QT procedure for snails to feed to puffer?

[7Enigma]

Hi everyone,

Been a while since I've posted on here. I recently aquired some common pond snails from a coworker and wanted to attempt (AGAIN!) at breeding them for my dwarf puffer as food. I have had a horrible time at breeding snails over the past 2 years. I know, crazy, but true.

Anyway I do not chance disease/parasites in my tanks, especially with a puffer which is prone to IP's. So can I be sure that if QT for a month without fish present the snails should be free of any potentially harmful bugs for the puffer?

Most parasites without a higher-order host do not survive long periods and so I'm hoping this is all I need to do to get a steady food source that is clean of disease.

Thanks.

 

[Crepe]

Why don't you just keep a separate bucket for the snails permanently and only put them in when it's feeding time. I used to have snail problems also (an infestation). What happened was my nutrients were off the charts. I suggest that you just get a bucket and throw some blanched lettuce in there and let them do their thing. But yes, quarentine is best. And secondly did the snails come from an actual pond? If so, be extra careful.

 

[jeffwisely]

yeah if you keep them in a bucket or tank buy themselves you should be ok. just let them do what they do

 

[7Enigma]

Both of you didn't understand my post. I have a dwarf puffer which exclusively feeds on snails. She is currently healthy and I don't want to risk getting her sick from a bad snail. Snails are notorious for carrying parasite/disease and a puffer which actively eats them even more so.

My question was will a QT procedure be enough to ensure when I finally start feeding the puffer from these snails will I be safe in doing so.

 

[WhiteDevil]

Yes it will, you provide the fresh water even top offs and decent kibble and they will flush themselves of anything in their system.

I got MTS if you want to try those too, 1-2" long on some and 100% parasite,bacteria and disease free. ask DKpate.


I keep my snails in a community tank, 10g MTS only tank and a 10g plastic tote bin with sand and the tanks have gravel. As long as they are taken care of like anything else they will be fine. I do QT my snail when I get more from the LFS for 4 weeks alone with nothing but hikari algae wafers and fresh zucchni

 

[7Enigma]

Thanks for the reply. That's what I thought I had read. I currently have them in a small styrofoam cup with only about 2 oz of water. I change the water about 3 times a day and feed with flake food (I have to bring some vegetables in tomorrow from home). My goal was to limit the water so I can do 100% water changes and remove anything tha could carry over both externally and internally.

I figure since I only have about 15-20 snails it will take a month or two to get a sizable enough population that I can sustain feeding the puffer.

And the only thing keeping the puffer alive the past year has been my MTS from my main community tank. I just hate having to track them down in the sand during water changes, bring them to work, and then crush them with pliers. The puffer enjoys hunting the pond snails and the tank is much less messy as the crushing of the MTS leaves a lot of uneaten pieces (not just shells).

So thanks again for the comment!

 

[WhiteDevil]

A month or two? try a week or two.

I collect my MTS around 130am they are all out on the glass and a net full or so is a whole batch.

Why crush them, they love sucking them out of the shells dont they?

I got banjo cats and they LOVE MTS and pond snails alike. never seen em in the day but by morning you could tell they ate.

 

[7Enigma]

A month or two? try a week or two.

I collect my MTS around 130am they are all out on the glass and a net full or so is a whole batch.

Why crush them, they love sucking them out of the shells dont they?

I got banjo cats and they LOVE MTS and pond snails alike. never seen em in the day but by morning you could tell they ate.

I said a month or two because you wouldn't believe the trouble I've had trying to breed them. First I crashed the population with a water change from work (I originally had been lugging tap water from my house but decided to try switching over to the tap water here....didn't work). Next we had a power outtage one weekend and the lack of water movement and bad water conditions left me with snail soup when I came in on Monday morning. After that I had a weird instance where for months they seemed to not die but also not produce any young, so the population slowly decreased.

Now I'm trying it again and with the previous mistakes and bad luck hope to finally breed some darn snails!

The DP seems to have trouble with the MTS. She's small enough that she can't crush them herself, and the trap-door seems to prevent getting any meat out once they turtle up. What ends up happening is she pecks at the snail for a while and then gives up for a bit, and harasses again a bit later. So I find a dead uneaten snail rotting in the tank. It's just easier to crush the snail and watch her eat immediately then chance her finding a way in.

 

[dkpate]

I believe I will have some ramshorn snails soon, (think I found an egg sack under a leaf), and I could send them to you when they hatch if you wanted. I also have a 10G snail only tank, with the ggggrandbabies of Devil's snails LOL. He sent me 9 in I think Sept., and now I have a pile! They are getting big fast in their own tank.

 

[7Enigma]

That's probably the main reason why I have been unsuccessful at raising snails. The wife won't let me get a snail-only tank and so I've been on a much smaller scale than most people. But the reason is I only have a single tiny dwarf puffer so a dedicated tank has always seemed overkill!

 

[WhiteDevil]

otta be the smaller space, cause I got a tub of sand I used months ago in a tank with no water sittin on top but the sand is moist and I am foreever getting snails out of it still.

 

[dkpate]

I had a TON of mts in my community tank, until I got assassin snails.

 

[WhiteDevil]

how many did you get, assassins that is?

I got 6, im down to 5 maybe, one of them that is almost black killed one assassin, I was like "DUDE!!! you got all them trumpet looking punks in there and you go and kill your homeboy" it did not respond.

 

[Crepe]

Just get a plastic tub, like a plastic shoe crate and keep one third exposed to a window and one half secluded. fill the bottome with sand, put in a broken pot and toss in some lettuce. That should get you a pretty decent supply.

 

[dkpate]

I got 6 Devil. I wonder if one killed one of mine too LOL, since I have only seen 3 lately. But then again, I haven't been looking.
Do your dig in the sand? If mine are not on the glass, they are half buried in the sand.

 

[7Enigma]

Well it looks like the simple way is paying off. I've only kept them in a styrofoam cup for the last 2 weeks (changing the water out 3X a day and feeding heavily, and only using water I bring in from home), but the confined space and lots of food has had them laying eggs like mad. Before I leave for the weekend I'm going to transfer all of the snails to a larger container, empty out and refill with clean water the styrofoam cup, with a tiny bit of food, and hope that when I come back in on Monday I've got some babies crawling around.

Another couple weeks and I can hopefully be in the clear and have a steady source of snails that doesn't require me digging around in my tank at home.

 

[jestes]

What about a small breeders net/box in the puffer tank? That would keep them separate, and you wouldn't have to deal with constant water changes in the plastic cup. Then the babies can drop out of the grates on the side and the puffer can grab them.

 

[7Enigma]

What about a small breeders net/box in the puffer tank? That would keep them separate, and you wouldn't have to deal with constant water changes in the plastic cup. Then the babies can drop out of the grates on the side and the puffer can grab them.

Thought about that before. The biggest problem is that snails are massive waste producers (especially when aiming to breed them as their food requirements skyrocket). The other problem is ideally I want the larger snails for feeding as they have more meat and are possibly more fun for the puffer to hunt.

I'm just so happy I seem to be getting somewhere with the snails that I can finally get back to not being worried about having enough food for the puffer.