Freshwater Snails... culturing for food 8/22/09
Hello, I just purchased a Green Spotted Puffer fish.
<A fascinating brackish water species. Sadly, often kept in freshwater, where it quickly dies. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brackishsubwebindex/gspsart.htm
While I'd like to think you're keeping your puffer in brackish water, you'd be surprised how many people don't, and the consequent numbers of sick and dead Green Spotted Puffers there are in the world! Juveniles are best kept around SG 1.005 at 25 degrees C/77 degrees F, that's about 9 grammes of marine salt mix per litre. Adults should be kept in more saline conditions, around SG 1.010, or 15.5 grammes of marine salt mix per litre.>
I also purchased 12 little snails that range from the size of a pea to the size of a pin head. The snails are a different variety (Ramshorn and others.) I do not know anything about snails but have been told these reproduce very quickly.
<Quite possibly, but rarely fast enough to provide live food in a pufferfish aquarium. Even if the puffer only eats a modest meal of ten snails, that's practically the whole of your population. Repeat that daily, and you'll quickly wipe out any population. The exception to this may be the Malayan Livebearing Snail (Melanoides spp.) that thrive in brackish water and stay hidden under the substrate, but these have such tough shells their value as food is essentially zero. Only when hungry will puffers go for them, and even then, only the smallest specimens. Some aquarists consider them a danger to puffers, their shells being strong enough to crack pufferfish teeth. Whether this is a valid risk or not is debatable, but it's a concern some experienced keepers have raised. So, in total, there's no point whatsoever adding snails to a pufferfish tank on the basis of providing a suitable amount of food. It won't work unless we're talking a pond-sized aquarium where a population of hundreds, if not thousands, of suitable snails (e.g., Physa spp.) could be maintained.>
The fish store said they were all self reproducing. I put all 12 snail into a 1 gallon aquarium along with an air stone. I do not have any substrate in the tank just an empty bottom. It has fresh water that was treated with "Prime" and is at room temperature. The snails were all very active crawling all over the sides of the aquarium. I put a piece of lettuce in the aquarium (washed in treated water) and put the air stone on top of it to push the lettuce down to the bottom. When I got up the next day all the snails were laying on the bottom of the aquarium. I kept an eye on them and none of them have moved since. after it got dark I took a flashlight and looked in the aquarium and I could see 1 of them coming out of his shell but he never moves. I removed the lettuce and put an algae wafer in the bottom along with a little bit of tropical flake food. At this point they are not moving around. I got these to feed the puffer fish but I am afraid to give them to the puffer because I do not know what is going on. I have checked the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates but since it is fresh water only 2 days old everything was at zero. I did put 6 other snails into a 30 gallon aquarium the was already cycled but I cannot find them at this point. I got the 1 gallon tank free and I figure they would be easy to find so I could feed the puffer. Any help would be appreciated.
<Rear suitable snails in another tank. Physa spp. are ideal for smaller puffers (to around 8-10 cm) while larger puffers will take Planorbis, Vivaparus spp.>
Thanks
-Jon
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Freshwater Snails 8/22/09
Neale,
<Jon,>
WOW!!! Thanks for the fast response! I have posted on forums on my journey to learn more about puffers, snails and others and all I get is "I think" and "Maybe."
<I'm glad to have helped.>
I appreciate you also commenting on the puffer as well. I actually found the webpage you referenced right off the bat when doing my Googling. This puffer is about 1" big and has been kept in freshwater.
<Still a pup! Can be somewhat delicate when young, but not especially difficult to keep.>
You think it is best to start slowly changing him to brackish water now?
<Don't do anything radical. Simply use normal water changes to replace water with slightly brackish water. For a fish this size, SG 1.003 is ample. That's about 6 grammes of marine salt mix per litre. So if you take out a 15 litre bucket of water, add 15 litres with 15 x 6 = 90 grammes of marine salt mix. Once the fish is more than twice the size he is now, do water changes where you're replacing water with water that has 9 grammes of marine salt mix added per litre, i.e., a 15 litre bucket would contain 15 x 9 = 135 grammes. This is about SG 1.005 at 25 degrees C. In theory, you can keep GSPs perfectly well even at that low salinity, but once the fish are near full grown (around 10 cm/4 inches) you may care to nudge the salinity upwards to SG 1.010, about 15.5 grammes of marine salt mix per litre.
Again, you'd do this simply by doing water changes. Going slowly like this allows the bacteria in the filter to adjust.>
I also read that they come with parasites in them and they should be medicated right away which will extend their life. Is this something I need to do?
<Not unless there are obvious signs of infections. Over-medicating can cause all sorts of problems. Brackish water will kill a wide range of external parasites anyway, including Ick and Velvet as well as various "worms" and "lice".>
How can you tell how much food is enough for them?
<With puffers, a good rule of thumb is to feed them until their bellies slightly swell outwards. They shouldn't look like they swallowed a bowling ball! Skipping a meal once a week does no harm. Vary the diet, offering mostly shell-on foods such as krill, daphnia, bloodworms, etc. Some puffers enjoy cooked peas. Soft meaty things like squid and mussel are good for them, but use in moderation to avoid problems such as constipation and vitamin deficiency.>
I read they will eat until they rupture their stomachs.
<Myth.>
If I drop 1 snail into the tank (the puffer goes wild) his stomach gets fairly large after he eats it so I stop feeding him at that point.
<Fine.>
Am I feeding him enough food?
<So long as he isn't "hollow" bellied, he's fine.>
Keep in mind the snails are about the size of a pea or smaller. Your page says you have to GSP as well. What is best to feed a puffer of this size?
Your page says one thing to feed them is ghost shrimp.
<Adults certainly enjoy them.>
Being that my puffer is only about 1" big will he be able to eat ghost shrimp or is he to small?
<Probably not. Daphnia and brine shrimps, as well as wet-frozen krill and mysis, will be fine. My puffers sometimes refuse things like krill and mysis, I suppose because these foods are "hard work" to chew and swallow.
Don't relent! If needs be, starve your puffer a day or two, and then offer these nutritious goodies.>
Can I keep the ghost shrimp with the snails or will the ghost shrimp try to eat the snails? I think I need to make a trip out to the store to find some other types of food. I have been giving him a snail every other day and freeze dried brine shrimp (which you do not list as a food for them.) I did by some shrimp for me and gave him a little piece which he looked like he really enjoyed. I have only had him for about 1 week at this point.
<Brine shrimp are a fine treat, and they're full of fibre, but they contain almost no other nutrition. So while fine once a week, don't use them too often.>
I did find that most of the snails did move late last night. When I got up most of them were around the algae wafer, others were on the sides of the tank. Should they be constantly moving? <Yes.>
I read on your posts that some people have experienced the snails laying on the bottom and just moving at night. Other say their snails are constantly moving. I am sure it also depends on the type of snail.
<Precisely so.>
Thanks for taking the time to answer my email.
<My pleasure.>
I have a friend who has been raising cichlids for 15+ years but when it comes to brackish\salt water fish and puffers he doesn't really know too much about them. It is nice to see that someone with experience is willing to take time to respond to so many emails (of which I bet you get a lot of) and take the time to help others out so they can learn the best way to care for their aquariums.
-Jon
<We try and do our best, at least. Enjoy your fish! Cheers, Neale.>

Do snails carry their eggs?   7/10/09
Hello. I have been browsing your website for the answer but could not find it. My young daughter brought home some snails from a school project.
They are small and have black shells. They are fresh water snails.
<Could be anything! But do review the genus Physa, the so-called Tadpole Snails, and the genus Planorbis, the Ramshorn Snails. Both are common and include numerous small, easily maintained species.>
The 2 of them were huddled together for a while and a film grew around them. I thought they were dead but soon enough they began moving around the tank again. Just recently one of the snails has been upside down in the tank. Again I feared it was dead. A strange bubble (with bubbles inside) formed and the snail is actually holding it (I have seem its soft body moving, grabbing and moving this bubble). Are these eggs?
<Can't tell from your description, to be honest. Snail eggs typically look like tiny (a few mm across) masses of jelly, within which you will see a few dark spots, the developing snail embryos. There are numerous exceptions to this description, but this is the most common way coldwater pond snails breed.>
If so, what should we do to help the little ones survive. This is a very basic tank... a few pebbles and 3 tiny plants. We are far from knowledgeable aquatic life caregivers! :-) Thank you for reading.
<Basic care of snails is similar to that of fish. Simply in terms of good water quality, you'll need a tank 5 gallons in size or upwards, and equipped with a filter of some sort, an air-powered sponge being ideal.
Change 25% of the water every week or two, adding water conditioner to each bucket of water to removing chlorine and copper, both of which kill snails quickly. For food, algae will be the main thing, and that should grow readily enough if you put the tank somewhere sunny, like an east-facing windowsill so it gets a few hours sunlight but doesn't overheat (above 30 C for extended periods is bad for coldwater snails). Such sunlight will also help your plants survive without additional lighting; snails will eat "struggling" plants so do choose your plants carefully. Aquarium shops often sell plants that either require strong lighting or won't live underwater for more than a few weeks; such plants will start to die and soon become snail food. Once a week, add a tiny pinch of fish food or half a catfish algae wafer. Remove dead snails as/when you find them to avoid problems with decay and water pollution. That's about it, really. Do read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwinverts.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Mystery balls in a freshwater tank 6/1/2009 Here are some pictures. I am not sure what these things are. <Nor me, to be honest! I'd assume the balls are snail eggs, and the yellow fuzz fungus consuming something dead. Pomacea snails usually lay their eggs above the waterline, but I suppose they might fall into the water and decay, resulting in the fungi appearing. Pomacea eggs are distinctly "crunchy", so the texture would be a give-away.> There are clumps of yellow balls and clumps of yellow fuzz. Info: 29 gal tank, full of guppies, two mystery snails, one loach, and two sunburst platy wags. <Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Mystery balls in a freshwater tank 6/1/2009 thanks. I believe i have fungus because the yellow fuzz turned to yellow balls over night, and they are soft and mushy. <Problem solved then. Or rather, changed. Healthy aquaria shouldn't have any visible fungus at all: organic matter should be removed before it develops. Cheers, Neale.>

My apple snail, repro. issues  4/30/09
Hello!
<Hello Manda>
I have three apple snails, two are golden Inca and the other is a mystery snail. My question is this: One male golden and the female mystery both have what appears to be a strange crack on the front of their shells. It
looks like the shell split, and is growing back together. What is this, and should I be concerned? Also, The golden male and mystery female have been mating, or what I call "snex-ing". How long will it take before I find eggs in my tank?
<Ah, this likely explains the "crack". Often when apple snails mate they can damage their mantle (where the shell production occurs), the crack is not actually a crack, it is an area of no shell growth in the same place
where the damage occurred to the mantle. Other causes could be from rapid changes in temperature or availability of food, but considering the mating, I think that is the most likely culprit. If the crack the mantle damage isn't severe, which it doesn't sound like it is, then they should both be fine.>
<As far as the eggs go, make sure you have adequate space at the top of the tank without water against it. About the width of the snail shell is normally enough space, and the eggs will be laid up top on the glass
outside of the water.>
Thank you very much for taking time to read my question.
<Thank you for taking the time to write us, and include all the details even if they seemed unrelated. Those extra details are sometimes the final piece to the puzzle.>
Manda
<Josh Solomon>

Poecilia repro; Mystery fish (Rasbora borapetensis); Apple snail repro, aestivation 03/29/09
Dear Crew, I'd like to ask if my tank is suitable for breeding guppies. I have a 40 gal. tank, 3-4 platies, a few Danios, and 8-10 mollies. Just a few days ago, I recently purchased 4 male guppies and 3 female. I also purchased 5 snails. I do have a separate tank about 35+ gal., but I've never really used it for breeding.
<Well, the 40 gallon is certainly plenty big enough for breeding livebearers, though Danios are very good predators and will take any small fry they can find.>
Every time a get fry in my tank, we don't usually scoop them out. They're pretty good at hiding, and we usually notice them when they're 1-2 weeks old. Up until now, I've never been concerned about the other fish eating the fry, because they get fed about 3 times a day. But now, I'm thinking that I should transfer some of my fish to the other tank, or at least those
I suspect are going to reproduce. Should I? It's never been a problem before.
<Up to you; floating plants will protect some fry, and it's really only a big deal if you actually want to rear the fry and sell them on. If this is the case, moving the fry to a breeding tank as/when you find them is a good idea. If you get a production line going, and have just a single variety of Guppies (or Platy, or whatever) then the offspring should be good enough to
sell. Retailers tend not to want cross-breed fry, e.g., from Black Cobra males and Green Snakeskin females. On the other hand, if all you care about is the occasional fry surviving, then by all means let nature takes its course.>
Also, I was wondering if you could identify my Danios.
<Not Danios.>
When I bought them, my dad thought they were pretty cool, so we purchased 4-5 of them. Now, I'm having a little trouble breeding them, so if I knew what they were called, it might help. I'll attach pictures of the fish.
<These are Rasbora borapetensis, known as the Black-line or Red-tailed Rasbora. A nice fish, gets to about 5 cm long, needs to be kept in groups of 6+, and prefers slightly soft/acidic water (pH 6.5, less than 10 degrees dH). Water temperature should be relatively cool, 22-26 C recommended. Not particularly easy to breed, and certainly not compared to Danios. Rasboras generally are fussy about water chemistry, and won't breed at all if it isn't right.>
One more thing. I'm worried that my Golden Mystery Snails won't reproduce that well. Once, about a year ago, there was some reproduction, but eventually, the snails all died away.
<Absolutely typical.>
What should I do to keep the population alive?
<Allow the Apple snails to aestivate for 3 months of the year. Apple snails are adapted to a seasonal climate, and during the summer rest for three months buried in mud. Kept at tropical temperatures all year long they simply "burn out". This is why you ALMOST NEVER see full size Apple snails in aquaria. Adults can be the size of tennis balls, but the ones in fish
tanks are usually a lot smaller.>
Should I know how to tell the difference between a male and a female to add one or two if there isn't enough for reproduction?
<Sexing isn't easy, though the penis on the male is apparent if you know what to look for. Applesnail.net has some pictures.>
Thanks for reading the questions. I'll be looking for a reply soon! Bebe
<Hope this is soon enough! Neale.>

Pink crusty oblong growth on inside of tank lid?
Apple Snail Laying Eggs  4/16/08
This is a 7 gallon acrylic tank with a inside hanging filter. It did hold my Betta at one point, has a huge black snail, a Pleco, and two small angels. I transferred the Betta out to a bowl. So just the two fish of Angels. A pet shop sold me a beat up angel cheaply, but it did die two weeks later. When I took the lid off of the tank then, I noticed a pink crusty oblong growth on the inside of the lid. I just disposed of it, and the tank went on it's merry way. But now when I transferred the two angels, I noticed a similar growth! I have transferred all livestock out of the tank and plan to disinfect everything with a 5% bleach solution and just let the tank sit empty for a while. Any idea what this thing is, or what caused it? Sincerely, Chris
<As a way to avoid predators your snail is actually laying eggs out of the water. When the eggs hatch the baby snails will fall into the water and start to grow.-Chuck>

Mystery snail babies...but no mate  4/6/08 Hi guys, it's been awhile! (Our clowns, Maria and Carlos, are doing great!) I have two beta fish in separate 5 gallon tanks, with one plastic decoration in each tank. About four months ago I got what was labeled as golden mystery/apple snails, and placed one in each tank. I figured mystery snails would be a good choice because I didn't want a ton of baby snails going around. <Ah, I see where this is going...> Anyway, these snails have not been with another snail for these past four months, and while the snail in The Professor's tank is still solitary, suddenly I'm seeing A TON of baby snails in Xavier's tank. I was under the impression these snails were sexual and needed a mate to reproduce. <Correct; they are not parthenogenic, though like most snails they are hermaphrodites.> Will you take a look at these photos and tell me if these are in fact a breed different from the mystery/apple snail? Thank you! <Yes, this are indeed baby Pomacea. The snail you had must have stored a packet of sperm since it was last with another snail. Squish the babies if you don't want them, but otherwise they're easy to rear, and pet shops happily take them.> ~Ashlin <Cheers, Neale.>

My Ramshorn snail is reproducing :| -03/27/08
Hello again everyone!
I've been reading about snails on your website so long my eyes feel like they're going to fall out! Very helpful, but i just have a couple quick questions for you. I recently bought a Ramshorn snail from the pet store, and he's been doing great so far in my tank - a little too great in fact. He (and she, I suppose) just laid a nice big batch of eggs in one of our fake plants. From what I've read online so far, I understand that this will probably not be the only time this happens and snails tend to lay eggs like crazy. Now, being the paranoid fish owner that I am, I am worried about the fish in my tank! I know they will probably not do well to have a snail infestation. I've got a collection that includes one violet goby, one dojo loach, two Bala sharks, one clown Pleco, three black skirts, one emperor tetra, and two blue rams. So far, no one has touched the eggs as a meal, so I am worried that once they hatch there'll be a similar reaction - that is, none. I read that loach's eat the baby snails, but will any of the other fish? And if not, should we try to get rid of any future eggs before they hatch to prevent the snails from taking over?
Thanks so much for your time,
Kelly
<Yes, the Loach will eat the baby snails. Chances of the snail population causing problems are low, but if you want to be sure, by all means remove the snail eggs. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Green Spotted Puffer, Coquina Clams, and Mole Crabs... + Now, raising snails... for puffer food  – 12/14/2007
Marco,
Within two hours of placing the snails into the 20 gallon, I had a cluster of eggs smack-dab in the middle of the front pane of glass. Now, a few days later, they are getting' down-and-going' to town. Another question: I've read that one should rinse lettuce leaves (Romaine), dry them, then freeze them for a few minutes before feeding to the snails. Is it okay to just buy a head of lettuce, separate the leaves, wash, dry, and leave in the freezer until needed?
<Sounds okay. Personally I prefer feeding well washed slices of cucumber and other vegetables in addition to old (but still good) fish flakes. Ramshorns are not picky and as long as you do not poison them with pesticides or heavy metals they seem to thrive on various foods.>
What I buy always goes bad in the fridge before the snails can eat it all. It may be a silly question, but I want to make sure before I do so.
Thanks for the link on picky puffer feeding. I've read it. Pete doesn't have a problem with other dead foods. Loves squid and bloodworms (dead, of course) and will even eat some greens (macro algae). He also gets mealworms (live) and snails when I have them available......I'll try the chopstick trick and see if I can get him to eat clams/oysters that way....or maybe I won't need to now that I can use Coquinas.
Speaking of feeding him live foods....my backyard is Roly-Poly Central (Woodlice). I think I read somewhere that these are okay to feed him. Just double-checking with you. Are they?
<I feed them from time to time to GSPs and other puffers, but they are not among their favourite foods and seem not to be very tasty.>
There are no pesticides that we use, so they should be okay in that regard. Our sprinkler system does use water that isn't potable, though.
<You can rinse them and freeze them if you are feeling unsure.>
By the way, I called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Dept and was told that I could remove 20 clams/crabs at a time without a license. Yeah!
<That’s good news. Very good you called.>
Hey, where's your picture under the Crew Bio section? I've seen Jeni on her Harley and Bob in his leopard print wrestling tights (eeeee hehehehe), Anthony with his beanie and goatee (you ROCK, Dude); plus pictures of other crew members. But no Marco.....! What gives? I'm just sayin', is all.
<I'm very shy and reclusive.. just kidding. Will send a picture to Bob if needed. Until then you can find a picture on my homepage http://www.geo-lichtenberger.de.vu/ , click at “Zur Person”.>
Thanks again, Corinthian.
<Not much to do here for me, but lots of good information for other GSP owners by you. Thanks for writing. Great how you care for Pete. Marco.>

Breeding, fungi or alien phenomenon? Gastropod repro.  11/08/07
Hi Guys!
Tried to find an answer on your awesome site but it's hard to phrase the problem I'm having! But I'll give it a try!
So, I emailed Sabrina a few months back coz my two common goldfish were fighting. She told me this was normal and that it could be the start of them showing breeding behaviour which totally matches with the other info I've recently found.
However, I was cleaning out my tank the other day and found small, clear bubble like things on the little ornaments and along the top of the tank at water level.
<Ahhh! Snail eggs likely>
At first I thought they were just bubbles but they weren't - they were solid. Anyway, concerned it was some sort of fungi I removed them all from the tank and did a full clean to eradicate any trace of them, although considering the behaviour of the fish I started to think maybe they were fry?!?
<Mmm, no... not fishes>
(They did try to eat them and they have been chasing each other a lot...)
However this seems grossly out of character in these winter months despite the mild weather here) and they're not even a year old yet.
Do you have any idea what these clear things were?!
So confused!
Thanks in advance!
Chloe H, London :-)
<You do have snails of some sort... likely Ampullaria/Pomacea... "Mystery, Apple...". These are the eggs of these. Bob Fenner>

Litter size for "Japanese livebearing snails"?
Help me, WWM, you're my only hope!
<Ah, a Star Wars reference!>
I've recently acquired some "Japanese livebearing snails"/"trapdoor
snails" (/Cipangopaludina chinensis /or /Viviparus malleatus/ depending on exactly who you ask).
<Apparently Bellamya chinensis now...>
I'm a 'snail-head', I got the critters on purpose after searching for them for quite some time, so the "good vs. bad" issue isn't a debate here for me. I know the basics about the species (they like colder water, they're non-hermaphroditic livebearers who drop live young 1-3 times a year usually in the summer, etc) and I feed and dose them (iodine and calcium) like my other snails (/Pomacea/, /Planaria/, and /Asolene/).
<Very good.>
The one question I cannot for the life of me find an answer to, is how *many *young does a female typically drop at any given time? Google, Applesnail.net, and all my other common resources have failed me. One of mine has actually already released 3 young snails (and wow they're huge compared to newborns of my other species). But all I can find is "they reproduce slower and have fewer young than most snails". Does that mean roughly 2-3 a batch, 20-30 a batch, 2-3 a year, or 20-30 a year?
<According to 'In utero predator- induced responses in the viviparid snail Bellamya chinensis' by R.S. Prezant, E.J. Chapman, and A. McDougall the exact number depends on various factors including levels of predation. Where predators are present these researchers found the snails produced more, generally smaller but variable babies. In each tank they put 5 adult snails. In the control (no predator) they got between 5-20 offspring per week. Where "crayfish scent" was added to mimic a predator, they got between 10-60 offspring. (You might want to read the PDF of this paper yourself, just to check I understood the graph right.) Either way, it doesn't seem these snails are nearly as productive as Melanoides.>
Thank you so much for your time!
Best regards,
Diana
<Hope this helps, Neale>

Snail Reproduction   9/4/06
I have two snails, I think that they are Mystery snails but I'm not sure.  A few weeks ago we noticed two more little babies, and then today when I was looking in our tank I noticed two more smaller babies and a whole bunch of little tiny worm looking things.  My question is what are the stages of the baby snails and are all these little worm things more babies.
<Not likely the latter>
  ( They are all moving so I'm pretty sure that they are living.) FYI: We have a fresh water tank with only three fish and the two (now 6) snails.
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnailreprofaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Snail Eggs - 05/17/2006
Okay I live in Eastern PA and I caught two tadpoles (bullfrogs) and a snail. All fresh water. Well my husband cleaned out the cage yesterday and well today I noticed it was kind of foggy and stuff I thought maybe he put too much food in it. But now I see our small brown snail laid eggs.
<The eggs are likely not the cause of the "foggy" look; you will probably need to test your water quality urgently.  You can read more about water quality and tank maintenance on WetWebMedia.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwmaintindex.htm >
He is no bigger then my pinky nail. She laid them on the side of the tank a little above the water.
<This may give some insight as to snail species, but without seeing the animal or knowing exactly what it looks like, I won't be able to tell you what it is.  You might try looking at http://www.applesnail.net/ .>
Now my question is we don't have another snail in our tank. So will they get fertilized or were they fertilized when laid?
<Actually, MANY freshwater snails practice hermaphroditic self-fertilization.  Your snail's eggs are likely fertile.  Only a few are actually male or female and need one of each to reproduce.>
And is it okay for me to clean my tank?
<Oh yes.  A necessary thing to keep your livestock healthy.  Again, please read on WWM for more information to help you along.>
Oh and she keeps crawling on them or beside them and it making little air bubbles. I don't know what that means but thought I'd add it.
<I'm not sure why, either, especially not knowing what species it is.>
Please answer me by sending an email this is very important!  Yours Truly ~Missie
<Wishing you and your future snail babies well,  -Sabrina>

FW Strange things?   4/3/06
<Tom>
I have a 74g freshwater aquarium, fully cycled with angels, tetras, clown loaches, sharks, Corys and snails (apple, golden and blue).  I found a strange thing while vacuuming the bottom and wondered if you might know what it was.  It was about the size of a large marble, crunchy feeling, pinkish in color, and it's consistency was like that of a honeycomb, or beehive, with pinkish interiors.  Was it snail eggs?  My mother found the same sort of thing attached above the water line behind her power filter.  Please let me know if you have any idea?
<Sounds, indeed, like you found a snail clutch. Your Apple snails will deposit eggs either above or below the water line so I believe your "guess" is correct.>
Thanks, Cindy
<Any time. Tom>

Getting Into FW Snails, I'm Telling You, I'm Gonna Post It!  12/10/05
Hi, My 5 year old son is getting into fish and snails... hence that means that I am getting into them as well! We bought two snails for our freshwater aquarium. They are about the size of a quarter. How do you know who is the male and the female?
< Hard to tell. Males are said to have a rounder shell opening.>
At Petsmart, they have about 25 snails in 1 clear box with a wedge of zucchini in it, and long (arm-like) tentacles were coming out of some of these snails.... I mean, seemed as long as the snail itself, almost like he had a garden hose in there! I imagine that that was a reproductive organ of some type? (male or female... who knows?) I could take a guess, but might be wrong! :-)
< The appendage is actually a snorkel for breathing and both sexes have it.>
The questions are: How can you tell male/female? What was the long thing? Do snails eat raw zucchini?
< In the wild they do not come in contact will zucchini. Years ago an aquarist figured out that this could be used as feed to herbivorous aquatic animals.>
Do snails need an aerator in the tank?
< Not really but they will do better with a clean aquarium.>
Background info:
(We started a fish tank after Hurricane Charlie in Florida.... we live across from a lake... during Hurricane Charley, we lost power, and the sewer didn't pump... so the water from the lake came up through the sewer drain in the middle of our street, and formed a puddle in the front driveway. We thought they were tadpoles... and many were , so we raised them... but we wound up with 5 one-inch long transparent looking fish... who have managed to survive from tap water and a filter in our 10 gallon aquarium. (They also have lake sand, and some plants that we have bought at the fish store. ) They even had babies, but they ate the babies before we learned we had to separate them. So, now the snails have been added to this.... I just bought an aerator, but perhaps this could kill them all?
< No .>
Do some fish need low oxygen?
<You can not provide too much oxygen with an aerator.>
Can too much oxygen kill them?
< Too much of anything can kill. But this is not a problem in the aquarium.>
I could never imagine being a fish owner... or a snail owner.... but this is kind of neat.... (We even bought them a castle in the tank! )  Thanks! (You don't have to post this on your website if these questions are too basic or silly) Nathalie Day
< We post everything!-Chuck>

Tired of Reading? Snail Eggs
Hi Sorry to trouble you, I no longer have the energy to keep reading to find my answers.
We have an established tank with 2 Oscars, 1 small yellow unknown and 4 yellow snails (species unknown also). Recently we found 2 growths near the roof of the tank (out of the water). I thought it was due to bad housekeeping and promptly removed them however there are now another 2 growths back same area but situated differently. They appear to be cylindrical in shape, about 3cm long and 1 cm width and depth. They are a brown/white colour and there are a lot of round "bubbles".
We do regular testing and all levels are normal however our snails do venture out regularly above the water line - I'm just assuming they're adventurous. Upon assuming this, I'm also hoping that these "growths" are snail eggs? If not, what?
If so, any idea how long before they hatch? Would love to see them before the Oscars eat them. On a side note, when we first introduced the snails, it was quite a sight to see one of the Oscars suck on a snail and take it to the other side of the tank. I thank you very much for any feed back you can give me.
Kind Regards Trish
< Those are indeed snail eggs. The Oscars probably won't eat the eggs but will try and eat the smaller snails.-Chuck>

FW Snail reproduction
Ok, I bought a gold and a black mystery snail a couple weeks ago. If they laid eggs, would they have been at the water line?
<Yes>
And if the eggs hatched, what do the new born snails look like?
<Like small versions of adults, light tan/brown>
I'm seeing 5 or 6 very small, mostly clear snails with good sized antennae, with shells that curl off to one side instead of just being very vertical like the nuisance snails that take over your tank. They might not be mysteries, as I have Frogbit that I put in there when I got the big snails, so they could've come with that (after all I found a dragon fly larvae in it too). Or they could be from the big mysteries. I just need to know what new born mysteries look like. Thanks! Get more from the Web.
<I suspect these are Mystery young. Bob Fenner>

Breeding Snails
Hi Chuck Thanks so much for replying. If I was a week later I could have answered my question - I actually got to see a snail laying eggs! It was the most amazing thing to watch and I most definitely feel for the poor girl having to be there so long. Anyway, I have 2 more questions for you please. I know that the snails lay their eggs outside the water and that it will be around 4 weeks before they hatch. What I'm worried about is that 5 clusters of eggs have fallen into the water and sunk to the bottom of the tank. Is this normal and if not is there anything I can do? Thank you once again. Trish
<The clusters should remain dry until the eggs hatch. Sometimes the materials used for hoods like plastic, glass and metal don't make very good repositories for snail eggs. In the wild they lay their eggs on vertical stems of aquatic plants. Try placing a few branches of driftwood in the back of the tank to see if the females will lay their eggs on it instead next time.-Chuck>

Apple Snail Info
The other day I bought a large apple snail, and I mean large. But after having him (or her) for about a week he's full of antics and great fun. Climbing all over stuff, and he's very fast for a snail. But I might be interested in breeding them. So my question is, do they actually have male and female sides to the species, or should I just get another snail and they will do their thing?
< Apple snails do have male and female sexes. The difference is very slight but you are suppose to be able to tell from the spiral on the shell. One of the sexes spiral is supposed to be more pronounced.-Chuck> 

Snail Breeding Tank for Puffer food 5/28/05
Hi Crew.
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Thank you for your wonderful website. I've learned so much from you.
<You're very welcome, that's what we're here for!>
I'm getting ready to set up my first "big" 100 gal aquarium, and have been reading your site every day for about 3 weeks. I haven't even made a dent in it.
I have two juvenile figure eight puffers. I also have a 2.5 gal "snail tank" for them. I put in 6 1.5 centimeter snails, and waited for babies. Finally, after much agonizing, they've laid 3 batches of eggs! Once the eggs hatch and I have a reasonable "infestation" of snails I'd like to put something in this tank with the snails. It looks empty and sad. I was thinking maybe a Betta or a male guppy, maybe even a couple tetras. That said I do not want to do this if the fish will eat all the snails, leaving none for the puffer babies. I was hoping you could advise me if this would be okay.
<I have kept a Betta in my 2g snail tank, with no problems. Just keep an eye on the water parameters & make sure the tank stays nice & clean for the Betta. Congrats on your snail breeding success!>
This question is less important and I am just curious. My husband is an automation engineer. He thinks changing the water in a tank is inefficient. He seems to think that nitrates could be removed from water using an "ion plate." I told him I had never heard of such a thing. He responded "It should work. I wonder if anybody is doing it. He asked if you all had ever heard of such a thing.
<I am not familiar with this "ion plate" but there are many products on the market that claim to remove nitrates. The fish are still living in a toilet bowl, no less...>
PS Pufferpunk was so helpful in teaching me about my "babies" that we decided to name them after her. They are Pufferpunk, and Pufferpink aka Pufferpigger :)
<Awwww shucks, I'm honored! At least your "human" children aren't stuck with that name! ~PP> 

Eggs (FW snails)
Hi sorry to bother you again my cousin has a 20 freshwater tank setup...In it is a pair of Scissortails, pair of neon tetra's iridescent shark, Pleco, 2 red claw crabs, 1 large yellow snail & 2 Chinese algae eaters...& today she found a egg cluster & we can't figure out who it goes with. I was hoping you could help us...I've included a pic for you to look at...Please help So, we know what to do:
Thanks Again!!!
<Do you have one or more "Mystery Snails"? This looks like a batch of eggs that they produce. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnails.htm
Bob Fenner>

Breeding snails for puffer food (03/10/03)
hi there!
<Hi! Ananda here on the puffer patrol tonight...>
I am considering breeding snails to feed my spotted green puffers.
<Good idea.>
Can you tell me what the best type of snail to breed would be...
<I use the small nuisance snails that are free from most fish stores... some are small rams-horn snails, others are round with a bit of a taper on the end. Avoid the ones that are cone-shaped.>
How many snails I need to purchase initially...
<Purchase? None, hopefully. I'd take as many as the fish store will give you, depending on the size of tank you have.>
what size of tank/container they should be kept in...
<As small as a gallon, depending on how many snails you want and how many puffers you have -- I have a 5.5 gallon tank as full-time snail farm.>
Whether it needs filtration/aeration...
<Yup, and water changes, too -- though you can use the old water from your puffer tank as new water for the snails.>
And does it need to be covered?
<Only to keep the evaporation down. You don't have to worry about the snails crawling around outside the tank. My snail tank is open-topped.>
your advise is greatly appreciated!
Irene
<A couple of other tidbits: you don't need any substrate at all in the tank. In fact, using substrate will just make it more difficult to get the snails out. Do vacuum the crud off the bottom of the tank when you do a water change. And you will need to feed the snails -- old fish food, frozen/thawed vegetables, etc. --Ananda>

Apple snails
Hi all!!!  Hope everything is going okay for you tonight!!!
<So far so good, I'm about to get off work and go pickup my car from the body shop.  WOOO HOOOO.>
I have a quick question for you.  I guess I'm among the minority who actually like snails because I can
find no info on them other than how to kill them:(
<You should meet my girlfriend, best form of snail control ever, she would hand pick them out of my plant tank every day and keep them as pets.>
I recently bought three nice big apple snails to help control an algae problem in my 120 gal cichlid tank.
They've done a beautiful job cleaning up the tank and also love to crawl along the surface and suck down cichlid pellets and Spirulina disks.  They are just so neat to watch!!!  I'll never be without one or two again!!!
My question is this....One of my snails laid eggs on the inside of one of the aquarium lids about a week ago.  The bright pink eggs are in two clusters and they are very hard and dried out.  I was wondering, are these eggs going to hatch??? Or are they dead because they're dried out??
<Its possible, apple snails like to lay their eggs out of the water.>
My 3yr old and 5yr old peek in there every day and keep asking me when they're going to hatch.  But I'm sure with your help,
I will be able to answer their question shortly.   
Thank you for your time,
Kristen
<Well Kristen (whoa my girlfriends name is Kristine, maybe those whose names begin with K have a thing for snails, weird.) have I got a link for you, just found it when searching for apple snails, should answer most of your questions. Best Regards, Gage http://www.applesnail.net/ >

Snail gestation
Dear Crew, Hi,
<Good morning!>
I would like to know when the gestation period for snails are. Due to the fact that my teacher has an aquarium in our classroom and no one knows how or why but all of a sudden there were massive snails in the tank. So what we would like to know is how long their gestation period is.   Thank you much, The Class
<It’s hard to say for sure without knowing the exact species but take a gander at http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnails.htm and the related FAQ’s. These pages should give you lots of info. Ronni>

Re: Snail gestation
These snails Have a Cone shaped shell. These are the shells most commonly found on beeches in New York State. They are Cone shaped and spiral.
<This describes several different types of snails so you’ll have to do some research and see if you can find your kind and their gestation. The link I sent yesterday is a good starting point. Ronni>

Very vague snail question
Is there any way to protect snail eggs from predation?
<Well, I guess first of all, it would depend on what kind of snail you're talking about....  Are you asking about a freshwater snail?  Pond or aquarium?  Or a saltwater snail?  What kind or species, if you know?  Or is this question a follow up on a previous question/answer?  Although there isn't much information for me to go off here, the easiest answer I can give you is to physically separate the eggs from any predators in the system, either by moving them into another system or by containing them somehow, perhaps.  -Sabrina>

Snails 11/02/03 
<Hi, Pufferpunk here> 
I have a small aquarium with one Betta and one snail in it. The snail has been in there for several months. Yesterday I came home to find the snail dead and two baby snails crawling around. I guess my question is, how did this happen? 
<I think that you probably didn't notice the snail eggs or the hatchlings until you noticed the dead one. What food are you offering the snail/s? Are you adding a little extra food than just the Betta will eat? Obviously the babies are tiny, so they may get enough food for now, but I offer mine algae wafers once/week.> 
I just find this very strange. Thank you for your time. 
Joyce 
<You're welcome--Pufferpunk> 

Baby Snails
This summer my daughter found a large snail in a local lake and brought it home to place in her fish tank.  This was done about June.  Today we noticed at least 8 babies about 1/2 the size of an eraser.  I'm assuming the snail must have been pregnant when it was found.  Currently they are in a small fishbowl and I don't know if they should be separated or they need any special care.  This was not found in saltwater and their are two fish in the tank with them.
>>Hello April, congrats on having babies :P I don't know what species of snail you found, but chances are they are a cold water species (whereabouts do you live?) The further north you are, the more "coldwater" your snails are. All I can recommend is to feed them regularly with fish food, keep them relatively cool, and do regular partial water changes, just like you do for your fish. Perhaps, if you are interested, you can try to find pics and a scientific name for them online.
Best wishes! -Gwen<<

Snail eggs
I got two Ramshorns snails last Wednesday and put them by themselves for a couple of days to make sure they would live. One is a golden color the other is the stripped kind. Then I put them in a small two gal tank with two Corys. Yesterday I saw them stuck together and now today, I have a egg sack stuck to the glass. I have three questions.
1.   Should I keep the water level above the eggs?
>>Not sure. Here are some snail websites: http://www.mtbaker.wednet.edu/harmony/ditch/ramshorn_snails.htm, http://www.applesnail.net/, http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/invert/snailram.html.<<
2.   How long will it be, before they hatch?
>>I am not sure.<<
3.   Will the Corys eat the eggs or the babies once the hatch?
>>Chances are good that they will eat them, yes. Check out the websites, I hope they will help you. :D<<
Thanks
W.D.
>>You are welcome. -Gwen<<

Breeding Mystery Snails
I have a five gallon aquarium with a Betta, 2 ghost shrimp, and 1 black mystery snail. Now I want to add one or two more mystery snails because i heard they breed very quickly and that Betta's like to eat young snail is this true? Also I really want to add a pair of angelfish but I worried about weather or not the Betta will get along with the angel fish will he? He is fairly docile spending most of the time hiding behind a plant in the corner of the tank, and the rest of his time slowly swimming in circles. Any way what do you think? Thank you, Aren M. Dowden
<<Dear Aren; Here is some info I took from a snail link: "Black Mystery Snails usually breed with little encouragement as long as their environmental conditions are optimized by the time they are more than four months old. Black Mystery Snails lay their eggs underwater. You should provide some plant or rock to which they can attach these eggs, which are usually deposited in the form of a slimy material. Some of these snails have also been observed to lay eggs in tan egg cases on land areas. Clutches usually consist of more than one hundred eggs that will hatch in 10 to 14 days. It should be noted that it is very difficult to distinguish males from females, and many people often believe, erroneously, that they are hermaphrodites for this reason." You can read the rest of the page here: http://www.centralpets.com/pages/critterpages/fish/freshwater_inverts/FWI4995.shtml
I find your 5 gallon tank is a bit fully stocked. I hope you will do weekly water changes on this tank to keep the nitrates low, since snails that size eat quite a lot. That means they produce a lot of both solid and liquid waste...also, you will need to supplement their feeding. You can feed them sinking foods (sold for bottom feeding fish like Plecos), fresh spinach leaves, and frozen beef heart every now and then (found at your LFS). If you find your snails a bit too big for a 5 gallon, you can always try pond snails, the little snails that you usually find attached on live plants. They will reproduce quickly, and stay much smaller than the mystery snails, but pond snails will eat live plants. Do NOT add angelfish to this tank. You are already at your stocking limit, and angelfish need room to grow, a twenty gallon tank is the minimum tank size to grow out angels properly. For angels, taller tanks are better, by the way. A nice tall tank will give you adult angels with nice, long finnage. I've seen too many adult angels with stunted fins to advise otherwise.. Good luck. -Gwen>>

Ivan the Terrified - 07/26/2004
I believe the last crew member I spoke with was Sabrina. This is an update email and a question about Black Mystery snails.
<Holy Mackinaw, I'm SO sorry on the delay!>
I am the proud and indulgent Momma of a spoiled Pink Kisser named Ivan the Terrified.
<I could never forget.>
I wrote back in January about a rash-type condition on his tail which is now cleared up completely.
<Ah, delightful!>
He's up to about 5 inches long and is much less hand-shy. Per your suggestion I added several plastic plants and some floating live plants to the tank (name of it escapes me just now but it is vine-like with patches of 6 leaves growing from the main stalk every 1/2 inch or so).
<Sounds like elodea/Egeria/Anacharis - a great munchin' plant.  How's he liking his new digs?>
After a few weeks I had a bad algae bloom that I couldn't get a permanent handle on (10% water changes every day for 2 weeks did almost nothing: I'm guessing a nitrate jump from the leaves dying and the change in fish poop),
<Could be.  You may have ended up with Elodea canadensis, which is a coldwater Anacharis-type plant; it tends to die instead of grow, in aquaria.  Though, I would guess Ivan at least helps with cleaning up the plant scraps?>
so off I hiked to the fish store and invested in a Black Mystery snail named Bubble. Before I knew it, I had pin-head sized baby snails crawling around on the glass which I removed to a 2 gal. "nursery" tank. The woman at the store said "they're a self-breeder" (which makes little sense in a practical application because even the hermaphroditic ones can't breed with themselves, can they?),
<Many/most snails will self-fertilize.  One turns into very, very many, much to some plant keepers' chagrin!  Though, they CAN cross-fertilize, too.  A few, like the apple snail, require a male and a female to reproduce.>
but my research said that they're opposite sexed (shell door concave= female, convex=male) or hermaphroditic (sources argued) and shouldn't breed if there's only one in a system.
<Umm, if I understand correctly (and after a brief jaunt at http://www.applesnail.net , I'm sure I don't), they do indeed have genders....  Please consult that website; there is SO much info there, it's just unbelievable.>
With a 10 gal and only 1 fish, 1 snail should be plenty to maintain the system.
<Er, until Ivan gets a foot long ;) But until he gets too big, yeah, the snail should' a been fine.>
Then, Bubble died. I'm pretty sure that was of "old age" since she was over 3", what the store said is the max for that kind of snail.
<Yeah, that's a pretty good sized hunk o' escargot!  (Which reminds me....  have you ever SMELLED a dead snail?  How can folks EAT that?!)>
I figured then that my snail population was down to the babies I had, which I found homes for except for 1 that I kept for cleaning purposes.
<Sounds appropriate.>
Now, I've researched the heck out of these things and I can't get a definitive answer about sexing and breeding and the snails keep coming.
<Again, please consult http://www.applesnail.net for more comprehensive info.  I believe there's even a forum there.>
The baby born and raised in my system, Pot Sticker, is up to about an inch across the shell doing all her normal snaily things (concave door and floating around on top of
the water munching on a leaf), but I have a pretty steady population of snails between almost-can't-see-'em pin head sized and big enough to pick up with tweezers and take out of the tank. How the heck did they get here and why don't they stop?
<Umm, it's sounding like these are NOT apple/mystery snails.  Though, it may be that you got some pond snail eggs in on your plants.>
I pick them off the glass (which I feel bad about but I'm afraid they'll clog the filter) when I see them. Supposedly my Kisser will eat them and if that's the case I really don't have a problem, only I've never seen him eat any. If I stop giving him his tropical flakes for a few days would he start going after the snails?
<He may.  Don't feed him for several days (he can take it - especially if there are plants around) and see if he starts pickin' 'em off.>
I don't want to use chemicals to get rid of them since I'd like to keep Pot Sticker healthy and it wouldn't be good for Ivan either.
<I agree.  I would just remove them manually.  One way to do so is to place a some pellet food or a slice of blanched zucchini on a small plate in the tank (shielded from Ivan, if possible) just after lights-out.  In the morning, remove the plate - it should have a bundle of snails on it.>
Am I still just being a paranoid first time fishkeeper?
<Yes.  But that's a good thing :D >
I haven't tried taking Pot Sticker
<Pot Sticker?  I bow to you, O Ye of Great Names.>
out of the tank either because I don't want my algae to get out of control again. Any suggestions?
<Just as above....  I would try fasting Ivan first - but that's just 'cause I don't like killing things except to be eaten....  I'm weird like that.>
Thanks in advance,
Becky         
<You betcha - glad to hear how Ivan's doing!!  Wishing you, Ivan, and Pot Sticker well,  -Sabrina>

Unknown snails in FW tank
I've been reading up on the various snails that sometimes sneak their way into planted freshwater tanks and I'm left a little confused.  I understand that it's impossible to tell most snail's gender, but I'm not sure if it only takes 1 snail to turn into a million little copies of itself, or if it still requires two.
<Some species are monoecious ("one house"... hermaphrodites, both functional sexes in one individual), others are dioecious...>
Reason I'm asking is recently two such specimens showed up in our 20g tank, we quickly plucked them out and put them into an old 10g for quarantine.  They're not the same breed by any stretch, one looks like a Ramshorn and the other is some form of smaller apple snail from what I can tell.  In any even... they've been there for a few weeks munching away on algae and we've seen no signs of breeding or eggs.  Is it safe to put them back into the display tank?  Thanks!
~Mike~
<Always a bit of a risk... these may reproduce still... but then again, you may still have more snails to come from wherever these ones originated! Bob Fenner>