NFC: Re: Native Fish Conservancy Digest V3 #13

[Bill Flowers <bloomin at indy_net>]

>
> I have noticed that my Orangethroat and Johnny Darters tend to wait for the snail to get close and then dart forward and grab the snail's foot. They then give a quick shake of the head and out comes the snail. They also seem to prefer Ramshorn snails over Malasayian livebearing snails. They like them so much that I have a tank that I use just for raising snails for them.

     Bill Flowers

>
>
> Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 09:06:23 -0500
> From: "Thomas DeWitt" <tdewitt at tamu_edu>
> Subject: NFC: trumpet snails & snail predation in general
>
> Luke,
> Interesting observations on the orangethroats!  Did you notice how the darters eat snails.  I'm curious as to whether they swallow the shells whole, crushed them or used suction feeding to suck the snail from the shells.  Are some darters better than others at snailivory.
>
> While we're at it, I'm interested to know what other natives have been observed eating snails in aquaria, and what means they use.
>
> This has important implications for the evolution of prey defenses, both behavioral or morphological.
>
> Thom
>
> >>> mcclurgl at washburn_edu 04/12/02 01:05AM >>>
>
> I had three tanks that were over run with them.  I put in a half dozen
> orangethroat darters into each and six weeks later, no malaysian snails.
>
> Luke
>
> On Thu, 11 Apr 2002, Mark wrote:
>
> > I have found the Malaysian burrowing trumpet snails to be next to
> > impossible to eradicate from your gravel once they are established.  The
> > trap door allows them to wait out most chemical treatments, and the hard
> > shells and burrowing make them innacessible to predatory fishes.  So don't
> > get them unless you want to keep them!
> >
> > Mark
> > Columbus Ohio USA            <))><
> > mbinkley at columbus_rr.com
>