Re: [Live-foods] snails with daphnia

[Scott Davis <unclescott at prodigy_net>]

A variant of that is to set up the apple snails as the source of nutrients for (or in) a green water culture. Because snails have been documented in some cases, suspected in other, as vectors for some diseases both of fish and even humans, it would be best to pick up a strain that has been in the hobby for a time. They will convert plant fragments, extra veggie trimmings from the kitchen and over-the-hill-recently-discovered fish food into all the fertilization of a green water culture that one could want. And in this case one wants one of the voraciously vegetarian species.

However, the seemingly clever idea of exporting apple snails for use in Asian rice fields to eat algae and provide another food source for people has terribly backfired. (When will we learn that introducing exotics of any sort is taking a big risk? How about a whole lot of research first?)

http://www.ekkwill.com/usaqsnailban.html
notes that snails imported into the US and carried between states should be documented. A permit is required to move a "plant pest" over those borders. They also require a permit for transporting the apple snail, though they are still legal in the aquarium trade. Because the Pomacea species are so easily confused by many people, especially when they (the snails that is) are young . So as a condition for a
permit to carry them, one must make sure that the P. bridgesii are a minimum of 1.4 inches (3.5 cm) long.

It turns out that the apple snails in Asian rice fields would buzz through the algae and then devour the rice shoots. They say that those snails have also become agricultural pests in Hawaii and Texas and in the Dominican Republic where they took 75% of the rice crop. They also could carry liver flukes. In Eastern and Southeast Asia, they have also been
"found to carry Angiostrongylus
cantonensis, a parasite nematode that
causes potentially lethal eosinophilic
meningitis, a disease of humans and
other animals."

If I lived in a state where the Pomacea lived, I might still consider using them for some aquatic purposes, though I might quarantine them with an anthelmintic (anti-worm) or other antiparisite treatment first. But they would not travel to aquarium fish shows and auctions. :)

All the best!
Scott

--- On Thu, 11/27/08, REDRAGON40 at aol_com <REDRAGON40 at aol_com> wrote:
From: REDRAGON40 at aol_com <REDRAGON40 at aol_com>
Subject: Re: [Live-foods] snails with daphnia
To: live-foods at actwin_com
Date: Thursday, November 27, 2008, 11:11 AM

An experienced guy I know keeps a sizeable community of apple snails in his  
daphnia cultures, as well as lge numbers of bristle nose ancistrus.   Neither 
of them bother the daphnia, but they scarf up any uneaten food the daphs  
miss, as well as the bodies of any daphs that die.
 
Carol   < ' )))><
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