOL
 
My betta did attempt to nibble one of the spikes on her shell and got a big surprise and flung himself across the tank.  He has stayed away since.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Nelly is like a snail on drugs... she is unstoppable... quite hyperactive.  LOL
 
My betta did attempt to nibble one of the spikes on her shell and got a big surprise and flung himself across the tank.  He has stayed away since.

 

 

[l_l_l]

Aren't mystery/apple snails the same thing?

 

[Meeresstille]

Aren't mystery/apple snails the same thing?

That's what I thought too, but did not want to say anything, thinking I must have gotten it wrong! lol

 

[Ch4rlie]

Have been trying to find this out, but there seems to be a general confusion about this. Think it is down to LFS labelling Apple Snails as 'mystery snails'.
 
Could be wrong though, I'd like to point to this website, I find fairly reliable for decent info on shrimps and snails, see what you think...
 
http/www.planetinverts.com/apple_snail.html

 

[Meeresstille]

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomacea_bridgesii
 
http/www.iucnredlist.org/details/189088/0
 
Maybe the more experienced members can point us in the right direction?

 

[Ch4rlie]

This might help...
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/196888-brig-apple-snails/

 

[Meeresstille]

Apple snails can be divided into 8 genuses: Afropomus, Asolene, Felipponea, Lanistes, Marisa, Pila, Pomacea and Saulea. These cover about 120 different species of snails, but since it is very difficult to tell them apart, there actually will be less species than that. The most obvious differences can by found on the shell, but some species look so alike, that you can't tell them apart just by simply looking at them, or their shells look nothing alike only because of some external forces, not because of the DNA. 
 

• Afropomus
  Comes from small part of Central Africa and it is quite rare. Only one Apple snail belongs here: Afropomus balanoideus. It's body is black or gray, the shell is yellow or brown with dark lines and the breathing tube with the tentacles are short.
  
  Asolene
  They can be found in two parts of South America. One is in Paraguay and Southeastern Brazil and the second is near the Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay borders. The most distinguished difference between other and this genus is the short breathing tube. They live in fast streams full of air, so they do not use it very often. Snails from this genus are divided into two sub-genera Asolene and Pomella. But since Asolene makes its cocoons under the water and Pomella above it, biologist think the whole Pomella sub-genera should be under Pomacea genus.
  
  Asolene (Asolene) spixi have a golden shell with variously wide almost black bands on it. Each of these bands start at the shell opening and end by the shell's spiral. This is one of the slowest Mystery snail and you won't see them much during the day, since they spend it berried in the substrate. If the temperature is not high enough, they won't even get out of it at all. 
  
  Asolene (Pomella) megastoma's shell spiral is almost totally flat and the shell can grow up to 10 cm. It often looks fragile and damaged with something that looks like little holes, but it is normal and the shell despite it's looks is strong. It can be brown to green, the foot is beige but the corners of are purplish and it is decorated with yellow dots. As mentioned, this Mystery snail leaves his cocoon above the water and the eggs are pink. They can be found in rivers with fast streams, so their hold is very strong and it is quite hard to move them once they take hold of something in the tank. 
   
• Felipponea
  Felipponea is a genus that comes from a small part of South Amerika somewhere between Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. They live in rivers with strong streams and their shell is more aerodynamic than shells of other Apple snails. The shell's spiral is on the right side, but it is pointed more to the back than by other Mystery snails. And because, in nature, it lives in waters rich on oxygen, and it hardly ever uses it's very short breathing tube. Since they spend so little time above the water, it is understandable that they also leave their eggs under the water. 
  
  Only tree species belong into this genus and Filipponea neritiformis is one of them. The shell is somewhere between brown-green and it is a bit easier to tell a female from a male with this species. The female's shell opening is longer, but nearer than a male's. Their body is dark brown. 
   
• Lanistes
  In nature, they are almost all over Africa. The main difference between these and other Ampullariiadae snails is, that their shell's spiral is not on the right, but on the left side and their breathing tube is very short. 
  
  Lanistes lybicus is one of the snails in this genus. It's body is brown and the shell is light brown to dark brown. They make their cocoon under the water and since they will not eat any or your aquarium plants, they are plant safe. 
   
• Marisa
  This genus lives only in tropical forests of South America and only the Marisa cornuarietis specie belongs here. Since it is so different from other Ampullariidae snails, it is often not even recognized as one of the Apple snails. It is because their shell looks more like a ramhorn snail's, which is why they are sometimes called giant ramhorn snails in the aquarium trade. The shell is narrow, tall and almost flat, with the spiral not pointing into any direction, but to the inside of the shell. The shell can be yellow to dark brow with or without any stripes and it can be as high as 6 cm. The body is light with dark-brown or black markings or it can be dark with yellow markings. They lay their eggs under the water. 
   
• Pila
  Mystery snails from this genus can be found in almost every river of Africa and in the south of Asia. They make white cocoons above the water. 
  
  Pila ampullacea's shell can grow up to 10 cm and the shell can have various colours on it. It can have yellow, green or even red stripes and the stripes can be either horizontal or vertical. The shell itself is globose, smooth and the shell's spiral is standing out only a little in comparison to most of the Apple snails. They eat various plants and algae, so they are not suitable for aquarium with plants and in some countries they are seen as food and eaten. 
  
  Pila globosa is very similar to Pila ampullacea. The only difference is, that globosa's shell opening is a bit wider. These snails are mostly used as food for shrimps on shrimp farms in Asia. 
  
  Pila virens has brown to black body with a light underside of the foot. The shell's spiral is much more defined than by the above mentioned ones. The shell can grow up to 7 cm and it can be green to brown with lighter stripes. It will eat all the plants in the tank. 
  
  Pila wernei is one of the biggest Apple snails. It can grow up to 13 cm. The shell's spiral is short and bulky. In nature, it mostly lives in calm waters were it feeds on various plants. 
   
• Pomacea
  This is the largest genus. It comes from South and Middle America, but it was introduced into South Asia where they wanted to breed it for food (it was the Pomacea canaliculata species). But it's taste was not very good and it eventually escaped into the wild, where it now destroys rice fields. Pomacea is the most common Mystery snail. It breeds above the water and it has long breathing tube and tentacles. 
  
  If you walk into a store where they sell snails, it is very likely that it will be one of the Pomacea genus. Specificity it should be thePomacea diffusa. Pomacea diffusa and Pomacea bridgesii were for long time seen as one specie, but after a mitochondrial DNA test, they were divided. The test showed, that Pomacea bridgesii is very rare, so if you see one in a pet shop, it probably really is aPomacea diffusa. 
  
  The tops of diffusa's shell's spirals are almost straight lines and flat, and their angle is very close to 90° with the shell opening. It can grow up to 6,5 cm and it can be golden, brown, black with or without stripes. The body is usually yellow with markings, but rarely it can have dark body with an almost white shell. It will eat decomposing plants and ordinary fish food and vegetables. The cocoon stuck above the water will get pink after few days. 
  
  Pomacea canaliculata is another common Mystery snail in pet shops. The shell can be brown, brown-green, light brown, light brown-green, golden, with stripes or without them and it can grow up to 7,5 cm. The shell opening by diffusa is shaped almost like a leaf where the point points in the same direction as the spiral, but by canaliculata, the point is bent almost vertically to the spiral. It will eat aquarium plants and it's cocoon will turn orange. 
  
  Pomacea maculata is the biggest Apple snail. It can be somewhere around 15 cm. The shell is green with delicate black stripes and when you peek inside, it should have dots there. It is not commonly kept in tanks, but their cocoons are green. 
  
  Pomacea flagellata flagellata has one of the prettiest shells of them all. The shell opening is almost a perfect teardrop, and the spirals on the shell are very smooth. The shell itself can grow up to 6 cm, it is dark-brown-green with lighter stripes. At one point the lip of a males shell will start to grow outwards. Some say it is to block other males from mating with a female while one is already on her. This Mystery snail loves plants and will have no problem with eating up the whole tank. The cocoon will turn gray once it dries. 
   
• Saulea
  Saulea is very similar to Pomacea. The only difference is, that Saulea has a short breathing siphon. They are rare and live only in small part of Africa, somewhere around Guinea and Sierra Leone.

 
from:
http/www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=mysterysnails

 

[PrairieSunflower]

My understanding has always been that there are several types of apple snails like above, that apple snails can also be labelled in LFS as "mystery snail".... but that "mystery snail" can also sometimes include other types of similar looking snails.

 

[Donya]

Nelly is a Clithon corona. Regarding the escaping, Nerites are prone to falling over the side on open-topped tanks where there isn't much space above the waterline since they naturally explore just above it. From what I've heard from others who have kept this species, it usually is fine with enough space above the waterline and/or a lid. However, as with other Nerite species, if it does persistently stay above the waterline (most time out of the water) or try to escape on a daily basis, then that's a pretty clear sign that the water is not right for it, usually being a salinity issue (or rather a lack of it in fw for some snails collected from a brackish environment - mainly a risk for Neritina reclivata but sometimes for other too).
 

Aren't mystery/apple snails the same thing?

 

 
Common names are terrible for accurate snail IDs. Scientific names are the only way to avoid ambiguity. In this case, depending on the region and seller, both names can refer to various Pomacea species (not just one) as well as sometimes Viviparid species. Large Viviparid species like Cipangopaludina chinensis are sometimes called "mystery snails" and "apple snails" or "Chinese apple/mystery snails" despite the fact that "apple snail" more properly refers to species in Ampullariidae. Similarly, Pomacea diffusa and Pomacea canaliculata have often been called "mystery snails" in the aquarium trade. 
 
 

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Nelly hasn't come out of the water even a single time so far.
 
She excels in hiding and seems to find a place to hide in every other day.  LOL