Trapdoor snail problems

[rider357]

Hi All,
I was lurking around through some freshwater forums and happened upon your nice little place here. Seems like a good spot to ask for some advice. I'm kinda new to the world of snails, so if I ask something stupid please bear with me.

About 6 weeks ago I introduced around 40 trapdoor snails to my 800gal pond. They took about a day of so to get their collective stuff together and have proceeded to clean my pond to within an inch of it's life! Cleaner pond and beautiful water quality! These guys are so interesting I decided to set up a 10gal tank in the house so I could observe them a little closer. Four days ago I set up the tank using water from the pond as it was what the snails were used to. Two days ago I removed 6 active snails from the pond and turned em loose in the tank. As expected after about 2 hours or so they were up and about. Being there's no algae in the new tank I put some lettuce on the bottom for them to forage on. They refuse to eat the lettuce, or anything else I try. I also tried cealery leaves , peas, and algae chips. Nothing, nodda. Thay ain't buyin it. They are all open and cruising around the tank. They are getting more lethargic though, if that's possible for snails. Even cruise right over the food offerings and not even stop for a bite. Now they seem to just kinda set still much more than normal. One of them climbed up onto a inverted drinking glass in the tank, dropped a good sized pile of tiny, light brown pellets (which I assume is just snail poop), and seems to enjoy just setting in them. I've checked each snail and they react as expected when touched or disturbed. They'll close up an bit, then open again, but just kinda set there, or maybe move very slowly around the tank.

Are my little guys stressed from the move, or might I have inadvertantly done something to harm them? The water has been tested and re-tested and all seems to be just fine. Temp is 70deg in tank, and was 67deg in the pond when I moved them. The new tank has a small power filter on the backside. Might that be causing the snails problems due to turbulence in the water? I'm at a loss and will gladly consider any advice that you folks can offer me. At this point I'm about ready to put the little dudes back into the pond where they partied 24/7 and seemed to be doing great, but would that stress em even worse?

Thanks Folks,
Mike

 

[msjinkzd]

Did you use cycled media to start the tank? Have you tested for ammonia, nitrties and nitrates?

Did you blanch the veggies before adding them and are you removing it after its not been eaten?

I am concerned that maybe your water quality is getting poor from the addition of the snails and uneaten food decomposing. My best guess would be to do frequent water changes. Try blanching a small wedge of zucchini, or cucumber, or green bean and sinking it in the tank. Leave it overnight as these snails are more active at night. Remove any uneaten portion in the morning. You could also try algae wafers or culturing algae. Best of luck to you and your snails!

 

[rider357]

Hi and thanks for the reply.

I have tested for eveything, including ammonia, nitrties and nitrates. They are all fine.


Yes, I did remove the food items they didn't eat before trying something elase. The peas were put in very late last night and are still in. As of 5:30 this morning they were untouched as well. If they still haven't touched them when I get home from work this evening I'll remove them also. The veggies were not blanched! Do you think they believe the veggires are live plants and won't eat them? The lettuce and celery leaves were right off the head/stalks. I feel kinda stupid for not thinking of that. The peas were out of a can, so they have been cooked. I'll try the greenbeans or cukes if the peas are not eaten. I'll also do a 25% water change tonight to see if that helps any. Would you recomend using the pond water or should use fresh water from my nice deep, very clean well? The water is a bit hard, but otherwise just about perfect. I don't have a softener installed in the system either. I tried a couple of algae wafers yesterday, but they too were not touched and ended up disolving away.

Thanks a bunch for your suggestions and I will let you know how things go.

PS. Do you sell trapdoors? My brother in Mississippi wants to try them and I'm looking for a reputable vendor to get him some.

 

[msjinkzd]

I have some trapdoors, but not many available.

If the veggie isnt' blanched, it will be too tough for the snail to eat. I typically will blanch them as its easier for them to eat right away, an exception is greens as they will fall apart if blanched.

I would use your well water for the water change, just try and temp match it to the tank.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[rider357]

Did a water change last evening and tried the cucumber. It worked! Four of the six are chowing down, but the other two are just hunkering down with very little activity. If they don't come arouind by this evening I'm going to put those two back into the pond in a seperate enclosure and see what they do.

Thanks again for your help. I'm quite syre I'll be asking more questions real soon.

 

[msjinkzd]

Yay! I am so glad to hear that they are coming around for you! They are such neat little critters! Let me know if you have any other questions and we LOVE pics :grinyes:

 

[rider357]

And you shall have some pics as soon as I can get them this evening. Now if i can get the little buggers to do a little he'in and she'in maybe I can get some bambinos to watch.

Thanks a gain my dear!!

 

[Flaringshutter]

:welcome:
Welcome to AC, rider! It's always good to hear about a happy snail ending.

And as for your hard water, don't worry about it one bit! Hard water is GREAT for snails - most of us snail keepers add coral or liquid calcium or plaster blocks to our water to increase the hardness! Your hard water will make for strong, healthy, beautiful snail shells.

Trapdoors can be a bit mysterious - I've never actually seen mine in the act of eating anything except algae and driftwood bits. They're definitely the most shy aquatic snails. That lazy behavior is fairly normal - mine will sit in the same spot for days, then suddenly be out and about.

Best of luck with them. And we love pictures!

 

[msjinkzd]

I've never actually seen mine in the act of eating anything except algae and driftwood bits. They're definitely the most shy aquatic snails. That lazy behavior is fairly normal - mine will sit in the same spot for days, then suddenly be out and about.

I have to agree! I have several of these too and rarely see them doing much, but darn they are cute!

 

[thebullit]

i agree they are very lazy snails,and will sit for days like said before. i wouldn't feed tinned peas as they have a lot of salt in them.
i always blanch the veggies but very really see my trapdoors eating them. just my others. mine do prefare algae and dead plant matter rather than veggies. and give birth twice.