Pomacea Bridgesii and Babies

Reframer

AC Members
Feb 22, 2009
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Minnesota
Ok, I want to get some more because I really like the one I have. But, do they mate easily because I don't want a lot of babies. I can't sex it because when i pick it up it tucks into its shell so tight. Is there a way to do it by looking at its shell?
 
Nope you really have to be able to see in it. Just try holding him/her until they come out of their shell a bit and you can see past their head. Kinda hard to do :) It's very easy to keep the population under control because brigs lay their eggs above the water. You can just remove the clutch and freeze it :) They are just great snaily pets!
 
:iagree: I have 14 of them and just hatched my first clutch. I don't know how many will make it because my betta keeps eating them!
 
Ok, maybe I will just get another and not worry about the sex then.
I'm not sure if mine is getting enough food. I feed everyone in the tank flake food, blood worm, baby brine shrimp, algae wafers, and veg such as cucumber (I have hard alk. water so I don't think it needs extra calcium). It hasn't ever eaten the veg I put in there so far. I tried making some snail food from the recipes here but it didn't turn out well. How do I know it is getting enough and is there anything else I can buy to feed it?
 
sometimes you can sex them while they are crawling up the wall of the aquarium, but rarely. its still hard lol.
if it is a boy, then its penis will be on the same side that the spiral is on, and it is not speckley like the air syphon. it will be solid white. the air syphon is on the opposite side of the spiral.
but, like tori said, it is very simple to get rid of clutches. they lay them above the water line, sometimes on the lid of the aquarium, and you can remove them then and freeze them and flush or throw away. be sure to wait at least 24 hours after it has been laid though, or it will squash all over and be messy and slimy.
 
also, just because you have good water doesn't mean that your snail doesn't need calcium-rich foods.
there is a great sticky in the "invertibrate" section of AC with a good recipe for snail jello.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135871
its great because you can add in whatever to tailor it to your snail's needs. mine snarf it. i also feed it to baby brigs with tons of crushed catfish and vegetable pellets and calcium pills, etc. they adore it.
my cories actually like it too, and my betta eats it as well. although i don't think that bettas eating it is typical.
 
Some snails can be sooo picky :) try different veggies, and if he likes flake and pellet food then you can try veggie pellets. Mine hate carrots but love some zucchini. You can also make snail jello and add a very generous amount of treats like pellets, flakes, brine shrimp, etc. Mine will only eat it if I do :) He's probably getting enough food if he's growing well, but it's nice of you to worry about him :)

You beat me to it Logan! Very nice response BTW!
 
Hey, my brigs finally decided to eat some cucumber last night so I think we are on a right track. I went to get a bigger one that I had admired last week at the store, but all they had was very tiny ones left so I went home with a baby.
How many do you think I can have in a 55 gallon? I'm thinking of just having a fleet of snails instead of cories to clean the bottom.
How long to these guys live? I read only a couple years somewhere, but the guy at the lfs said it takes them many years to gow to full size.
 
How many do you think I can have in a 55 gallon? I'm thinking of just having a fleet of snails instead of cories to clean the bottom.
The guideline is usually one snail per 2.5g in case of the Pomacea diffusa but if you can do more water changes and tank maintenance, then you can add more than that. They're big poo machines.

How long to these guys live? I read only a couple years somewhere, but the guy at the lfs said it takes them many years to gow to full size.
2 years is the norm. He may be talking about other species such as canas which do live longer than the diffusas.
 
Alright, now I went to check on them and the golden one is on top of the other with their heads together and they have been like that for hours. Are they fighting, it doesn't look violent. One is only slightly bigger than the other.
 
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