Tony G.

I've become interested in these little guys... particularly the big apple snails
should i quarantine them?? Do they carry disease?

redlessi

I read that most snails dont carry diseases and if they did they dont transfer to fish. I have a gold inca snail and I put it in the tank right away. It loves to eat cucumber and zucchini. Unless you want a tank full, make sure you get the kind that need a partner to breed. Maybe someone will come along with more snail experience than I have.
Good Luck with it.

iloveengl

Hmmm, I didn't Q mine. But maybe I was lucky. I later read that certain snails can carry diseases to fish and even humans. I think its a type of ramshorn that does that, though. I'll look for that article. It's creepy.

Tony G.

ok! its just my LFS has some nice big yellow snails

iloveengl

Oooo it could be a golden mystery snail. I have one of those. I love him!

Tony G.

do they get big? would they breed on their own?

TedsTank

Many "wild" snails carry things...parasites and diease....don't panic. Most snails in the aquarium trade are clean and are just passed on thru the business or keepers to keepers.
I wouldn't pull any out of the swamps near me for my tanks!!

MeGustaUnaPez926

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if most snails carry diseases, wouldn't a lot more people have problems with them? Because I accidentally got some ramshorn snails into my tank off of some live plants.

TedsTank

live plants from your swamp?...no one need worry...we are not ingesting raw snails from our tanks. They are safe to us.
Getting snails from aquarium plants are safe.....plants for the trade are treated or grown on plant farms....imported wild plants have to meet stringent Agricultural import laws and restrictions.
no one really needs to worry!!!

iloveengl

Mystery snails reach I think a max of three inch shells, so big enough to look cool, but not so big as to be frightening. lol. Nope, mystery snails are so great because they need two for babies and, even if you have two and momma lays eggs, she lays above water. You can either keep the water level too high for her to lay them (because they need 6" between hood and water line so eggs don't drown) or just pluck off the egg sack.

Mystery Snail Care?

I believe there's only one type of the ramshorn that carries the parasite thingy. Not all of them. And as Ted said, with the other types of snails, the wild snails are much more of a concern than from you lfs.

This isn't the original article I read it, but Wikipedia has a note about it: "One should also be aware that red ramshorn snails are able to carry various parasitic flukes, which can be transmitted to fish, or humans. Most of these flukes require intermediate hosts, so that leaving the snails by themselves for a month or so will eliminate the disease."

Tony G.

Hmmm... is this a mystery snake? this is what it looks likee....
http://z.about.com/d/freshaquarium/1/0/K/z/snail05.jpg

iloveengl

...snake?...no. But it is a golden mystery snail. Aren't they pretty, though? They come in all different colors - yellow, black, ivory, blue, striped, solid.... Amesome!

whisper

I have mystery snails in my pond that get very big out there. I do bring them in to my tanks in the winter. They lay dry clutches any place that is dry. I even had one lay her eggs on the under side of the light hood of my tank because there wasn't enough room on the side glass. If they are full of eggs they will lay them anyplace that they can find dry. In the pond in a summer I will find 15 - 20 clutches of eggs layed on the bog plants that have leaves that stick above the water.As they hatch they will drop down into the water. Mine get eaten by the koi and goldfish but sometimes I will bring some in the house to hatch them out. They are my favorite snails and the only ones I have.

aquarist48

Hello Tony. I have my new Mystery in quarantine just to be on the safe side. Did you see my thread where I just found snail eggs and I just bought them past Wednesday! I'm posting a link you may find helpful if you haven't seen it already.
http://www.squidoo.com/Mystery_Snails#module11182663
I hope you get some snails if you want them. I'm really enjoying mine.
Take care!
Ken

rainman

Yes, if you are speaking of the species Pomacea bridgesii. They will get as big as a golf ball and possibly a little bit bigger. No they will not breed on their own. The confusion on this subject stems from the females ability to store sperm after mating, and then after being bought they start laying eggs clutch after clutch, hence the idea that they can breed on their own.

Tony G.

Rainman, that is the exact snail... would he be alright in a 30g?

eiginh

Yes 30g is fine, you can probably put 5 of them in there if you want to breed them. I have one in my 10g. They do produce more bio load than other snails.

Tony G.

alright! one more thing. My tank has a glass hood. It has a hole that is about 2" on both sides. would he crawl out?!

eiginh

That's a possibility, just make sure your water line isn't close to the top. I have a glass hood with gaps as well. So far he hasn't come out yet. *knock on wood*

Tony G.

so i should lower the water? right now its at the very tip... how much should i lower it?

iloveengl

I read somewhere that there should be about 2" without water at the top. I think this is so the snail can stick its little breathing tube out if it wants to. Mine sometimes cruises right along (but just beneath) the water surface, but he doesn't really come out of the water.

eiginh

yes, give it about 2 inches. Mine is at 1 inch and within a week water dissolves an inch lower. Though I do a w/c every Saturday so it's usually an inch lower from the top.

Tony G.

its just i dont want him to venture out lol!

eiginh

Snails are really curious so there's always a possibility of sneaking out but if you have cardboard boxes you can cut it to the certain size that will block the gaps and all you have to do is wrap packaging tape around it so the moisture wouldn't make the box all mushy.

Tony G.

that could work!

eiginh

I'm a cheapo but it does work! lol First try and see if the snail will get out in the first place before you do anything.

Tony G.

i might get him a little small, to watch him grow and all
does he need calcium? ive read up about thowing in an egg shell

EDIT: too many typos!

eiginh

The only calcium I put is from the tap water when I do w/c's and he's still getting bigger!

Tony G.

aah! got enough of those in there

iloveengl

Tony, when you get a chance, check out the posts in this link: Mystery Snail Care?. You'll find info about calcium for their shells and other random info. about your snail.

I totally agree about getting them small and watching them grow. Our "little" Sheriff was about an inch when we got him - he grew another 2" in less than 2 months! It's soooo cool to see the difference.