What is this?! (plus one other question)

[ParadoxOwl]

I bought a mystery snail? (unless this is one of the apple snails), and we named him Albert. He seems to be an over all healthy snail, and he really books it when he moves.

The other day I was watching him, and he had a .... i want to say tuber-cle? tentacle? coming from under his shell... here's a photo

993382_10151773853061544_274709935_n_zps7efe0b48.jpg Photo by ParadoxOwl | Photobucket


Second question: I bought a nerite snail a couple weeks ago, and to my understanding they are supposed to be aquatic, but Sticky just won't have it. It wants nothing to do with water and now its gone missing! Is this normal or is my snail broken?

Its been a week and I can't find this bugger! I looked all through the tank, on the edges, on the filter tubes, and no sign of him. It's too big for my fish to eat and I have no idea where it could have gone. Any suggestions? (aside from waiting for a smell)

 

[Fishfur]

That is the snail's snorkel.. a tube they can extend for a surprising distance if they want to, usually to breathe air from near the surface. Both sexes have this organ.

Nerite snails are tidal species that are capable of surviving some time out of water. If you find one out of water it is always worth putting it back in the water to see if is still alive.

I have seen mine perch on the tank rim for half an hour or more, and so far, none have fallen off. Eventually they go back in the water. But if it did sit on the rim, there is always a chance it might have fallen off.

They don't usually burrow, so it should not be in the substrate. I have found the odd one in uplift tubes, they like the diatoms that tend to grow in those tubes, but only once did one of them get stuck, and I just lifted the tube off to let him get out.

If you don't see a shell on the floor anywhere, I would think he's got to be in there somewhere. Good luck finding him.

 

[Jev12]

It's it's breathing tube

 

[ParadoxOwl]

Ok, so that's normal for the snail, the tube. I have never had aquatic snails before and it scared the daylights out of me.

As for my nerite, he's no where... I searched all along out filter tubing, but not in the stand the aquarium is on... I'll check there once it's light. I've only seen the nerite in the tank once, and maybe for 5 minutes. I'm a smidge worried cause he was so cool. Good to know this is all normal though.

 

[aluka]

Nerites are known for escaping if you dont have a cover, look on the floor. I have found mine across the room almost out the door =/ more than 15 ft away from his tank.

Also found him once while sweeping my floor =/.

He lived both times tho, lol.

 

[Jev12]

My adult mystery snail has gotten out of the tank multiple times and I have a little one gallon plant and mts tank under it's tank and I will sometimes find her in there....that's when I notices he has gotten out lol....so maybe keepa bowl of water near your tank incase it happens again with another snail

 

[ParadoxOwl]

I found it. It was on the base of the stand the aquarium is on. So it's in a bowl with a lid right now.

I figured with 2 apple snails in there it'd be content staying put, but nope.

I guess i need a lid to totally cover the tank, cause there's a gap in the back for the filter

 

[cgthebeast]

I found it. It was on the base of the stand the aquarium is on. So it's in a bowl with a lid right now.

I figured with 2 apple snails in there it'd be content staying put, but nope.

I guess i need a lid to totally cover the tank, cause there's a gap in the back for the filter

I use egg create as a lid on my tanks with no probs, works great

 

[kjacks]

I found it. It was on the base of the stand the aquarium is on. So it's in a bowl with a lid right now.

I figured with 2 apple snails in there it'd be content staying put, but nope.

I guess i need a lid to totally cover the tank, cause there's a gap in the back for the filter

I cut a old window screen to fit and stuck over my filter and lid to keep my crawfish/crayfish in.. my snails have never tried to get out so this is just crazy to me.. i even had 10 nerites in a tank with no lid.

 

[ParadoxOwl]

This is why I think Sticky is broken. Even in the bowl with a lid right now it's trying to escape. It keeps climbing onto the lid and chilling there. I'm at a loss with this one.

 

[ParadoxOwl]

Now I've gotten a little more curious about my 5 little snails. I know for sure one is a Japanese Trap Door snail whom my boyfriend dubbed Potty Tickle, P.T. for short, and he was supposed to fair well in a goldfish tank but he kept ending up upside down and never moving. I moved him into the Betta/Cory Cat tank and he's suddenly moving! So, is it safe to assume he'll be ok in there? He also lives with i think a Mystery Snail whom I dubbed Albert (don't know why still) and they both seem to have taken a great intrest in eating the almond leaf. Is that safe? I feed them both over large goldfish food that they seem to love, and algae wafers and sometimes peas. I was wondering, how big is too big for a certain tank. Albert lives in a 20g tall, and he's big. I'll see if i can get a good picture, and I was wondering if he/it might fair better with the goldfish. I'm reading so many mixed reviews on the water temp for the snails that I'm becoming confused.

If anybody has some insight on Mystery Snails I'd love to hear what you have to say

 

[ParadoxOwl]

1230103_10151782724286544_136619073_n_zps8b48efa3.jpg Photo by ParadoxOwl | Photobucket



There's Albert in my hand (I just found out you can sex your mystery snails. He is indeed a boy. That's good news).

 

[Fishfur]

The thing to determine is if Albert is a mystery snail or a giant apple snail. The giant snails can get to be baseball size, and are known for eating plants. Mystery snails don't often get much larger than a golf ball and generally do not eat live plants. Dead plants are preferred usually.
They do best in harder, alkaline water, because they need calcium for their shells and acidic water softens and eats their shells. Temperature is not critical. I keep mine with shrimp, danios, kuhli loaches and cories, so I try to keep the tank no higher than 75 or so, and cooler at night. They are pretty tolerant, and goldfish should not be a problem unless the snails are really tiny.. might perhaps be eaten if they are newborns, but I'm not aware of goldfish being snail eaters so likely not a worry.

You'll need both sexes if you want eggs. They are laid above water in a largish clutch, pale whitish, pinkish or beigish, which hardens and should hatch within four weeks or so. If it does, baby snails drop into the water and begin life right away. It's very cool to see eggs being laid, but it is usually at night, so hard to observe. They need a safe place to spawn, 3 inches or so of bare glass at least, or they may fall out of the tank trying to find a place.

They should have a calcium supplement unless the water is very hard. Vacation fish feeder blocks work, calcium pills work, there are recipes for snail food too. A bit of variety in diet is nice.. algae tabs or pellets, well boiled spinach now and then, fish flakes, shrimp pellets, they are pretty cosmopolitan in their tastes.

He looks good as far as I can see by the pic. Is he black.. the body colour is the snail colour, not the shell, btw.

It's odd the trap door did not fare well with goldfish, they are typically sold for use in ponds with goldfish and koi.

OH, and the almond leaf, he'll like those for sure. They tend to grow a fair bit of bacteria, which are not harmful at all and are good food. It's a dead plant, which they like anyway.

 

[ParadoxOwl]

His body (the foot) is more a gray than black. He crawls? all over the wisteria I have planted in there with out much harm seeming to be done. P.T. seems to LOVE the almond lead where as Albert prefers goldfish food but has been seen crawling over the almond leaf.

He is a rather comical little fellow. He does this thing where... i wanna say its like a dog sitting on its hind legs, where half his foot is in the "air" like he's begging.. kinda funny. Is that normal?

I got 2 golden apple snails with my goldfish and they seem ok. I am sure they are golden apple snails mainly because they are gold, and their shells match the description and I'm worried one might be a female because I don't want babies.

As for his current housing, the tank feels like it's over crowded but, i've been told over and over it's ok. There's 3 cory cats, 3 tiny Oto cats that are full grown at an inch? maybe 1 1/4 inch. A clown pleco and a Betta, Samurai, who seems to have taken a great liking to Albert. (yes, I'm crazy, almost all my fish have names). Now, as you could hopefully seem from the picture, Albert is large. I'm hoping to find something to hold next to him so you can gauge it better. It'd be so cool if he was the giant one you mentioned.

As for food, he gets a lot of different foods and I read if i put egg shells in a mesh bag, and tuck it in a corner it helps with getting calcium in the water. Would this bother either the tropical tank or the goldies? I was thinking of attaching it (the eggs shelled mesh bag) into an empty filter and just let the water run through it so the bag is out of the tank directly but still putting the calcium in.

Sorry to ask so many questions but, I actually feel an attachment to this little guy. Not sure why, but he just cracks me up.

 

[oscarchic11]

Mystery snails and apple snails are the same species, and if you dont want babies just remove the egg clutch from the glass and either drop it in water for a day or freeze it before discarding, water and freezing will both kill the eggs.... as for the nerite wanting to escape, have you tested your water??? Do you know your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels??? Also what kind of nerite... i know the malaysian trumpet snails will try to escape if water quality is bad, not sure about nerites... i keep both species and have done alot of research so if you have anymore questions feel free to message me. Also the apple snail website has alot of good info!!!

 

[kjacks]

Instead of using the egg shell you could buy a cuttlebone (bird aisle) i stuck mine in my filter overnight to help it stay down and now.its in my tank and the snails will sometimes go and eat on it .. my crays eat it to .. even caught my betta eating.it.when i had snails in his tank (he ate my nerites :/)

 

[ParadoxOwl]

The levels for the goldfish tank, where my nerite was, are 7.6ph and 0 amm/nitrite/nitrate. I work very hard at keeping that tank perfectly balanced. The only thing th guy at the store told me about my snail is he's a diamond pattern nerite... I think he's pretty nifty but he needs to stop this escape thing.

I've been looking around on some sites, but none describe the behavior Albert exhibits... I am beginning to think I am destined to have all abnormal aquatic pets. My Oto catfish LOVE to hitch a ride on Albert and P.T. when they move around the tank.

Will a cuttle bone benefit the snail even if they don't eat it? Will it hurt the Oto catfish in anyway? I was told they are super sensitive. I also have spare suction cups so i could suction cup one to the side of the tank! Much easier than eggs

 

[kjacks]

It doesnt hurt my otos.. i have 4 in the tank and 2 mystery snails with a small amount of red cherry shrimp... im not positive but i think the cuttlebone releases calcium in the water so it should benefit them still.. someone else with more experience or knowledge can answer for sure though.. :/

 

[ParadoxOwl]

Ok, then I'll pick one up friday.

I also read more about my snail, and I think he just might be a giant snail but i can't tell for sure. He also didn't get the memo that snails are active at night. ^.^ He's active non stop

 

[oscarchic11]

http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx185/AslansAngels/2013-07-27_13-40-22_142_zpsf909b3ae.jpg

These are 2 of my apple snails, and they have grown since the picture was taken... i have a golden, a light purple stripe, and an ivory... mine are active all the time 2!!! Not all snails are nocturnal. I love my snails sooo much!!! I want them to breed but so far nothing, even tho ive seen them mate...