Who Has Japanese Trapdoor Snails?

[wendywc]

I might get snails again afterall. I had nerita snails. I bought them because I heard that they would need a brackish environment to reproduce. However, no one said they would still lay eggs anyway... on the glass, the heater, and all the rocks like crazy. I hated those eggs.

So anyway, I don't want to make the same mistake again by not asking for some personal experiences from people.

I've read that the japanese trapdoor are live bearers and only have a few snails twice a year. True? Do these snails have nice big fleshy antennaes? I ask because the neritas didn't; they had a pretty little shell, but disappointing looks otherwise IMO. Any personal pictures I could see would be welcome. And would a few be okay in my 30 gallon tank?

 

[Donya]

Trapdoor snails, Viviparids, tend to not have such a great survival rate in most tanks due to their temperature and food requirements (the latter bieng mostly soft algaes; not all individuals will eat other foods). There are 1 or 2 species that seem to fare well in warmer temperatures, but the majority of species in the pet trade require cool water below 70 degrees Fahrenheit with 75 often being the upper limit before they quit eating and die eventually. Generally they are ok in coldwater tanks or ponds, but not tropical tanks or tanks with nippy/curious/aggressive fish. Also, if they are content with the environment and you have a male and female, you will have far more than a few babies each a couple times per year. Some species, when in good health, can output little snails pretty continuously at a rate of a couple or more every week.