Feeding a Snail in a Community Tank

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naturestee

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Nov 6, 2003
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I had been debating whether or not to order some of msjinkzd's gorgeous apple snails because I wasn't sure if my fish in both my tanks would hurt them or not. I ended up getting one on impulse at a local store last week. He's a pretty "black" apple snail with one large pale stripe that I thought was really pretty. He's been charging around my tank and apparently having some fun climbing the hornwort! None of my fish seem to care about the snail, not even my Krib.

My problem is that I haven't been able to get him to eat most stuff I offer. He is in a 29 gallon tank that's been set up for several years, and I usually leave the back wall unscraped. He seems to have little bits of what I'm guessing are snail poo when I get a good look at him. But when I tried to feed him my shrimp's food (crab and lobster bites pellets) or blanched leafy veggies (only tried turnip greens so far- high calcium) he seems to ignore them.

What do I do, and how do I make sure he gets enough food? My mollies and platies are voracious eaters and the Krib eats foods off the bottom so I can't just hope that my snail gets enough food.:confused:
 
i feed mine algae wafers
 
If he is hungry he will eat. most likely he is eating the left over food from the fish. if he is pooping he is eating. you could always drom soem food down and night so they other fish do not eat it. my snails come running when the light goes on so I have no problems,. except the fish eat it all and there left scrambling to eat before its gone, thats why I drop food in at night to. so they have some the fish can nto see. I also drop down a veggie on a clip, or some tubifex worms on a clip, that way my bottom dwellers eat and the snails and the fish don't
 
So he should be getting enough food for now? Maybe I just have that much food in the tank for him. I pick out the occasional pond or ramshorn snail but I don't get many as long as I'm careful about how much I feed the fish.

Can snails learn simple things like that you drop food in the same spot every night?
 
naturestee said:
So he should be getting enough food for now? Maybe I just have that much food in the tank for him. I pick out the occasional pond or ramshorn snail but I don't get many as long as I'm careful about how much I feed the fish.

Can snails learn simple things like that you drop food in the same spot every night?
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they will find it, heck mine come to the top of the water, I take my giant flakes and stick it to the tank in front of them and they chow down. Also when they come to the top and you see there foot kind of open up.... drop a very small pellet there, they feel it and start to munch down. my snails at first did not eat like everyone elses did, I had to train them :lol: now when the light goes on they run for the food, and some run to the top of the tank water for there morning pellet of flake.
 
i just drop a small bit of an algae wafer in front of mine!!! it eats the wafer faster that you would believe!!!
 
grannylvsfish said:
they will find it, heck mine come to the top of the water, I take my giant flakes and stick it to the tank in front of them and they chow down. Also when they come to the top and you see there foot kind of open up.... drop a very small pellet there, they feel it and start to munch down. my snails at first did not eat like everyone elses did, I had to train them :lol: now when the light goes on they run for the food, and some run to the top of the tank water for there morning pellet of flake.
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Hehehe, mine do the same thing.
 
I simply drop their foods anywhere else but I prefer putting the foods in front so I can monitor they are all eating properly. I haven't seen one ignore a piece of snail jello, calcium pills, plaster of Paris pucks, cucumber slices and anything else I practically give them. They are kept with bristlenose plecos, whiptail pleco and guppies. The guppies seem to want to hog all the foods but the snails reach the foods rather quickly in numbers.:)

By the way, your snail is most likely dark green or dark purple. No such thing as black although since you quoted it anyway, I am sure you were doubting the color the store labeled them as.:)
 
I like dropping the food front and center. It's the best time for photographing them :)
 
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