Breeding (and Keeping) The Pest Snails

Last summer, I started trying to breed pest snails as food for my pea puffer. I didn't think it would be that hard, given that, well, they're pests that seem to thrive despite people's best efforts to eradicate them as long as a pea puffer isn't hunting them down. I'm also trying to breed Malaysian trumpet snails too.

I decided to use an unheated plastic bin that holds about 5 gallons of water and has a small sponge filter. It stays at 69 degrees, and is full of elodia/anacharis plants, which have been growing wildly and seem to always be covered in egg sacs. The walls have grown a good bit of algae and are often covered in tiny snail hatchlings.

There's only one problem: these snails never seem to make it to a size much larger than a pinprick. I'm guessing they just die off before then. And the Malaysian trumpets never seem to breed, period.
The fish store said it's probably because the babies don't have enough to eat, since I drop in 1 sinking wafer just once a week. I'm wondering if the water just gets too filthy to sustain them, despite the fact that pond snails can and will survive copper pesticides and gravel bleaching when those big pet stores try to get rid of em. So what am I doing wrong?

 

How much water are you changing?

 

How much water are you changing?

Not sure. My brother's been in charge of keeping my tank and bin in decent shape while I'm off at college, says he changed out about 50% of the water every other week. I'm guessing that doesn't cut it, huh?

 

Not sure. My brother's been in charge of keeping my tank and bin in decent shape while I'm off at college, says he changed out about 50% of the water every other week. I'm guessing that doesn't cut it, huh?

The water quality might cause them decrease in population, but if it is that, the babies should also be dying.

Maybe try feeding a bit more, smaller, pieces of fish food and see if there is a change.

 

The water quality might cause them decrease in population, but if it is that, the babies should also be dying.

Maybe try feeding a bit more, smaller, pieces of fish food and see if there is a change.

Will do, thanks.

 

How are you giving them calcium? Snails will never reach adulthood if there isn't enough calcium in their diet/environment to sustain shell growth.

 

How are you giving them calcium? Snails will never reach adulthood if there isn't enough calcium in their diet/environment to sustain shell growth.

I'm not adding any calcium supplements or anything like that. I was told that tap water in this area has enough to sustain snails... and that seemed to be the case before. I actually had a bit of a snail infestation in my main tank until I got my puffer.

But, in case I'm wrong about that, what's a good, cheap way to add calcium? I'm trying to save up money at the moment, so I'd prefer not having to buy expensive foods or formulas.

 

But, in case I'm wrong about that, what's a good, cheap way to add calcium? I'm trying to save up money at the moment, so I'd prefer not having to buy expensive foods or formulas.

Just put a cuttlebone in the tank, and replace when it fully dissolves.

 

Just put a cuttlebone in the tank, and replace when it fully dissolves.

Okay. Just wondering, is it possible to harm the snails with too much calcium?

 

Okay. Just wondering, is it possible to harm the snails with too much calcium?

Technically, yes (like burying the snail in it), but otherwise, a cuttlebone won't harm the snails.

 

Agree with FishFish - add some cuttlebone. Feeding kale, spinach or bok Choi will help as well.

 

I may or may not have just found the culprit behind my problem: while I've been away at school, it seems like my brother hasn't cleaned the small layer of sand I kept at the bottom of the bin. I poked it a little with the siphon and a ridiculous amount of debris and a vile smell immediately came up... All that snail poop's probably been rotting in there for who knows how long.