What are your thoughts on SNAILS?

[cherokeeluvr]

And if you mean $ support them no I pay for everything for my fish. Since it's my hobby I get to pay every penny for it but they say my tank looks good every now and the. and my mom is obsessed with my super size aquarium tweezers and wants to pull out plants that are dying, she's begging me ;D


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[amyb_70]

Lol... Buy support I meant they encourage and are behind you with the hobby. That's a great thing, and if your mom is into pulling the plants out with the cool tweezers, teach her. It's her way of letting you know shed like to be involved in what you do. Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Fishfur]

Fyi, if you get more than one colour of ramshorn snail, don't mix them up. You'll get babies that are wild form, not like the parents. There are chocolate and even leopard ramshorns, though I've yet to see a leopard one other than in pics. Blue ones are harder to keep than the red ones are, but very pretty.

Guppy grass is a good plant to try to grow, btw. It's hard to ship, so some stores are happy to buy it from you, if only for store credit. I grow it for a local store for this reason. Pretty plant, dead easy, not fussy at all. Not high light, grows faster with decent light and some feeding though.

 

[amyb_70]

Nice to see a teen into things like this isn't it, Fishfur, and even nicer that parents are teaching them how to handle money while still young. I work in a middle school and you'd be amazed how many kids have no idea how to count money.
So I'm curious about if they did keep them together. Would that be a bad thing? I would have thought they would make purple, I'm guessing I'm way off.
Next thing up guppy grass, never heard of or seen it.. I assume it's like a ground cover? I don't recall if you said it's easy or hard to grow and keep alive. I have an almost black thumb with aquarium plants but not real ones. Anyway I ask I may be interested. Can you post a pic?


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[Fishfur]

It's not bad to keep them together, but the colour morphs are recessive genes and if you let them cross, you are most likely to get ordinary looking wild form offspring. Same is true of most colour morphs, as in the Neo shrimp.

Guppy grass - botanical name Najas guadalupensis. Soft leaved sub surface floater that also grows a few long, slender roots. Can root into substrate, sponge, wood or rough rock. Can be grown vertically, planted horizontally and then let it grow vertical branches, almost like a hedge. Fabulous for fry tanks, and though it does float it does not float on the surface.. just below, so it's sort of a column filler. Lovely bright colour and really just not fussy at all. Feeding it helps it grow a bit faster, and mine grew beautifully in the light from a south window and nothing else.

It is harder to get because it is a bit brittle, and it breaks up into tiny bits and rots quite fast when packed up to ship.. so you don't find it often, unless from another hobbyist close enough that you don't have to ship it.

I don't have a pic, I'll see if I can find one.

Edit.. check this youtube vid.. it's a nice pic of guppy grass right at the start.

 

[amyb_70]

it is nice looking, seems like you have a lot of options when planting it.. thanks for sending

 

[Fishfur]

I've only tried to ship it once and it did not arrive in good shape, so now I don't ship it.

I just sold most of what I had to a lfs, so I have to let it grow out again anyway. Shame my cousin isn't traveling anymore up here [ she lives in Georgia] might have been able to smuggle some to you . Sigh, getting plants over the border is a darn nightmare and not at all worth the risk. But I have seen a few offers for Guppy grass here and there, so keep an eye out. You may find it.

I think it's probably one of my all time fave plants. It's so undemanding and it can look so lovely. Main problem with it is that even tiny pieces will continue to grow, and like moss, it can clog filter intakes a bit. It's so darn versatile, I wish it was easier to find, I think it would be quite popular. I let it go for a summer in my 29 and it literally got so thick the poor fish had to wriggle through it before I yanked it out and sold most of it.

 

[cherokeeluvr]

Is hard being 14 and paying for a bunch of things.. Don't just have to pay for those things.. Also have to pay for stuff like my phone bill... Oh well, I guess it will give me a better start to the world. I have been working since I was 7 doing mostly petsitting, but have done a bunch of different things... Boy have I earned a lot of money! Haha! This guppy grass stuff looks pretty cool! And won't mix the ramshorns and might not get them.. The guy said he won't ship due to cold weather because his last shipment died.. I asked if he would send it with a heat pack but he hasn't responded.. Fingers crossed he can!


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[Fishfur]

Best of luck, whatever you end up with.

 

[Alan79]

I'm thinking of breeding red ramshorn snails. I'm getting some on here. I'm planning on breeding them and then selling more back on here, or maybe at my LFS (they don't have these and in sure they would like them!). Any body do this? Thoughts?


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Easy money really, but growing out your first batch of snails will not be instant. It might take 3-6 months for your first baby snails to reach sale-able size.

I started selling mine to a LFS for $2 store credit per snail which is a good price considering i bought 2 there for $4.50 each which were my breeding stock. They are not very sensitive to low temperatures so they can be grown out in an unheated tank, but they seem to grow faster if their tank has a heater. They will eat almost anything you can feed them. If i eat fruit, i'll throw them a chunk, they have helped me get rid of all my low quality food stock that my fish won't eat. They grow best if you can filter their water but will survive well enough with just a weekly water change if you have no filter to spare. Only other tip i can think of is that they grow faster if there is a source of calcium for them to build their shells from. I occasionally put a sea shell in there and they eventually dissolve in the fresh water or get eaten by the snails.

 

[cherokeeluvr]

Easy money really, but growing out your first batch of snails will not be instant. It might take 3-6 months for your first baby snails to reach sale-able size.

I started selling mine to a LFS for $2 store credit per snail which is a good price considering i bought 2 there for $4.50 each which were my breeding stock. They are not very sensitive to low temperatures so they can be grown out in an unheated tank, but they seem to grow faster if their tank has a heater. They will eat almost anything you can feed them. If i eat fruit, i'll throw them a chunk, they have helped me get rid of all my low quality food stock that my fish won't eat. They grow best if you can filter their water but will survive well enough with just a weekly water change if you have no filter to spare. Only other tip i can think of is that they grow faster if there is a source of calcium for them to build their shells from. I occasionally put a sea shell in there and they eventually dissolve in the fresh water or get eaten by the snails.

Ok, I found some nice ones on eBay. 45 snails for $15. That's pretty good for selling them! I didn't think I would get that much! My LFS is a pretty nice one and they don't carry these. What kind of fruit and how often? I have an extra heater I will throw in, and I think I'm going to get a sponge filter off amazon. I talked to another person who said rolaids or tums would work as calcium, would that be ok? And just like any shell from the beach? Also would a 5 gallon bare bottom tank be ok?


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[cherokeeluvr]

Whew! My moms eBay wouldn't work and u had 4 minutes! I was freaking out! Made an account super fast and then pay pal wouldn't work... Finally got it all working within just minutes if not seconds of it closing! But got 50 pinks ramshorn snails for $22 including shipping!! Can't wait!


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[Alan79]

Ok, I found some nice ones on eBay. 45 snails for $15. That's pretty good for selling them! I didn't think I would get that much! My LFS is a pretty nice one and they don't carry these. What kind of fruit and how often? I have an extra heater I will throw in, and I think I'm going to get a sponge filter off amazon. I talked to another person who said rolaids or tums would work as calcium, would that be ok? And just like any shell from the beach? Also would a 5 gallon bare bottom tank be ok?


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Glad you found some snails to get you started. They might not sell for as much over there. I'm in Australia so our population is lower than many places so less people sell here. The fruit they usually get is whatever i have, apple, watermelon & they went nuts over a mango seed once. They also like vegetables blanched (Dipped in boiling water fairly quickly so they just soften a bit outside) they will eventually eat all the plant matter that is dieing. they'll eat fish food and do well enough just on that if you don't want to give them a varied diet.

I was keeping them in a 5 litre bucket early on with no filter or anything. so a 5g bare bottom tank would be fine.

I don't give them a calcium source all that often and i'm not sure what rolaids or tums are . I just throw in the occasional shell from the beach and i occasionally see a snail or two camped on it.

 

[amyb_70]

Glad you found some snails to get you started. They might not sell for as much over there. I'm in Australia so our population is lower than many places so less people sell here. The fruit they usually get is whatever i have, apple, watermelon & they went nuts over a mango seed once. They also like vegetables blanched (Dipped in boiling water fairly quickly so they just soften a bit outside) they will eventually eat all the plant matter that is dieing. they'll eat fish food and do well enough just on that if you don't want to give them a varied diet.

I was keeping them in a 5 litre bucket early on with no filter or anything. so a 5g bare bottom tank would be fine.

I don't give them a calcium source all that often and i'm not sure what rolaids or tums are . I just throw in the occasional shell from the beach and i occasionally see a snail or two camped on it.

Alan,
Rolaids and Tums are over the counter acid reducer. They are high in calcium, doctors will suggest that a person have 3 a day to help keep bones strong. Many people use it as a calcium supplement. Those who have thyroid disease or both come mind at this bazaar time.


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[cherokeeluvr]

Thanks for the help! What kind of vegetables can they have?


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[Alan79]

Alan,
Rolaids and Tums are over the counter acid reducer. They are high in calcium, doctors will suggest that a person have 3 a day to help keep bones strong. Many people use it as a calcium supplement. Those who have thyroid disease or both come mind at this bazaar time.


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Ok. I would see if they change the PH of the water before adding one to the tank but if they have calcium it's helpful for healthy shell growth.

Thanks for the help! What kind of vegetables can they have?


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I give mine mostly frozen vegetables. Broccoli, peas corn, carrott etc. Just pop them in boiling water till they begin to soften, scoop them out and let them cool for a moment then pop them into the tank. Remove the leftovers after a day.

 

[cherokeeluvr]

Ok thank you so much!!


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[mrvincent]

I like the assasins snails, they eat invasives species of snails and they eat detritus. I had an infestation of pond snails... Adding 1 assasin snail made my tank infested of assasins snails until all ponds were eaten.

Now I have a controlled population of assasins. They eat dead stuff, clean windows, eat the water surface film, etc.

Some snails eat plants.

 

[Fishfur]

If you want a supplement for calcium try making your own. Plaster of Paris is the same thing used for those Vacation fish feeder blocks. I use those for snails all the time and they appear to love them. They sure don't last long. Just mix in some fish food, and use something like an ice cube tray for moulds. Soon as they are set, remove and let them cure in air alone. Drop one in and when it's gone drop in another.

Plaster of Paris is calcium sulfate, pure and simple and is the base of all those feeder blocks. You can also mix in powdered spirulina or pellets, whatever you want so long as it's dry. Works very well, very cheap.

So far, the only snails I've had that really chow down on plants are the giant Ramshorns.. the ones that get a couple of inches across. They like floaters best, they really mow down frogbit.

I've seen Mystery snails eat the odd piece of Salvinia minima, but not much else and not often. They don't seem to bother stem plants or swords at all.

Yellow Poso rabbit snails I had destroyed a lot of American Sword plants. They ate the leaves off the crown, and soon as they did that, the leaves floated up, so they would just eat another leaf. Poor sword has little chance. They also like to rummage down to the glass under the substrate and in so doing, they uprooted every plant in their tank. Only ate the swords, but uprooted all the others. I sold them, eventually.

Oddly, Orange Posos don't seem to do either of these things. My orange ones do not appear to eat plants.. they leave moss and stem plants alone for sure. They also don't seem to uproot plants, though at the moment they are in a bare bottom tank, so I'm not positive about that.

I'm going to put the giant Ramshorns in their own tank, as they are not suited to a planted tank at all.

 

[trennamw]

Very simple, very cheap calcium ... Cuttlefish bone from the bird section of the store. Break off a piece and stick it somewhere, they will find it.

Don't put Tums in a fish tank. So many things in there besides calcium.


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