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Re: Malaysian Trumpet Snails


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Plants FIDO-Gate <Plants.FIDO-Gate at f78_n480.z2.fidonet.org>
Date: Sun, 16 Jun 96 23:55:26 +0200
Subject: Malaysian Trumpet Snails & Loaches

Yoadie yo ho !!!

Based on a message from olga at arts_ubc.ca to All,

 o> I had the good fortune to recieve some MT snails in the mail from a
 o> friend on the net and the little guys survived 11 days in the "snail
 o> mail". And customs had opened the box and allowed them through -- very
 o> amazing! However, when I put them in my tank (after careful
 o> acclimatization) it wasn't long until my Clown Loach discovered them. I
 o> saw him at them and shooed him away. I only found one shell but he had
 o> definately eaten the snail and the shell was very crunched looking --
 o> like he had chewed through it. I hope all the others escaped into the
 o> substrate okay. I found no more shells. But I'm wondering -- can I keep
 o> these snails with Clown Loaches? I know they eat snails but I thought
 o> that MT snails would avoid them in the substrate. And -- will the
 o> loaches crunch up the shells too so that I wouldn't see them? Can they
 o> eat *through* the shells???

Well, MT are the toughest snails that I've ever seen. Im not
surprised they lasted the trip - I've heard stories of them
living for months in dry gravel (!), they seem to go into
some kind of low activity state when locked in the shell...

Concerning the Clown loaches, they should be of moderate
danger to your MT. Since MT don't come out too often (out of
the substrate, of course), they shouldn't be too endangered.
They have one of the strongest shells I've seen, too, and
since I cannot crush it with my fingers, I doubt it if the
Clown could crush it either. However, if the snail is not
fast enough to lock the lid, it's in trouble.

I've only had one case of a Clown killing a locked snail,
but it was an Ampularia (Apple) snail, and the loach
actually somehow made a hole in the weakest point of the
shell, and sucked the snail out...

I guess you're going to have to find out by yourself whether
the MT can survive. I think there's a big chance they'll be
allright.

           /
          ||/   -=< TONID >=-
     | /| |/   Tomasz Nidecki
     || |//    2:480/78, 39:200/110, 52:4804/16
     ||////    Tomasz.Nidecki at f78_n480.z2.fidonet.org
     /  /_
    |', ___
    |  /
     --

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message originated at Tonid's Endemic Zone FIDO-Gate
From: Tomasz Nidecki <Tomasz.Nidecki at f78_n480.z2.fidonet.org>
To:   olga at arts_ubc.ca
Please use the above "From:" address for private mail!
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