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Apple snails eating plants



Rochelle, a few months ago there was on this list an exchange of posts about
this subject. In my opinion it is clear that some snails sold as apple or
mystery snails do not eat plants normally, while others do it voraciously. I
am not aware of any easy system to differentiate the two types on the basis
of their morphology, although I suppose that different behavior corresponds
to different species. After having had experience with 3-4 plant-eating
snails, I recently ordered some "guaranteed" non plant-eating mystery snails
for Carolina Biologic Supply, which indeed live happily with some hornwort
with no problems. However, for those interested in those issues, I will not
order anymore from that company because I later discovered that they import
and supply to schools for dissection classes large quantities of cat
carcasses. These cats are caught in less developed countries and killed by
drowning them in barrels of water. Complaints were made to that company by
animal rights associations, but they refused to utilize supply sources more
in compliance with ethical issues.
Anyway, when a couple of years ago I read the FAQ on algae control, it cited
apple snails as an algae remedy compatible for plants. In my opinion this
information is misleading because, although some large snails are OK, others
are not, and it is unclear how to tell them apart.



Dionigi