Does anyone know anything about chinese mastery snails?

[Pleco1415]

I went fishing at a lake near my house and instead of catching a fish a saw this huge snail so I grabbed it. I put it in a 29 gallon tank with my 3 apple snails and it seems to eat but it is very inactive and tends to stay in one spot unlike the apple snails. I've had it for a couple months now and it seems to be doing ok but I would like to know more about them. I can't find a lot of information about them on the internet but I have learned they are an invasive specie.

 

[jlk]

Do you mean Japanese trapdoor snails? I have found these in the wild even though they are only native to the far east and parts of Russia. They are not very active and prefer cooler water. They are great algae eaters (when they decide to move) and do not touch plants. They give birth to one or two live babies on rare occasions. Mine are MUCH happier outside in the pond though I bring a few inside over the winter sometimes.

 

[tnfinfan]

So, you took a snail from cold water and stuck it into tropical conditions? Or do you live in the tropics?

 

[reefdiver]

Picture

 

[wildroseofky]

There are many types of mystery snails and a lot of them have found their way into the wild. They take over and kill out native species. I just watch a show about strange foods in America and a chef was collecting mystery snails from local streams and serving them. He was trying to encourage people to eat invasive species to curb their population so native animals would not be killed out. Mystery snails are Es-cargo. A delicacy in fancy res truants. Google mystery snails and see if that is what you found.

 

[Pleco1415]

So, you took a snail from cold water and stuck it into tropical conditions? Or do you live in the tropics?

What's your point? The snail is not in tropical conditions. The tank it's in stays around 70 to 72 F and at most it's reaches 75 F. If your mad at me for taking the snail from its natural habitat I think you might want to know that the small lake it was in was so dirty the water was brown and everything in there was dying off. The last time I went fishing in that lake I saw a bunch of dead carp floating and you know there is a problem when you see a strong and hardy fish like a carp floating dead.

 

[Pleco1415]

this is the snail I'm sorry it's not a very good photo but he rarely ever comes out so it's hard to get a pic. For some reason he is on his back lifting up his cuddle fish bone in this photo.

 

[Patty1980]

I think finfan was just suggesting the snails inactivity might be due to the temperature change from being moved from the polluted lake to your tank. I don't think it was a "mad" thing.

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[tnfinfan]

I think finfan was just suggesting the snails inactivity might be due to the temperature change from being moved from the polluted lake to your tank. I don't think it was a "mad" thing.

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Exactly. Zero acclimation often equals death so I wouldn't be at all surprised that it isn't zipping around.

 

[wildroseofky]

Just guessing from your photo I would say mystery snail. I have seen mine go under things and lift it up while eating. Here is a photo of my wild type mystery snail. See if it resembles yours. http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a530/Cyndie47/100_0662_zps7b2da072.jpg

 

[Pleco1415]

I feel really bad now. My snail hasn't been active at all for the past 2 days so I picked it up and examined it only to find out it was dead. I took one smell of it and I knew right away the snail was dead. It stunk so much I almost fell back when I smelt it. Also I shook the shell and the body inside was loose so I knew for sure it was dead. I guess I have learned not to take things out of there natural habitat. This is the first time I have ever took something out of the wild and will be the last. I'm sorry if I have upset anyone in this thread I realize now how stupid I was to take the snail out of that lake.

 

[tnfinfan]

Don't beat yourself up. As mentioned by another poster, these snails are an invasive species in some areas so you wouldn't be harming a thing by removing one. But, there are tons of apple snails and they all look so much alike that I'd hesitate to put one in my tank without knowing for certain what it was. Some of them are plant eaters. And even if I had no plants, a wild caught snail should be quarantined for the protection of tankmates and acclimated slowly.

So, next time, bring the snail home in a bucket of the nasty water and let it come to room temp slowly. Feed it some wilted greens and let it hang out in the bucket for several days. You can take out some of the nasty water and replace it with tank water periodically to acclimate it to the water parameters of your tank.

 

[Pleco1415]

Thanks for the advice. I know a lot of people are against taking things out of there natural habitat so I Just didn't want to make any enemies. I guess I will only keep Cana snails. I have a lot of baby Cana snails and I have two older ones that are about 5 years old. I have never had a lot of luck with the other snails like the mystery snails. I have had mystery snails in the past and there shells always start getting weird if you don't have enough calcium in the water. I have never had this problem with the Canas.