My questions about snails- I have several

[Mariah]

first- are apple snails and mystery snails the same kind of snail?

second- my apple snail keeps stickin this really long thin thingy out above it as it's climbing on the wall. it hasnt done that before.

third- my mystery snail's shell looks really bad. its eroded. what should i do?

fourth- sometimes the two snails hold on to each other really tight for a while. i thought they might be mating (i dunno too much about snails), but there are no eggs.

fifth- Apple escaped today. i don't know how long it was outside the tank, but i found it on the floor when i got home from school, and it was scrunched up really tight in its shell. now it's making a lot of slime and pooping a lot, but it looks like it's recovering well. what should i do?

last (for now)- i read something about someone holding their snail outside the tank (i think), but it was a cana. could i hold my snails?

thanks,
Mariah

[TKC]

1. Apple snails are usually sold in stores as a "mystery snail." They are usually p. brigesii.

2. The long thingy you are seeing is it's air syphon. They use this to breath. Since you've never seen it before it could be that the oxygen levels have dropped in your tank and it needs to use it.

3. For the eroding shell you can add crushed coral in your filter, or you can buy liquid calcium for saltwater aquariums and this should help prevent future erosion.

4. They probably are mating. Female snails can store the sperm so she might lay eggs later.

5. Your snail should be fine in a few days. It's very stressful for them to be out of the water for extended periods of time.

6. Holding your snail really isn't advisable. Anything on your hands can be harmful for you snail. Mine used to crawl up on my hand when I was cleaning my tanks, but my hands were rinsed off really well before I stuck my hand in the tank. Plus you could stress out the snail if you keep messing with them.

I hope this helps some!

[Sprite42]

If your snail is climbing out of the tank, she is more than likely looking for a place to lay eggs. Just lower your water line an inch or so, apple/mystery snails lay their eggs above the water line. If the water covers the eggs, they will drown.

On the shell erosion, you can also buy cuttlebone that is used for pet birds, it is real cheap at Walmart. I break off pieces and put it in the filter until it is water logged and then drop it in the tank.

Everything else sounds like normal behaviour. If you have to handle your snails, coat your hands with water conditioner first.

[dwool36]

my apple snail keeps stickin this really long thin thingy out above it as it's climbing on the wall.

If your snail is spending a lot of time at the top using it's air syphon, that is often a sign that something is wrong with your water. I have many (too many...lol) apple snails and the only time I see them use their air syphon is when laying eggs. The only other time I saw it (and they were staying at the top for hours at a time) is when my tank went through a mini-cycle and I had ammonia.

sometimes the two snails hold on to each other really tight for a while

They are almost definately mating. Lower your water level like sprite suggested and you will see eggs above the water line. If you do not want anymore snails, simply remove the eggs.

You can also hatch the eggs outside the tank. Wet the eggs that are stuck to the wall. Wait 15 minutes then gently slide the entire clutch off the wall. Put them in a small bowl lined with moist paper towels and cover. It takes about 4 weeks for the eggs to hatch. make sure the paper towels are always damp (not soaked). Then put the baby snails in the tank. I do this so that I can put the babies in my snail tankand not have them in my community tank.

[Mariah]

thankz a lot everybody, but for helping the snail with the eroded shell, if i put in calcium would the fish be ok? because i have the snails in with the fish.

and if there's not enough oxygen, what should i do? get an air pump?


thanks again,
Mariah

[Sprite42]

Once you lower the water level a bit, your filter should cause surface break up. As long as your water params are in-line, it does not hurt the snail to come up for air. My snails would come up for air in spite of my having an airstone and water params being perfect.

[garfieldnfish]

I add calcium to all my tanks with snails and the fish are fine. I also add cuddlebone.
I remove the snail egg clusters about 2 days after they were laid. After a day or two the shells get hard enough to where you can just move the cluster with your finger and it will fall of the tank lid. I leave mine inside the tank on a plant float in tanks where no fish will eat them. But if you want to raise them and you have fish in the tank that would eat them, I would remove the cluster. You can put it on a credit card (anything that floats) and put it in a tubberware container filled with tank water. You should add an airstone to this container. Cover it with a lid, but don't seal it. Air has to be able to enter.
The eggs hatch according to temps. I had some hatch in as early as 2 week and some took 4 weeks. Right before they start to hatch the shells change to a lighter color.

[Mariah]

i lowered the water level about an inch and a half last night.

then i went to bed, and i dreamed i got baby snails. there were no eggs- just a bunch of tiny snails.

and then when i got up this morning, i went downstairs to see if there were any eggs, and there were! about 15 probably. there were 3 or 4 clusters. i put them in a plastic container with a wet paper towel, and i don't know how well i did or if the snails will live, but i did the best i could.

thanks for all the help everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and i have another question- are the males smaller than the females? because i have a bigger one and a smaller one, but i got the smaller one long before i got the bigger one. and i think the bigger one is the one that laid the eggs.

thanks again,
Mariah

[msdolittle]

I found a little hijacker this morning myself! In my 30 gallon there was a little baby apple snail........so I fished him out and put him in the 5 gallon with my big one.

Wonder if the big one will eat the little one? I hope not.....