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Re: Trap Door Snails
Hi RJ,
Thanks for opening a "bigger window" on the subject. Got a question:
Are they sexual in reproduction? The ones I got from Lily Pond were
the Japanese trapdoor livebearing snail. One day I noted one of them
would burrow about a 1/2 inch in the sand and stay there for a few days
and then I would see 2-3 small snails on the front glass. I had a constant
battle in Maine raising the hardness of the wellwater to keep these snails
comfortable. The pair of snails that gave forth babies: one was very dark
brown
and the other was a much lighter grayish brown. Thanks again, RJ, for the
info!
Bill
forest at copper_net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tranquility Base" <TranquilityBase at NetZero_Net>
To: <killietalk at aka_org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 8:24 PM
Subject: RE: Trap Door Snails
> Hi Folks:
>
> The name trap door snail is actually very confusing and most likely should
> be avoided. Currently I have seen at least 3 very different types of snail
> masquerading under this name. The term trap door refers to the operculum
> which they use to seal off their soft bodies from their surroundings.
There
> are several species of very different snails that have operculum all of
> which could be called trap door snails. These families include HYDROBIIDAE
> VIVIPARIDAE, NERITINA and PILIDAE.
>
> The first group is the PILIDAE. This variety has two distinct
morphologies.
> The first is the apple snail type (Pomacea). It has a compact short spiral
> configuration and of course it has a "trap door". These snails come in
> almost as many varieties as gold fish. There are gold ones, albinos albino
> snails with black shells, black snails with white shells, some with spiral
> patterns on their shells and at least one that I believe has had its shell
> bleached. There is at least one variety that gets incredibly large for a
> fresh water snail. Actually about the size of a tennis ball. They have
> relatively thick shells. These are very active snails, they consume huge
> quantities of vegetation. I watched a medium specimen wipe out a 2.5 gal
> tank full of java moss in one day. It started sucking down one strand and
> did not stop until it had consumed everything. It was like watching a
> cartoon character eat spaghetti. Another small golden apple snail I had
ate
> over 1 cu inch of riccia per day. These snails actually prefer plant
> material to algae. They require very good water quality, actually better
> than many killifish and will die quickly if water changes are missed. I
> tend to recall these snails also eating dead fish so I would hazard the
> guess that they would make short work of killifish eggs. Due to the water
> quality concerns and their voracious appetites they are best kept in
larger
> tanks. I would avoid putting them in with any valuable plants.
>
> The second group of Pilidae snail is the so called giant ramshorns,
(Pilidae
> Marissa). These snails are not related to their smaller counterparts they
> are actually more closely related to an apple snail. They will also eat
> plants and eggs but are much less destructive than the round apple snails.
> They will eat algae and plants, but they seem to have a preference to
algae
> whereas the other apple snails almost prefer plants.
>
> The snails I have mentioned are usually tropical and as such may be
shipped
> interstate without difficulty in most of the United States. They are egg
> layers that deposit an mass of eggs ABOVE the water line.
>
> The next trap door snail is the "large pond snail" group (the true Mystery
> Snails), family Vivipardidae. This includes the Giant Japanese (that I
> occasionally collect in the summer), a Chinese variety one with a heart
> shaped foot that is supposedly indigenous to the northern US east coast
and
> a few more similar species that are native to the southern United States.
> The Giant Jap gets about 1.5 inches in diameter and of course they have
trap
> doors. These snails can be differentiated from the apple snails in that
they
> are usually more elongated than the apples. They are livebearers that
> produce one to two pea size offspring at a time. The Giant Japs do not eat
> most aquatic plants. They eat primarily algae. They do not hunt fish eggs.
> They have no patterns on their shells but do have tinges of red or orange
on
> their bodies. They also have one set of shorter antennae and lack the
mouth
> barbels common to apple snails. These are vastly superior to most other
> snails used with killies. They never over populate, both good and bad for
> those who want more. Supposedly the Giant Japs were the original mystery
> snail. Some of these snails like the Giant Japs are NOT TROPICAL. If
> released they can populate an outdoor back yard pond and/or local body of
> water. For that reason they are not usually commercially available often.
I
> might add that when these snails close up you need a water change! Within
a
> week after the snails refuse to open your fish will start dying. They can
> also tolerate a reasonable amount of salt in the water.
>
> The final group that I have encountered is a medium black snail with a
white
> swirl pattern in its shell, Possibly Viviparus Georgianus. It is a very
> round snail. I have seen them only twice, once in a LFS where all were
dead
> or dying and the other was in a Chinese restaurant where they were
> exceptionally tasty. I have never kept one so I can not comment further
on
> them. Next time I stop by the Chinese restaurant I might just have a talk
> with the cook.
>
> My research and experience indicates that there are several snails sold
> under the heading "trap door snail" that are actually very different
> animals. Some are great killifish tank snails others should be avoided. If
> your goal is to eliminate plants use the apple snails. But keep in mind
they
> are voracious and you will have to keep feeding them after the plants are
> gone. For Killie applications, use the "large pond snail" type what they
> lack in color they make up for in personality.
>
> Peace,
>
> ~RJ~
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-killietalk at aka_org [mailto:owner-killietalk at aka_org]On
> Behalf Of William Ruyle
> Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 3:04 PM
> To: killietalk at aka_org
> Subject: Re: Trap Door Snails
>
>
> Frank,
> The ones I kept in Maine were the dark brown or black variety. Going to be
> looking for the gold ones Gary mentioned. They can grow to roughly the
size
> of a golf ball and the shell is a fat and short spiral and underneath
> is a circular trapdoor that will be absolutely shut tight in their dormant
> period, but slightly ajar as I mentioned before, if they are dead. The
body
> color (when they are out in "full sail" cruising the glass) is dark gray
or
> brown for the variety I kept. If you have hard water (which I didn't in
> Maine) they should be easy to keep. I'm going to be trying Gary's idea of
> the cucumber slices.
> HTH,
> Bill
> forest at copper_net
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <YoHoHo at aol_com>
> To: <KillieTalk at aka_org>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 1:32 PM
> Subject: Re: Trap Door Snails
>
>
> > How do I know if the snails ARE trap door snails? Will they be marked
as
> > such? What do they look like that distinguishes them from other
species?
> > o
> > *
> > o
> > *
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > ~~~~~~~~~~<**)))><\~~~~~~~~~~~
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Frank Carriglitto
> > ChiKA, WAKO, AKA #08234
> >
> > > Subject: Re: Trap Door Snails
> > >
> > > Sandy -- Most of the Walmarts in St. Louis area have the black and
the
> > > golden trap door snails. About $1.00 each. If you buy any -- make
sure
> > > the clerk gets the ones that are up on the glass. Usually the ones
> lying
> > > on the bottom are dead. Walmart starves them.
> > >
> > > Feed the snails very thin cucumber slices as soon as you get them home
> > > and I suggest you quarantine them for a while. I personnally don't
> > > think ramshorn are as good for infusoria . Good luck !
> > >
> >
> >
> >
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