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Native freshwater snail care


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#1 Joshaeus

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Posted 16 June 2016 - 05:36 PM

Hello all! Today I collected a few specimens of a reddish brown snail, just over a centimeter in shell length, to test them for aquarium suitablilty. Is there anything special I should know about keeping native snails? These snails are going to be in quarantine for a month to ensure that no parasites from them manage to get to fish (snails, from what I understand, are frequent intermediate hosts for all manner of parasites).



#2 Betta132

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Posted 16 June 2016 - 05:52 PM

Nothing more than just your typical snail. Algae if you have it, veggies if you don't, reasonably clean water, and no predators. 



#3 gzeiger

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Posted 16 June 2016 - 08:04 PM

No medications with copper, if you're into that sort of thing (Malachite Green being the common one).

 

They are easy to keep, but many native fish eat them.



#4 mattknepley

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Posted 17 June 2016 - 04:55 AM

First, make sure that mollusk is ok to be collected, although easier said than done because the litter buggers often wind up hitchhiking to your aquariums, pond etc.

Second, I'll give a +1 to betta132 and gzeiger's observations.

Third, I'll just add that I generally do well with snails as long as I match their native current. The fast water dwellers haven't transitioned to slow/slack water for me; and vice versa.
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#5 Josh Blaylock

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Posted 17 June 2016 - 09:27 AM

I usually bring home tons of snails when I find them and just dump them in the tank.  Most probably get eaten, and I usually find tons of offspring in my canister filters.  I do have  a harder time keeping large snails alive. 


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#6 loopsnj64

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Posted 17 June 2016 - 09:39 AM

Some species (Larger ones especially) simply will not breed...
Im not even sure why


"All good things must come to an end, but bad things think thats rather dull, so they stick around long after their natural end has come"

-From an art book I read


#7 lilyea

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  • Peace River Watershed, Central Florida, USA

Posted 17 June 2016 - 11:43 AM

Some species (Larger ones especially) simply will not breed...
Im not even sure why


Not sure what large snail species that you are mentioning? I have bred Apple snails in an aquarium.

#8 Joshaeus

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Posted 17 June 2016 - 12:07 PM

The snails come from a recreational area in a lake, specifically where the water is only an inch or two deep...needless to say, they won't need much for current. Thankx for all the advice! They are very interesting snails...they have visible eyes (which, by itself, makes them unusually personable)



#9 Joshaeus

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Posted 17 June 2016 - 12:10 PM

ARGG! Forgot to post this...the lake has a PH of 6.7 and a TDS of 38 ppm (personal test results). Also in the shallows of the lake were Ranatra water scorpions (which were not collected) and numerous fish fry (almost certainly Fundulus diaphanus diaphanus...didn't collect any of them due to a lack of a fishing license).



#10 swampfish

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Posted 22 June 2016 - 12:54 PM

Snails need available calcium for their shells, so do crustaceans such as freshwater shrimp. My well water has a 6.8 pH and if I don't do water changes, the plants will take the pH down to where the shells of the snails get thin and the snails die. When I want to maintain snails or crustaceans, I add cichlid gravel which contains ground coral to keep the pH around 8.

Phil Nixon



#11 gzeiger

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Posted 25 June 2016 - 05:29 AM

Buying "cichlid gravel" at the pet store is ruinously expensive. Get some crushed oyster shell at the farm supply store. It's in the poultry feed section for about 20 cents a pound.



#12 Betta132

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Posted 09 July 2016 - 07:56 PM

I've also heard of people putting eggshells into the tank for snails to chew on. Not sure if it works or not, but I doubt it'd hurt, as long as they were cleaned off first.



#13 gzeiger

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Posted 10 July 2016 - 12:35 PM

Eggshell is reasonably digestible. Many animals including chickens eat their shells to recover the calcium.



#14 lilyea

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Posted 10 July 2016 - 12:54 PM

Eggshells are a viable option for calcium but I am partial toward crushed oysters (source mentioned above).  Another option is DIY plaster of paris feeding discs/pucks.



#15 gzeiger

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Posted 10 July 2016 - 05:43 PM

Oyster shell is by far the most economical and convenient, and less gross than eggshells, but for small applications actually those vacation feeder blocks you can get for a buck or two at any pet store are mostly calcium sulfate.



#16 Irate Mormon

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Posted 28 July 2016 - 12:01 AM

The key to keeping snails is to make sure they are in with the prized plant specimen you are hoping to succeed with. 


-The member currently known as Irate Mormon





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