Colombian Ramshorns :)

[Damodred]

Well guys and gals, here comes my first attempt at hatching a clutch (two actually!) of Colombian Ramshorns.
Here are the eggs, which (I believe) were laid on 12/13/08.
Long shot of the eggs in a plastic breeder:
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/1207/snaileggs1jh4.jpg

Close-up shot:
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/470/snaileggs2iu2.jpg

And here are some shots of the proud(?) parents:
2 parents:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1639/snails1ch9.jpg

1 parent & my lovely BN:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5823/snail1ph8.jpg

And here's why they're in the breeder:
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/7617/tigers1pf0.jpg

Please excuse the cruddy pics; I'm still getting used to aquarium photography. It's a lot harder than some of you make it look!

[msjinkzd]

They look very healthy! Such cool snails! We don't see them posted much in the forums, I am glad you are going to post pics.

[Damodred]

Thanks! I'll keep it updated as time allows... Finals next week. :(

[msjinkzd]

oh that tricky school stuff! Keep us updated as you can! I have yet to find these snails locally. They are quite nice looking.

[Lupin]

Lovely!

[Damodred]

There was another clutch on the glass when I got up this morning, so there are now three separate clutches in the breeder. :D

[grannylvsfish]

Are these the bigger rams horns? I mean I got rams horns, but do these get bugger? and the eggs are cool looking, not like my rams horn eggs.

[Damodred]

Yeah, they're also known as Giant Ramshorns. I believe they generally grow to 4-5cm. I have 8 of them that are 3-4cm. Mine came from a friend who kept them in a small tank, so I don't know if mine will get any bigger or not.

Edit -- Scientific name is marisa cornuarietis.

[grannylvsfish]

I just went and read up on them. there neat. but they eat plants. none for me.

[Damodred]

Yep, they're confined to my 'fake plant only' tank. :)

[Bettacreek]

Oohh! Great shots! I'm supposed to be getting some in either Tuesday or Wednesday (still haven't checked to see if she's a zone 1 or zone 2), and I can't wait. Post more pictures to hold me over until I have my own to oogle over!

[Damodred]

Since you asked... :)

Here's a couple of them. You can see the deteriorated shell on the left one:
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/2350/snails4yj4.jpg

I managed to get half of the snails in one shot & again you can see a deteriorated shell:
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7134/snails5gm8.jpg

I couldn't resist this one... I <3 my BN and he's hard to get photos of... so quick!:
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/4287/snailandplecocs1.jpg

Enjoy! Be sure to post pics of yours when they arrive. :D

[Lupin]

Nice snails.:D

[fishorama]

Pretty! Cute BN too,

[Damodred]

Pretty! Cute BN too,
Thanks! You can't really see it, but the BN has one big bristle right in the middle of his nose like a unicorn. :D

[Damodred]

Oohh! Great shots! I'm supposed to be getting some in either Tuesday or Wednesday (still haven't checked to see if she's a zone 1 or zone 2), and I can't wait. Post more pictures to hold me over until I have my own to oogle over!
Did yours come in yet?

[Bettacreek]

No, she's postponing the shipment until after x-mas. :D I'm going to have my fishy x-mas after the real x-mas. I have quite a few different snails and such coming in afterwards. I can't wait. :D It'll just give me extra time to get escape-proof tops ready for any of the restricted species. :) For now, I'll just have to nag you for more pictures of your Columbians! Lmao.

[Damodred]

No, she's postponing the shipment until after x-mas. :D I'm going to have my fishy x-mas after the real x-mas. I have quite a few different snails and such coming in afterwards. I can't wait. :D It'll just give me extra time to get escape-proof tops ready for any of the restricted species. :) For now, I'll just have to nag you for more pictures of your Columbians! Lmao.
Exciting!
Here's a new pic of the eggs. There are now three clutches -- not sure if I ever updated that? Anyone who has these guys know roughly how long it'll take them to hatch in 76F water?
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4964/snails6ck3.jpg

[Bettacreek]

At first I thought they looked basically like pond snail eggs, but now they look different. Makes me wonder if my tank has pond snail eggs or Spixi eggs everywhere (probably a mix of both though). When the Columbians get here, I'm going to make sure that I keep all pond snails away from them to avoid any confusion.

Anyways, keep us updated with these guys, it's exciting to watch a hatch progress. :D

[Damodred]

This morning I woke up to two more clutches, a crazy snail orgy, and one momma snail that looks like she's about to lay. I'll post some updated pics tonight.

[Damodred]

Snail orgy from this morning:
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2562/snails7rr6.jpg

Momma laying:
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8685/snails8ri2.jpg

Updated egg pic (6 clutches and counting!)
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/4568/snails9cb3.jpg

Parent pic:
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7682/snails10an6.jpg

[msjinkzd]

what are you going to do with all those babies!?!?! lol, congrats!

[Damodred]

I'm not sure... I'm de-planting a 29g, so some can go in there. Some will go off to the LFS, too. I think I'll let nature run it's course for a while. Do you know what I should feed these guys if/when they hatch? Do they only lay eggs after fertilization?

[KIM_TMA]

I have some of those big babies. My females are larger than a coin half a dollar, my male is about quarter size. I had to seperate my females and male b/c they layed a clutch almost every day. I got tired of putting on my black cape and carring out the death sentence to the clutches.

Betta Creek trust me you will know the differnce between the pond snail eggs and the Giant Rams. The rams lay clutches the size of a wadded up tissue, none of those barely can see stuff, the eggs in side are the size of BB's. Within 76-78 degrees it will take them right at 2-3 weeks to fully develop, you will be able to see the tiny baby snails in the slimy sack. These snails are TUFF! I mean real tough, I had a clutch get sucked into my Emperor filter and I thought that it was a goner for sure, well 2 1/2 weeks later when I changed my media I had babies the size of a pencil eraser surviving on basically nothing.
I have been able to keep an amozon sword in there with them and they will bite little holes in it sometimes but not enough damage to even kill the leaf. I feed mine the snail jello with mac&cheese baby food(it has the highest calcium) They love it.

Good Luck with ya'lls!

[msjinkzd]

I would feed them how you do the adults, just smaller portions. Veggies, calcium rich foods. I don't know about the only laying after fertilization, i would assume they lay as part of normal reproductive health though with allyour snorno in that tank i would assume these are fertile clutches. You should be able to see the baby snails developing within the eggs before too long.

[Bettacreek]

Wow. I didn't realise that the eggs were that huge. Awesome. :D

[Damodred]

Awesome! Thanks guys. I think I'll try making some snail jello soon. :) KIM_TMA, do your Colombians seem to be nocturnal? I don't usually see mine do much during the day, but in the morning they're always in a new location. It makes it hard to decide which foods they like because I don't know if it's them eating or my BN or my ravenous Krib. Maybe it's my Krib that makes them shy? He sometimes picks at them, but not often.

[Hollygirl]

Where did you get the adults? Those are great looking snails! Congratulations and good luck with the babies.

[Damodred]

Wow. I didn't realise that the eggs were that huge. Awesome. :D
Yeah, and there's a noticeable size & color difference between today's clutches and the previous ones... Not sure exactly why because I don't know too much about these guys yet.

[Damodred]

Where did you get the adults? Those are great looking snails! Congratulations and good luck with the babies.
I actually 'adopted' them from a friend who is getting out of the aquarium hobby for a while due to divorce, move, etc. I think there were 12 when I got them, but 4 mysteriously died shortly after arrival. I can't remember where she said she got them, but I want to say they were hitch hikers.

[Damodred]

I can see some development in the largest eggs! Can't get it to show up on camera though... :(

[AEWHistory]

These are wonderful! I've been looking for some for ages.... I'd like to get these and he gold variety, but they are impossible to find. Is there anyone in the NJ region willing to to an RAOK (or sell, I'll buy!)?

-Aaron

[AEWHistory]

Oh, and those pics really are wonderful too.... please keep us posted on your progress!

[Bettacreek]

Lol. Good luck finding them. With the restrictions on transport, finding the restricted species is like finding a piece of hay in a stack of needles.

Can't wait to see baby Marisas!

[Damodred]

Here are the eggs this morning from above. Note the more-developed eggs are in the lower-right in the pic:
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5064/snaileggs3fa4.jpg

[Damodred]

Apparently I can't count... There are actually 9 adults in the tank.

[KIM_TMA]

Awesome! Thanks guys. I think I'll try making some snail jello soon. :) KIM_TMA, do your Colombians seem to be nocturnal? I don't usually see mine do much during the day, but in the morning they're always in a new location. It makes it hard to decide which foods they like because I don't know if it's them eating or my BN or my ravenous Krib. Maybe it's my Krib that makes them shy? He sometimes picks at them, but not often.


Well my females do seem more nocturnal but my males are always moving around. Hmmmm it maybe that they are looking for females though. LOL.

My females love fresh veggies all the time, green beans and carrots expecially. My males seem to be less plant matter eaters than the females. But they do eat it just less, IMO. Like I said earlier, I can actually keep live plants with my males and they don't even hardly mess up 1 leaf, where my females ate a whole cup of duckweed and a crypt in about a day, and we are only talking 2 females here.

[jackiomy]

Very cool shot of the developing eggs. I love tiny baby snails.

[powerkit]

Great photos! I just put up a thread about how i was lookin for columbian ramshorns! it was very neat to see the progress of the clutch. keep the updates coming, gr8 thread!

[Damodred]

Thanks for the comments & info, everyone! I'm hoping for babies in the next week.

[Fishy_Fun]

Just be careful, I had three and in 6 months i had over 300

[Damodred]

I'd love an excuse to make a DP tank. :)

[Damodred]

Can anyone say Christmas baby snails!? Pics to come later!

[rocker92]

congrats!!!!!!!!

[Damodred]

Thanks. :)

[Damodred]

Baby (!) snails & eggs:
http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/8684/babysnailshz3.jpg

And again:
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/5465/babysnails2dw2.jpg

You can't tell in the photos, but several babies are up at the water line moving about!

[H3D]

Cool!

[Lupin]

Wowee! Impressive clutch there.

[Damodred]

Wowee! Impressive clutch there.
There are several clutches in the breeder if that's what you're referring to. If you're just referring to the babies, I think they are from two separate clutches. Either way, thanks!

[DAVIDFBT]

Nice babies, have you thought about what you will do with them?

[Damodred]

Feed them to Dwarf Puffers, maybe. Don't tell jinkz!

[Lupin]

Feed them to Dwarf Puffers, maybe. Don't tell jinkz!
I feed some of my canas to my loaches.lol With over 300, who would keep all of them?:22_yikes:

[Damodred]

Yeah, I haven't come up with any types of loach that can live with my Krib & Tiger Barbs in a 29g except Kuhlis, which (IME) don't eat snails.

[Lupin]

Almost all serpentine loaches actually don't eat snails.lol Try the Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki. Small but so costly. I'd keep 5 at the very least if you can't afford more.

[Damodred]

I think I'm already pushing the stocking limits, if not over. I have 10 Tiger Barbs (not fully grown yet, but they will be before I know it), 1 Krib, 1 BN, and the snails. Wouldn't 5 Sids be pretty overstocked?

[Lupin]

Wait wait! I lost my head posting that. Sids can eat the snails. I was not aware this is a snail tank, sorry.:uhoh:

[Damodred]

No, I want something to keep them in check. :P

[Lupin]

No, I want something to keep them in check. :P
Oh okay. Phew!:D

[Damodred]

Would you agree that 5 Sids would be overstocked or would it be doable?

[Damodred]

Yeah, I think I'll just make a puffer tank and have baby snails for snacks! I've been reeeeally wanting a puffer tank anyway. This is just a good excuse. Anyone with tips for a 20g puffer tank, PM me or post here! :)

[Lupin]

5 sids is fine. I'm so disappointed about your new decision.;)

[Flaringshutter]

Be careful - one clutch can quickly turn into 50! Rams are the rabbits of the snail world. I'm constantly finding babies in my XP3.
Your eggs look great so far! I love their later development stages, where you can see the tiny snails crawling around inside the eggs.

[pik01]

I feed mine the snail jello with mac&cheese baby food(it has the highest calcium) They love it.

Wait...I had to reread that a few times. They'll eat mac n cheese baby food? I thought I was pushing it with green beans and rice baby food. What's the calcium content on the mac n cheese? I saw some of those weird flavors but was too afraid to try them. I thought, what snail could possibly like Spaghetti and Meatballs baby food but if your little ones love mac n cheese...

[Lupin]

I wouldn't encourage using meaty foods although if meat is already included in baby foods, fish foods, etc, it won't count as giving meaty foods.lol Meaty foods may increase their cannibalistic habits. Mmm..Spaghetti with meatballs is appetizing to me.:D

[pik01]

Ah, I only used Spaghetti and Meatballs as an example, there were other weird flavors I saw but I can't quite remember them. All the same, I think I'll just stick to veggie or fruit baby foods and add jurassical ;)

[KIM_TMA]

LOL, Pik I think that the calcium is like 15% in the mac and cheese. The highest calcium baby food that I can ever find. I feed it as a special treat, their normal jello is green beans, sweet potatoes, and carrots. They love the ham and cheese too thou so I think they just like the cheese. I know that when I drop a mac & cheez in there it is swarmed within minutes. I can drop the green beans or other veg snail jello in there and it takes them a few hours to get it. I personally think that it is the dairy product putting off a sweet smell to them.

The babies are looking great, and like everyone else has warned becareful or you are going to be over loaded with snails and remeber they poop alot.

DP's sound great they are what I am thinking about too, but I can't find alot about their setups. Still researching thou. Good Luck!

[Damodred]

DP's sound great they are what I am thinking about too, but I can't find alot about their setups. Still researching thou. Good Luck!
Check out dwarfpuffers.com ! :)

[fishorama]

I wouldn't encourage using meaty foods although if meat is already included in baby foods, fish foods, etc, it won't count as giving meaty foods.lol Meaty foods may increase their cannibalistic habits. Mmm..Spaghetti with meatballs is appetizing to me.:D
What, Lupin, don't you feed snails hotdogs too?:silly:

[Lupin]

What, Lupin, don't you feed snails hotdogs too?:silly:
LMAO no!:D Only my loaches, Nancy. I don't want to risk increasing their cannibalistic tendencies towards each other especially the canas. It's bad enough already that the canas can bite harder than the diffusas.:headshake2:

[Darktoad]

Its good to see quality pics of Columbian Ramshorns as not many people seem to keep them due to their extreme plant eating habits.

[AquaGem]

those are really great pics. I'm new to taking aquarium pics too... yours have turned out a lot better than mine :) I haven't seen that many of ramshorn eggs, just brigs. I totally understand you about finals... had to do mine too. Jeez that orgy is getting pretty wild. I just imagined snails trying to mosh because of that pic... I've got that in my head because I'm going to a metallica concert soon lol. I figure there can't be many more coming around... :)

Tori

[Damodred]

Oh boy, I've been neglecting this thread to the max. Here are some updates, but the water is cloudy from a water change & Tums combo.
Three adults & one of the bigger babies:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2189/snails11jr5.jpg

A bigger baby with a yardstick to give you an idea of size (blurry):
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7396/snails12tl3.jpg

Same baby, with an adult in the shot this time:
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/939/snails13ag0.jpg

Adult foot (with crazy Tiger Barbs in the shot):
http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/6894/snails14pl0.jpg

[Bettacreek]

Yay! I still haven't gotten mine. The PO guy decided not to deliver on the day they were supposed to arrive, and they haven't made it here at all yet. Poor things. :/ Keep going with pictures, I need the marisa fix from you for a little while longer!

[Damodred]

How long have they been stuck in the mail?

[Bettacreek]

They were shipped out last Wednesday. :/ Mail came through today and still nothing.

[Damodred]

Oh wow! That's a long time for them to be in the mail... Is it pretty cold where you're at in PA? It's terrible here.

[Bettacreek]

Yeah, we've been snowed in the past two days. :/ I don't think they're ever going to arrive. They were only coming from two hours away, too. :( And, of course, the classifieds where I found them, the email isn't working, so I can't get ahold of the breeder to let her know. She knows that they didn't arrive by Saturday, but I was supposed to update her today so that she could send new guys out, with a tracking number this time. It just sucks that these poor guys are probably dead or dying out there in some cold box.

[Damodred]

That's awful! Hopefully they'll show up and be fine.

[Lupin]

Very nice snails!:D

[Damodred]

Lupin was demanding baby pictures... *Sigh* He's so demanding!

The first six babies I found. Can I call them juvies yet?
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/8610/babysnails3wx8.jpg

Reunited with Mom/Dad/Uncle/Aunt/etc. (Horrid photo)
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/5391/snails15zi5.jpg

[Lupin]

Very nice snails.:D I always demand when it comes to snails, Damodred.:silly:

[Damodred]

Hehe. Thanks, Lupin. :)

[Damodred]

I've been worried about the adults the last couple weeks because I wasn't seeing many clutches. The few clutches I did find seemed to disappear quickly. I finally figured out why; the juvies are voracious cannibalistic egg eaters! I guess that helps a bit with the population control...