Gulp wants escargot.......

[Gulp]

We decided to throw three mystery snails in with Gulp and Hoover today. I got the largest snails in the tank hoping Gulp would not be interested in them. No such luck. He is picking them up and carrying them around....rolling them in his mouth. Then he drops them from high above. I think he likes watching them fall..... :rolleyes: Hopefully he will get bored with them soon.... I am almost afraid he is going to choke on the smaller one. He can fit the whole thing in his mouth.

Here are a few pics. Of COURSE he won't pick them up when the camera is out....

About to strike.......again.
http://www.roadrashed.com/Aquarium%20pics/Gulp%20meets%20the%20snails/Gulp-and-snail-2.jpg

The snail on the left went unnoticed long enough to escape. The poor guy next to the driftwood has been freefalling at least 5 times.......
http://www.roadrashed.com/Aquarium%20pics/Gulp%20meets%20the%20snails/Gulp-and-snail-4.jpg

The one snail in front of hoover on the ground is the only one he can't reach. Lucky guy.......
http://www.roadrashed.com/Aquarium%20pics/Gulp%20meets%20the%20snails/Gulp-and-snail-5.jpg

As you can see.....this is his favorite dumping ground. He has now carried and dropped 2 of the three snails in front of the driftwood. I just wonder how long this will last. :p

http://www.roadrashed.com/Aquarium%20pics/Gulp%20meets%20the%20snails/Gulp-and-snail-6.jpg

Anyone else have snails successfully living with a large curious oscar?

[lee914]

What are the snails for?, since I will have a new oscar tank soon.

[Gulp]

Originally posted by lee914
What are the snails for?, since I will have a new oscar tank soon.

I just wanted to add something to the tank for us to watch. A 110 gallon tank with one oscar and one catfish is semi-boring on some days. :D I aslo wanted to see if the snails would take care of the algea spots that are cropping up. I do not expect them to do a perfect job.......but they might help.

My mistake with Gulp was not having anything else in the tank with him when he was young. He has been a single child for almost a year. I have a feeling if he had been raised with other critters in the tank with him, he wouldn't be so pissy with "invaders". If I had gotten the snails when I bought Gulp.....they would have been almost bigger than him at the time, and MAYBE he would not be so interested in them these days.

This morning, he was STILL picking the things up and moving them around. My guess is they will stay locked in their shells all day, and only come out at night with Gulp harassing them like he is. So.......my idea of having something to watch was pointless. :p It is kind of funny watching him carry the snails around though.

[Gulp]

Update:

Lee.......don't bother with the snails. My wife just called very upset (she is slightly dramatic.....) because she witnessed Gulp literally SUCK the largest of the snails out of his shell.

She said she heard a strange noise in the aquarium and turned around to see Gulp with the largest snail in his mouth. She said he was sucking very hard, with his gills fully expanding and closing and finally the poor snail came out. She said the back of the snail is white........... Of course he LIKED this tasty snack so she said he is hovering over the other snails waiting for them to come out from between the rocks and the glass.

She is taking the snails out and giving them to our neighbor.....

Moral of the story: Snails and oscasrs don't mix.

[Gulp]

I know you guys are probaly sick of reading about an oscar and some snails......but my wife just e-mailed me a few pics of the poor snails demise..


Here you can see the now empty shell with a little bit of snail meat still hanging on:
http://webpages.charter.net/dustlee/Aquarium/PICT0002.JPG

Here is Gulp with his mouth full of escargot. Kim said he is having trouble eating it and is just sitting on the bottom of the tank with it in his mouth. She said even after 10 minutes, he still hadn't swallowed the snail meat. Hope I don't have a choked oscar when I get home.....

http://webpages.charter.net/dustlee/Aquarium/PICT0006.JPG

You can also see the Hole in the Head that I have to battle.... :(

Last pic then I will leave you all alone. He's still chewing. :D

http://webpages.charter.net/dustlee/Aquarium/PICT0007.JPG

[Captain Hook]

I don't know anything about cichlids but couldn't you get a fairly aggressive, good sized one that would hold its own and live with your oscar? I'm thinking jaguar or jack dempsey, just from what I have heard on this forum but could be wrong. That might add more interest to your tank and some cichlids are really nice looking too.

[fish_freak]

I would get a good sized Texas cichlid or green terror niether will take much from your ocsar but with a dramatic wife she might flip out at the fighting that will definately take place for a few days

[Aquarius0015]

Oscars scare me. *Shudders*

[Rwhite8278]

Hey gulp...How do you get the pics to post in your message?

[LittleLoach]

At least Gulp lives up to his name.

[Gulp]

Originally posted by Rwhite8278
Hey gulp...How do you get the pics to post in your message?

I have them hosted on my web space, then I post a link to the files using the IMG button that is above the posting block. If you have pics you want to upload, you can go here: http://www.aquaticphotos.com/ if you don't have your own web space. Then you just need to use that IMG code. :D



Originally posted by LittleLoach
At least Gulp lives up to his name.

The "water pig" has never had a problem doing that. :D

[Rwhite8278]

thanks!