Snail Tank Tips?

[majolo]

I'm planning to set up a 5.5 gal tank to grow pond snails in, to supply some loaches with the food they crave.

Will they grow all right in a tank without plants/algae? I want to keep this tank on the cheap, so I probably won't even get a light for it if I can get away with it. I could probably find a place for it to get some sunshine and let algae grow if that would work, but if the snails can manage with just algae wafers or other fish food from time to time, that would be ideal.

 

[hulkamaniac]

I would think they'd be fine with the algae wafers and a little algae caused by the light.

 

[severum mama]

If you've ever had a pond snail population explosion in your main tank, you may have noticed that cutting back on feedings can help control the population. They are really good at cleaning up leftover fish food, as well as eating some algae, so I think it would work fine for you to just raise pond snails with algae wafers and fish food. I wouldn't buy a light for such a setup.

Good luck! I bet it will be pretty easy with frequent pwc's, and your loaches will thank you.

 

[GlitcH]

Ya Majolo..........you'll have no probs...........pond snails can breed in a bucket of driveway sealant.

 

[Toirtis]

Toss in some cuttlebone or a little reef mineral supplement to give the snails lots of calcium/magnesium/etc for shell-growth.

 

[Livebearer]

They'll eat most anything, but a vegie-based flake would be best. Read the labels on those and wafers - they often say they're algae/veggie food when in actuality there is very little in it.

Some Cichlid foods are also good for snails as they contain a bit more calcium - more label reading required there. They'll gnaw on weekend feeder blocks for calcium too. You can also use coral with aragonite in your filter if the water is soft. Shell thickness is more of a concern for Puffer food though.


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[majolo]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. My water's not soft, so they should be ok with that. I know what you mean about the misleading vegie food; I see lots of algae wafers with fish meal as the #1 ingredient. I'll probably use occasional zucchini, romaine, etc. too.

 

[Sidi]

I think putting it near an open window and throwing in the food would definitely be a great way to have a massive food source. I see you're in Minnesota, so I certainly wouldn't recommend keeping it outside in the winter, but during the summer you might be better off setting it up on a porch/balcony. They shouldn't need much filtration or heat if it's just snails and algae.

One thing you could do is set up a little outdoor barrel/container with water hyacinth, maybe duckweed, or other plants that do well in a pond setting. I think pond snails will grow quite well on them, rather than algae, and you could have a bit of a focal piece in the summer on the deck.