d0hb0y Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 I'm about to start breeding Ramshorn Snails for my pea puffers. I got one ramshorn snail (Like 5mm in diameter) from some plants I purchased last week (Still looking for Java Fern ). It's sitting in a very small Tupperware container with a plastic plant, piece of cuttlebone and some flake food. I do 90% water changes every 2 days to try to keep this little guy alive. I can only hope he's carrying eggs! I have a few questions about snail breeding for the more experienced aquarists on this site. I'm thinking about getting a 5.5G starter tank from BAs for the snails. It's a typical starter tank with a hood, HOB filter, light and i think a heater. Do you guys think it's a good idea to get this tank for the snails? Some of the information i've been reading about breeding snails says to go to your LFS and ask for some free snails. I tried doing so this morning at my LFS and the guy said they would charge me $4 per small snail. $4 is not bad, but for that price I could be buying quarter sized apple or mystery snails. My concern is with these "free snails" I really don't know what breed they are (Pond, Ramshorn, MTS, ETC) would this cause a problem with breeding? Or do they cross breed? And lastly, does anyone know where I can get some ramshorn or pond snails at a decent price? This snails are going to be used to feed my puffers so i'm not looking at getting them OVERLY large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLake Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 you want java fern?natures corner store a aa sponsor has some i just bough tsome there on friday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Make some friends on the forum or at your local aquarium club who have a "snail" problem. I'm sure they'd love to supply you with snails. My assassin snails are being kept well fed by friends from AA and the Calgary Aquarium Society. They really do enjoy a nice juicy ramshorn!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 I am not really a snail breeder but I dont think it really requires much effort on your part to get them going. I had a stowaway red ramshorn snail come in on a plant that I had put into my quarantine tank (15 gallon) after I bought it. I had inspected the plant prior to the QT and didnt notice passengers or any sort of eggs on it. 3 days after QT I saw the single tiny snail (maybe about 2 mm) moving about and it grew and grew till it was about 1cm in diameter. It was the only snail for a period of at least a month at which time I noticed that I had many many many more tiny snails appearing. The QT tank has been up and running for various QT reasons and had light algae growth which I think allowed the snail to feed and grow so quickly. I now have 30 or so snails all coming from that single snail. I also tried him in a small 2.5 gallon (no heater, light or filter) and while I did have some snails hatch... they didnt grow out as well as my QT tank probably cuz there wasnt as much food available to eat from lack of lighting. I would guess that the 5G that you are thinking of will be more than enough to get things going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Really, all yo need is a small tank, and maybe a sponge filter - but probably not even that. Then go to the supermarket and get a small zuccini; on your way home from the supermarket, stop by my place and get as many ramshorn snails as you'd like FOR FREE! Anyone charging $4/ramshorn snail is ripping you off, big time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0hb0y Posted February 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 My mistake, I was looking for Java MOSS. I got Java Fern last Wednesday from natures corner store. I've only been there twice, but it's a great little shop! Thanks for the great info everyone! I'm probably going to get that 5.5 Gallon tonight from BAs. As for the snails, I didn't buy them lol. 4$ is a bit crazy, i'll probably see if the Pet$mart near there might have some free snails. If not, Jvision, I might just come knocking :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geleen Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 My mistake, I was looking for Java MOSS. I got Java Fern last Wednesday from natures corner store. I've only been there twice, but it's a great little shop! Thanks for the great info everyone! I'm probably going to get that 5.5 Gallon tonight from BAs. As for the snails, I didn't buy them lol. 4$ is a bit crazy, i'll probably see if the Pet$mart near there might have some free snails. If not, Jvision, I might just come knocking :P Aqua giant 15 gal or 10........ I can't remember...... for 18 dollars John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 i'd be more inclined to get snails off the members here instead of getting them from a store. you never know what sort of nasties might be coming in with snails bought from a store with central filtration, and those nasties could potentially make your fish sick. stopping off at jvision's place is a much better idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0hb0y Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 i'd be more inclined to get snails off the members here instead of getting them from a store. you never know what sort of nasties might be coming in with snails bought from a store with central filtration, and those nasties could potentially make your fish sick. stopping off at jvision's place is a much better idea! Thanks for the tip!! I'm in the process of starting a snail farm to feed the puffers. I got the puffers eating mysis shrimp right now but will eventually switch them over to live snails. Is there a way to quarrantine or "clean" them out before feeding them to my puffers? I think i read somewhere to have the snails alone in a seperate tank for a month and they should be ok. Does anyone have anymore info on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 quarantining the snails for 4 weeks or so should be sufficient, if you are not entirely confident of the source of the snails. but if you are getting them from jvision i wouldn't be concerned about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 That's right! JVISION SNAILS - DISEASE FREE SINCE 1991! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 How long does it take ramshorns to reproduce? I've had them for a bit and I can't seem to find any young ones. And how fast to they reproduce? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 It'll likely take a couple months to get a sizible population; but as long as there's adequate food, there really should be no end to their reproduction. You should see jelly egg bunches w/in days of getting your snails home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 I do have the eggs. Just not sure from which snail. I've got mts, ramshorn and i think they are pond snails all together. I can see the mts are reproducing and pretty sure the pond snails are also. I'll keep waiting and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 MTS don't lay eggs. Ramshorns and Pond snail both lay jelly sacs - one tends to be a round glob (pond, I think), the other tends to be longer (ramshorn, I think). I find that given all things equal, ramshorns will outcompete pond snails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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