Apple snails

[Capt.Gorilla]

What exactly do apple snails eat, do they need algae in the tank to survive?
And will they eat tank plants?

[Scottw68TN]

Yes they eat plants no they don't need algae. http://www.applesnail.net/content/care.php

[Catalina]

no, they don't all eat plants! i asked the same question on this site a few days ago, and was referred to a very good website (i think it's the same one scott linked to). turns out some species of apple snail eat plants, while others eat only algae and rotting leaves and will actually starve to death in the midst of a heavily planted aquarium if they don't have enough algae. the thing is, it's hard to differentiate between the species. you can't tell by shell color, because many different species are the same color, so you have to tell by shell shape.

the best way to tell is if you have the kind of apple snail with a shell that spirals out into a point or spike (golden apple snail), it probably won't eat plants. i put this kind of apple snail in my aquarium, and it hasn't touched the plants, but eats the algae on the glass and gravel. if you have an apple snail with a spiral that lies almost flat against its shell (channeled apple snail), it will eat plants. i've heard most pet stores don't label them correctly, so you have to examine their shells carefully.

hope this helps!

[HOLLIEO]

I have about 13 apple snails in a couple different tanks. I love them!!!
I have some anachris (sp?) .. they don't eat that and in another tank I have some java moss.. they don't seem to be interested in that either. They do however love the little algae formations on the glass. Especially the ones in my turtle tank!! They are in absolute heaven!!

[notmuffy]

I have the golden kind, and she (I think it's female, though it is hard to tell) seems more carnivorous than anything else. If I put enough sinking whitefish wafers out so that the other fish are preoccupied, she will come along and eat it (well until the gouramis have polished off their own, then they steal it). I also saw her start knawing at my crab's leg that he left behind when he got it stuck in the filter. The next morning the leg was gone, I don't know if she ate most of it or if someone else did. All I know is that if the crab couldn't get his own leg out of there and had to sever it off, it must have been hard for the others!


I'm not sure I grow enough algae in that tank for her needs. How do I get more algae, leave the light on all the time? She's obviously gotten enough food from somewhere, because in the 8 months I've had her she's grown that shell from that "damaged" area, the line toward the bottom of the picture.

[Scottw68TN]

Youre right I shouldn't have put out such a general answer, I was assuming his apple snail was the one that most stores around here sell as mystery snails. The link should cover the different types. Here is the snails I have.

Food: Prefers dead and rotting plants and artificial foods like fish food; doesn't eat healthy plants unless no other food is available. This makes the Pomacea bridgesii snail a good choice for planted aquaria.