Snail Set up Dreams

So---I'm completely in love with apple snails right now. And I'd like to set up a tank (and fishless cycle it) mainly for the apple snails---just 2 I think. I'm thinking right now of getting a 20 gallon long. And maybe housing the apple snails with a school of neon tetras and some kind of corycats. Wondering about advice on making this work....what's the best filtration system for a tank like this? What's a good substrate. I really like pea gravel---but is sand better? I really don't want to plant the tank---so decor will probably be artificial. What temperature is generally agreed on as best for apple snails? I've seen the big ranges on care sheet pages----just wonder what the majority of people do for heating their snail tanks....Plan on feeding the apple snails blanched veggies and algae wafers as main staple of diet...anything else I should know? Any common pittfalls in snail keeping I should avoid? Do the corey and snails do well together as they are both bottom feeders? And if I eventually wanted to have like amanI or ghost shrimp---would they do well with the apple snails as well? Or are there any suggestions about stocking a 20 gallon long with 2 apple snails and any other appropriate tank mates. Thanks in advance---and sorry for the 8 million questions. Just excited to get started!

 

Apple snails are native to this area. They get pretty huge, and they absolutely demolish plants. Considering your tank size, it may be a better idea to go with mystery snails. Plus you get several color options that way.

As for filtration, it just depends on your budget. I'm a fan of canister filters, but hang on filters and sponge filters do a good job as well.

They are good bottom feeders, I keep a few dozen in my 125 and it's fun to watch them scoot along.

 

Yay! Another person potentially apple snail crazy Nice to meet you!


Definitely make sure everything is completely cycled before you add snails, they're even more sensitive than most fish to cycling and spikes in water parameters. I have my apple snails in a 36 gallon bowfront with two HOB filters on the back...one Tetra Whisper 10-30I and one Aquaclear 50. You definitely want lots of filtration and a two-filter setup, one on each side of the tank, works great - especially if you want the long tank. If you want HOB filters, sand is not your friend. Aquarium gravel is easy to siphon and comes in plenty of colors or natural looks. My tank stays around 77-78 degrees naturally, so I don't have to worry about heating...maybe someone else could help you there. I think 75-78 is really ideal, if anything I really wish mine was a degree or two cooler.

For food...if you're getting apple snails, I wouldn't even bother to blanch any veggies. A veggie clip or two will save your life! The leafy vegetables clip to it easily and they munch out. Mine eat collard greens, bok choi, broccoli, and green beans fresh from the farmer's market. Frozen veggies work just fine too, just don't get anything seasoned and watch the salt content. Snails are really sensitive to salt and even the 'salt free' canned veggies have a little. High calcium is really the way to go, which is why I stick with a lot of collard greens and green beans. They don't mess up the tank water, either.


Where do you live? If it's Florida...I have quite a few egg clutches and I'm hoping at least one of them will bear me some apple snail babies soon, if you might be interested. Take your time on the cycling process if you want a couple of mine and I'll set them aside when they hatch...don't worry, we're still in egg stage!

 

Jetajockey---thanks for the suggestion. I think I may go with the mystery snails---I've been reading and I think you're right---probably a better fit for the tank I'm setting up.

xxbyamomentx---I'm from Tennessee. Thanks for the kind offer of setting aside some of your apple snail babies though. Thanks also for all the awesome information. I've gone to the amazon link and ordered the veggie clips---they look perfect! And I'm taking my time on my tank set up and fishless cycle---but having fun mapping everything out.

 

So it can get pretty confusing because what are generally called mystery snails are a type of Apple snail. So Pomacea Cana(something) is what I assume you are calling Apple snails and Pomacea BridgesiI are what I assume you are calling mystery snails. Given that categorization I agree with what was said about Cana snails "Apple" vs Bridgesii. I keep "mystery" snails and I am in love with them. They never touch my plants unless there is a dead part. I keep mine with neon tetras and the neons DO nip them and sometimes injure the end of their antenna. I fount that having more neons and more hardscape lowered the number of these incidents significantly. I would get an aqua clear filter or two. For the long maybe do an aquaclear 20 or 30 on each side or do like a 50 in the middle (that's what I do because I can't afford two). I have black sand and it shows ALL the poop. And let me tell you these guys poop a lot. I vacuum twice a week and I still get annoyed. In this way I think pea gravel would be better because they're little poops will fall down the cracks so you won't see it and you can vacuum the gravel well. That being said their poo is light and will easily suck right up off the top of the sand so you don't need a deep vacuum (which you can't have because the sand will get sucked out). I would get a medium to light color of whatever substrate because of the color of the poop. Okay so temperature. Here the thing. They are happy anywhere between 73-80 BUT the warmer the tank the more they eat, poop, and move around AND the shorter their lives. So a tank at 73 will have more inactive snails, smaller bioload, longer lives. Where as a tank at 80 the snails will be active and pooping and eating but will live a much shorter life. I keep my tank at 78 degrees. This to me is when my snails seem happiest but it's a decision you should make for yourself. I have an aqueon 50w in my tank and it keeps the tank at 78 year round, shuts on and off as needed by itself. I think it's like $20 on Amazon. Food- these snails are omnivores!!!! So you have to make sure to feed them both veggies and some sort of meat lol. These snails will eat only until their full so you have to figure out the right amount because the food makes a mess of the tank of they don't eat it! Especially algae wafers. So my snails favorite is goldfish food and shrimp pellets made for bottom feeders. Every morning I put in one shrimp pellet per full grown snail and at night I litter the ground with goldfish flakes and put in a veggie and scoop out what's leftover in the morning of the veggie. When there's no veggies I do algae wafers but I hate how messy they are and my snails don't really like them. One thing you need to know is they have to have calcium. This is the #2 reason I give them goldfish food- it's high in calcium. I specifically pick the highest calcium goldfish food for them. They LOVE it and it's very good for them but should not be their main source of food lol. So for calcium I also do cuttlebone. But there's many ways. Also you should check the hardness and PH of your tap water because they need hard water and high PH. You can use crushed coral or limestone to harden the water and raise the PH. Also it should be noted that neon tetras breed in soft water/lower Ph so they won't be doing any breeding in a snail tank. I've heard of people having sterile eggs or offspring that fails to thrive but that has never happened with my neons in my snail tank. As far as plants fake ones are totally fine but I will say the snails love my Marimo moss balls. I got mine off Amazon. The balls catch fish food and particles and my snails clean them. And they're zero maintenance except you have to make are they get flipped once a week but my snails flip them and they "blow" around during my water changes. They look nice and the snails like them with pretty much zero work so it's something to think about.

Ah! Also be prepared to deal with egg clutches!!! Look into that extensively. ALSO- in the wild females would lay their eggs 3-4 feet above the water!! They can't do this in a tank so they are notorious for escaping! They escape through the tiniest gap to try to find a nice place to lay some eggs! I use the Aqueon versa top so j could cut out the exact spot for my filter and make it snug. Especially if you hatch some clutches those babes will escape like magicians!! These escapes usually result in falls and sometimes result in cracked shells so you have to be careful.

Literally 5 minutes later sunny is cleaning a moss ball. I'm posting too much but I'm snail obsessed sorry I'm done now until you have another question b

 

Thank you for all the awesome information!!!

Thank you! I've been reading about the egg issue. Starting to think maybe I'd be better off with just one snail. I know that doesn't guarantee I won't have eggs----and I think I know how to remove the clutches if I do get them---but I'd prefer not to have them....Do you know if these snails would be stressed if there was just one?

Oh my goodness---Sunny is beautiful!!!! ogloveoglove

 

Thank you! I've been reading about the egg issue. Starting to think maybe I'd be better off with just one snail. I know that doesn't guarantee I won't have eggs----and I think I know how to remove the clutches if I do get them---but I'd prefer not to have them....Do you know if these snails would be stressed if there was just one?

I don't think a single snail would be stressed at all, but only getting one snail definitely doesn't mean zero eggs! I have two snails that are currently laying eggs, neither of which have ever mated in my tank...I've got FIVE clutches total now. I haven't taken any of them off yet because I'm not sure if any/all are fertile, and I'd love to guarantee that one will hatch out. I literally went out and bought a bigger tank and filter because of the eggs, plus my wonderful LFS is also preparing for lots of babies just in case. I was over the moon after the first clutch, nervous after the second, and each time since I've been jokingly begging them to stop...

 

I could sex some of my snails and get you males only if you wanted. It will be probably a month from now by the time they're ready. I'm really good at sexing them. I'm planning on hatching a clutch about two weeks from now and then it will be maybe two to four weeks after that when I have them sexed. I don't confirm females at a young age but I do confirm males. It will be a wait though.

Also, one won't be stressed by themselves but they're right you are just as likely to have clutches with only one. I've kept a male only tank until recently because I never wanted to deal with clutches but I have decided I want to breed them so I purchased females.

 

So excited I have my tank now! Still waiting on the substrate I ordered and the hood to the tank---but hoping to start my fishless cycle next week. I ended up switching substrate to sand because I read how much the corycats love it....I did get the black sand that will show all the poop too---whoops---should have re-read this thread before ordering! Ha! My husband is most excited about the fish---I am most excited about the snail! I figure once I finally get cycled---I'll slowly add the fish first----and then the snail last. Thank you to everyone for all your help here!