Spixie Snails

[SuperGuppyGirl]

So there were 4 of these guys in a bag I bought with some corys. I have read they are murder on plants, can breed out of control and eat other snails and devour hydras. Any suggestions on care for these guys, are they worth breeding? Meaning are they easy to breed and can I get rid of the excess if I'm successful.

Edited February 25, 2013 by SuperGuppyGirl

[jvision]

If kept in check, I'd say they're great snails. They need a male and female to breed, so singles will never over run you. I was selling 50/month to stores for a while, but at that many it became hard to keep them well fed and their water clean... especially since there were also thriving RCS and BNs in the same tank.

Now the shrimp pick at the Spixis shells for calcium. So the breeders are all pitted ad I don't see many young. The tank is also too warm for BNs to breed (my shop at work is really warm), so it's less than ideal for anything.

[SuperGuppyGirl]

Good to know I could get rid of them if I need too, think I'll see if I can breed them. Be nice to have a snail I want to breed do so.

[madagascariensis]

I can't answer whether they eat hydra, but they did not breed uncontrollably for me, nor do they eat other snails(even when hungry).

However, they loved to eat plants, including those normally regarded as inedible like java ferns.

[Tigs]

in all this plant eating, do they touch algae?

Thanks,

Antonio

[Crystal]

Mine never touched algae, but they never touched my plants unless they were starving. My ramshorns ate more plants, and algae, than my sphixis did. Maybe I have plant-phobic sphixis... They eat any dead or rotting plant material with gusto, but no live plants unless they were starving. Loved to lay their eggs in java moss - never ate any of the moss though as far as I can tell, that moss grew like a bad weed...