Want a snail but don't know much about them.

So heat is a yes and aeration is a no. What about filtration? This obviously isn't going to be a show tank, but I'd like it to be presentable. Would a small bubble filter (Whisper 3i to be exact) with a mature sponge be of any use? Also, what about something on the bottom of the tank? I wouldn't do gravel, but would there be any advantage to flat river rocks over the plain glass other than looks?
 
hey guys, im also interested in picking up a couple of snails for both my 10 and 20 gallon. i've been pretty set on finding mystery or apple snails. at first i was intersted in the MTS, but after hearing they only come out at night to feed, that was a turn off. i really would like to see them. i've checked 2 of my local LFS's, they dont seem to carry them (or any snails for that matter). i remember hearing a ban on snails and other pests a few months back, not sure if it was for real or not, but i do notice my petland discounts not having them when they used to. i will check petco's and another fish store later this week.

my 10 gallon has bettas, so i know its a 50/50 chance with them and the snails.
 
A filter is probably a good idea to deal with their mess. An air-driven sponge filter may be better if you're thinking of breeding snails. Those are the kind people use in fry tanks because there's no suction to suck up babies. I think they work just by hooking up to an air pump, and it uses the aeration to rotate a sponge on which your bio filter lives.
Don't know for sure, tho, because I have never personally used those baby fish filters.

As for substrate, you can go bare. It would make it easier to clean up. Most snails don't really care if there's substrate or not, as long as there's room to lay their egg jellies. For that, plants will help because they provide more surface area and habitat complexity. I would think the purification benefits of live plants might make those desirable, too. For that, you may want gravel or some other substrate. Altho you could do java fern or something else that can grow bare.

MTS (and other trumpet snails, I think) tend to bury themselves in substrate, so those might prefer gravel for that reason. They might only do that to escape predators, though, as I've heard their behavior is different in the absence of fish (they're out all the time).

Gee, how did I become the snail guru? Where my other snail peeps at?

As for the snail ban, I heard of that over at dwarfpuffers.com. I will read up on it and get back to you! Of course anyone else is welcome to chime in, too :) Anyone? I'm feeling drained...
 
Just went to my LFS to look for some ramshorn. They don't sell them, but the guy went over to the plant tanks and pulled a few babies out for me (as well as a few malaysian trumpets for my 10g) and gave them to me for free. Can't beat that deal. I'll put the ramshorns in my 2.5 gallon and the trumpets right into the 10 and see what happens.

By the bye, I think sponge filter and bubble filter are almost the same thing for those interested in the semantics of aquaria. The Whisper 3i is basically an air pump that blows bubbles into the bottom of a tube which forces water up through a sponge and out over a spouted edge. Nothing in there about a rotating sponge as was mentioned above. Maybe a sponge filter is more sophisticated than a bubble filter?

I've heard the same thing about trumpets plah. If you have fish that will eat them they burrow into whatever cover that can find on the bottom and then are active at night. Supposedly you can have dozens or hundreds of them and not know it until you sneak up on them at 2am and flip on the lights.
 
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good deal, nerdyguy! can't beat free. ramshorns can start to breed at a pretty small size (much smaller than max). like i was surprised mine were already breeding, when they were all about 1 cm or less. your g/f's turtle should love 'em!

I chose the ramshorns as feeders because they (and common pond snails) lack an operculum ("trap door"). mysteries and apples can close their operculum to shut out predators, thereby making them a lot harder to eat. Unless, of course, the turtle will just chomp them whole!

My loaches and puffers just suck the flesh out through the shell opening, and I'm left with all these empty but totally intact shells. I have to be vigilant and remove dead snails that aren't completelyl eaten, tho, otherwise they'll foul the water, which you know.
 
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One of the snails I got for free (turned out I got a mix of ramshorn and pond) is mostly out of his shell. I think the guy pulled him too hard trying to get him off the wall of the tank. The shell is still attached, but the whole body is outside the shell. Will he recover, or should I just give him to the turtle now so he can be food before he dies and shrivels up? He's moving around and eating and everything. If he can't breed like that, then he won't really do me any good. So what should I do with him?
 
if you've got enough breeders, i'd say feed him to the turtle. he may still be able to breed (they don't mount each others' shells, just lock "feet"), but it sounds painful and not worth dragging it on. i don't believe that it would be able to recover from that injury.

yuck, that's why i always scrape snails from the glass (like with an algae blade or a butter knife), rather than trying to pull them by the shell :(
 
after re-reading this thread
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78539&highlight=kent+calcium
it seems that Daveedka believes cuttlebone does not dissolve to increase calcium levels in the water. although I could have sworn he said in another thread that cuttlebone WOULD dissolve.

hmm, well, i have hard water and change the water enough that i don't have to supplement calcium. maybe some of you other guys have softer water and may need to consider supplementing Ca.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjFMi5i-2GI


Here is a video of my apple snail cleverly named banana. I really love this snail and it serves a dual purpose as a great glass cleaner! The snail currently resides with some bala sharks and tinfoil barbs. I have even had it in a tank with a few rainbow sharks who never bothered it, even though they were fiercly territorial in the tank.

The snail does have the drawback of being able to have TONS of babies at a time. The LFS where I bought this snail also sold me another one, lying to me when they said it wouldnt be a problem. I did have a smaller tank get over run by the snails and four clown loaches couldnt take care of it. I finally had to take the tank down for two weeks or so and even still, I had a couple survivors.

I suggest that if you were going to purchase a snail, ask for one that has been by itself for a while or quarenteen it until you know it isnt pregnant or about to lay eggs. This way you can be sure you wont get over run. Dont let this discourage you though! Snails are great for a lot of reasons and trust me, unless you have fish that love to eat snails like loaches or puffers, they can close up in that shell faster than you may think. Mine has survived a lot of picking on by other fish who were curious about it. Now I even move the snail from one 55 gallon tank to another so that it will clean up the glass when my pleco or algea eater gets a little bit behind. They are also great at keeping decorations clean since they can get into all the nooks and crannies!
 
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