View Full Version : SNAIL EXPERTS PLEASE! :)
VivaLaVics
05-19-2009, 10:35 PM
Ok, so this a hitch-hiking snail- must have come with my plants at some point... but he doesnt look like your usual snail and is getting big... Can the snail experts please help- let me know if this is just a small silly snail OR something awesomely mysterious! If it is a snail that can get big then I'll start up my research and give a darn if it survives.... Here I come snail jello recipies! (The boyfriend doesnt like snails so if this is a cool one then it's a great way to get started! heeheehee....)
I'm setting myself up for disappointment. lol.
PS.... dont mind the hair algae... need CO2... yikes!
msjinkzd
05-19-2009, 10:40 PM
ramshorn, leopard colored
kyryah
05-19-2009, 10:41 PM
+1 :D I love my ramshorns.
Kristina
Lupin
05-19-2009, 10:48 PM
Lovely! Ramshorn indeed.
VivaLaVics
05-19-2009, 10:49 PM
More pics! ;)
FYI: The "rock" is about 2 quarters in diameter... just a small pebble lol...
VivaLaVics
05-19-2009, 10:51 PM
Thanks guys! :) Anything I should know about them? I hear they eat plants... any params they prefer or food they especially enjoy? I want snails so bad--- the b/f says he doesnt but I know if I get one growing up nice and healthy he'll fall in love too. ;)
GEV83
05-19-2009, 10:52 PM
THats a cool looking snail. I was checkin some out the other day but my fish would prob eat them
Lupin
05-19-2009, 10:53 PM
Thanks guys! :) Anything I should know about them? I hear they eat plants... any params they prefer or food they especially enjoy? I want snails so bad--- the b/f says he doesnt but I know if I get one growing up nice and healthy he'll fall in love too. ;)
Treat them like the Pomacea diffusa. They don't eat healthy plants but dead and decaying plant parts are another story.
VivaLaVics
05-19-2009, 10:54 PM
...i know nothing about snails. I'll pick up a book at my LFS next trip. (tomorrow) :D thanks guys!
on a side note- do these guys stay small or get bigger? If bigger, how big?
jackiomy
05-19-2009, 10:58 PM
They don't get too big. I have a few that are nickle size. I never thought I would fall in love with a ramshorn But they are as important to me as my nerites and Bridgs. I am lucky because if I get too many they get to go live in my pond, the rams that is. That one has a beautiful shell, a very handsome guy.
Sounguru
05-19-2009, 11:00 PM
Oh no get rid of it!!!!! it isn't even a snail it is an alien invader from the planet Leopardi Ramnisius here to control all living beings on the planet. I started with 6 and now I have thousands.....
By the way nice pattern on that non gender specific snail.
VivaLaVics
05-19-2009, 11:09 PM
Sounguru you crack me up! lmao! the way you worded that made me think Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy all the way!
Jackie, thank you for the kind words and the info! :D
So far I only see the one snail- and I think he is freaking COOL looking! I want some of those purple snails I see in the classifieds... but I'll have to wait until I actually to some research. For now I'll make sure this little guy gets VIP treatment... due to my lack of CO2 and nearly 4 w/p/gallonage the non-gender-specific snail will have plenty of dead foliage and algae to munch on.
:D I'm so excited over this tiny little snail- heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee... way cool.
VivaLaVics
05-19-2009, 11:40 PM
More pics because I just can't stop... I need snails...
Arakkis
05-20-2009, 12:29 AM
Oh no get rid of it!!!!! it isn't even a snail it is an alien invader from the planet Leopardi Ramnisius here to control all living beings on the planet. I started with 6 and now I have thousands.....
By the way nice pattern on that non gender specific snail.
Proudly brought to you by Hypno-Frog
:perv:
kyryah
05-20-2009, 1:29 AM
LOL, I have some of those gorgeous purple snails and I love them :D What you need right now is some red or blue ramshorns :)
Kristina
VivaLaVics
05-20-2009, 1:39 AM
red or blue ramshorns???? are they actually red or blue?!?! I guess the ramshorns are a good beginner snail?
Sounguru
05-20-2009, 1:48 AM
Proudly brought to you by Hypno-Frog
:perv:
Dat der was no frog but a Toad I tell ya....
red or blue ramshorns???? are they actually red or blue?!?! I guess the ramshorns are a good beginner snail?
Yep they is red...
http://www.stopactionphoto.net/images/Red-Ramshorn.jpg
kyryah
05-20-2009, 2:19 AM
YUP! Here are some of my reds...
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE19161.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE19163.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE19166.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE1285.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE1288.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE1107.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE1108.jpg
Kristina
addicted2fish
05-20-2009, 2:49 AM
I personally dont like them anymore.. they invaded ... LOL ~~ *( I have a few still going strong in my shrimp tank ..... I dont want ANY of them .... you can HAVE them !!!
I now have mystery snails , *( like the purple one you spoke of ...) and they get bigger and pretty IMO ~ if you want a few of mine, just shoot me a PM ~~~ I can send you a few of each ... ofcorse ALL the ramshorns I can grab.. and I will send you a mystery snail just so you will have one :) they dont eat your plants , just dying or dead plants, but its best to take those out of the tank asap, so your plants can grow healthy , the snails like to eat flake food, and algea wafers, (like you buy for a pleco ) they also LOVE zuchini , so yea getting into the snail jello might be fun later, I dont know how well it keeps, but you would not need much for just a few' snails.... but do your research .. send me a PM with your address ....... YW
NilsBaees
05-20-2009, 3:10 AM
ramshorns' shells seem to get eroded pretty quickly. mine are even worse than your red ones' (which are NOT bad at all. i have plain brown);.
phreeflow
05-20-2009, 5:32 AM
Careful what you wish for...if what you want are snails, that's exactly what you're gonna get. That one leopard ramshorn can reproduce all by itself and you'll have a ton of babies...especially if you have excess organics in your tank. Apple/mystery snails are awesome...I just got some purple and magenta ones their gorgeous, don't reproduce as fast, and get big :)
BTW: my in-laws have a bunch of ramshorns and their shells are awfully pitted too. Any way to prevent that?
7itanium
05-20-2009, 5:37 AM
I just discovered some tiny reds in my tank yesterday
its the only time I have been happy to see ramshorns.. I love the cool colored ones
BTW: my in-laws have a bunch of ramshorns and their shells are awfully pitted too. Any way to prevent that?
It's lack of calcium or the water is acidic. What are the pH, KH and GH?
kyryah
05-20-2009, 12:21 PM
:iagree: I got mine as adults and they were already pitted. I use crushed coral to bring my pH up and supplement a lot of calcium and have seen nice smooth new growth.
Kristina
VivaLaVics
05-20-2009, 3:05 PM
THanks for all the info guys!!! :D
That one snail can lay a clutch and make more all on its own? As long as they are cool leopard colored I wouldnt mind. He looks pretty healthy without the white marks on its shell....
I have 2 albino BN plecos in there so I bet the snail has been enjoying the broccoli, zucchini, algae wafers, peas, star fruit... etc etc... that I feed my plecos... I spoil my Plecs. heeheehee.
So the bigger snails breed slower? Do they like to eat up your plants?
kyryah
05-20-2009, 3:07 PM
Ramshorns are generally pretty darn prolific. They won't eat healthy plant growth, 'specially with all those noms you are putting in there :D
Kristina
VivaLaVics
05-20-2009, 3:10 PM
lol... in inadvertently feeding snails... oi! Those red snails are CUUUUUUUUUTE!!!! :D
Sounguru
05-20-2009, 3:17 PM
It take 2 rams to make more so if you only have one then you shall not get anymore.
kyryah
05-20-2009, 3:20 PM
My ramshorns don't get too out of control, because the much larger briggs win the food competition. I have a TON of tiny red babies right now, lol, I have been watching them hatch for a couple of days.
Kristina
I started off with one leopard hitch-hiker. A generous poster on here sent me some reds... Whilst the reds were in transit I noticed a beautifull bright shiny gold shell about the size of BB-gun ammo on the side of the glass- I thought to myself:
"that sure looks pretty for a bladder snail"- looked closer... It's a Ramshorn... not just yellow but a shiny gold colour... very nice- I try to find him every time I look in the aquarium- I've not had much luck photoing him though.
His shell is gold- but his foot is a yellowy colour on the outside and red in the centre.
I'm hoping he breeds with the red or the leopard and produces more little goldies and reds.
No idea where he came from or if he'd been in the tank since the first plants... based on his tiny size he might have been in an egg on the plant... I've seen a couple of tiny browns recently his size too. So when I thought I had one- I really had more- they were just either tiny, mistaken for bladders or still in eggs.
VivaLaVics
05-20-2009, 3:26 PM
I think i only have the one... he was doing some crazyness earlier and I took pics but then the camera died so I have to wait until the battery charges to post lol...
Hollygirl
05-20-2009, 3:31 PM
Sounds like you are already addicted. Welcome to the club :)
I think i only have the one... he was doing some crazyness earlier and I took pics but then the camera died so I have to wait until the battery charges to post lol...
I thought I only had one for several weeks. It was right after I asked someone if they could send me some reds that I discovered I had a baby gold and a couple of baby browns in the tank.
If someone gave you a plant with snail hitch-hikers there could be eggs on it too you might not have seen.
Although, I do have lots of bladders, and when they're tiny little specs it's easy to confuse them as bladders- especially in the case of goldy, because a lot of my bladders are a shiny copper colour. So I probably thought my rams were bladders at first.
It was only when he got big enough to show a little redness in the middle of his foot that I looked closer and realised he was a ramshorn- bladders don't have red blood like ramshorns.
My gold ramshorn is odd though. It is definately a ramshorn shape shell- not a bladder shaped shell- but he seems to slide along with his shell at a 30 degree angle to his body. Sometimes he holds it straight but it's usually crooked.
VivaLaVics
05-20-2009, 3:43 PM
Oh- lol, I AM addicted! heehee... I've always wanted neat snails. Very excited about this one. May take advantage of free snails... will have to ask the b/f about that though lol. Or not... ha! So yea- here are more photos of the snail. I wonder if I have more in there and just dont know it... I can't see any so who knows.
That gold snail sounds awesome! You should really try to get pics!!! :D
I'll try again tonight to take a photo... he's pretty small though- and even the big red one comes out blurry when I try to photo him- I'm not the best photographer... although I did successfully take clear photos of snail poo once! :(
Camera doesn't have a manual focus and I'm having difficulty getting it to focus on snails unless they're small and in the background...
clb2196
05-20-2009, 3:56 PM
I have leopard, red and pink rams. Love em. I really want a blue. Oh, and I also want Wycco's gold one. ;)
Hey Wycco, if you ship the snail to me I'll take some pics. And uh, send him right back. Promise. Yup.
Fish-Addict
05-20-2009, 3:58 PM
Thats an awesome little dude there :D
Goldie goes nowhere!!!!!!!!!!!
He is still quite small- not sure what size ramshorns can breed at- but if I get more gold ones- if he breeds prolifically- not only will I be open for shipping some out- I would encourage it- that way if my population were to ever crash I'd know who to contact to get goldies grand-children from.
Not sure the genetics of the gold colouration if it is dominant/recessive covers multiple genes or what.
I'll try again tonight if I can locate him to take some photos. He's sometimes in hiding.
It'll help if he will get on the leaf of a plant near the glass- that way the camera may focus on the leaf and put him more or less into focus too.
kyryah
05-20-2009, 4:35 PM
I have golds, too. If those reds breed with a brown, you get snails that are a bright gold with an orange foot. I have several. I have a pretty decent macro lens, I'll get a pic.
And here I sent you a buddy for your brown, Wycco, and he already had one, lol. I am sure there were some babies in the plants too.
Kristina
kyryah
05-20-2009, 4:51 PM
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE19223.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE19227.jpg
Some clutches on the same piece of frogbit
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll63/kyryah/Ramshorn%20and%20other%20snails/KristinaspicturesDONOTDELETE19226.jpg
Kristina
snoopy65
05-20-2009, 4:56 PM
Nice shots!
VivaLaVics
05-20-2009, 5:13 PM
Very nice shots! What a cutie! :D
kyryah
05-20-2009, 5:31 PM
Thanks :D
Kristina
And here I sent you a buddy for your brown, Wycco, and he already had one, lol. I am sure there were some babies in the plants too.
Kristina
Yeah, had no idea... have a couple of little ones- I think the other small ones are just little browns.
I love the red you sent though- didn't have any of them... beautifull colours. I think my smallest ramshorns must have been eggs on plants when I got them (from which plants I don't know)- and hatched in my tank.