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Re: Apple Snails


>From: rhondawi at sprynet_com
>Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 11:24:34 -0800
>Subject: Re: Apple Snails and Ich
>
>I don't know about whether or not they can carry ich. However I would 
>be concerned about keeping apple snails in a planted tank. I kind of 
>like snails and other inverts so keep a number of different kinds (7 
>identifiable snail types). I found that apple snails and Columbian 
>ramshorns can both be very destructive plant eaters. I keep both these 
>types in a seperate 10 gallon tank and feed them off of plant cuttings 
>from my tanks, lettuce and zucchini.
>
>Rhonda

I keep apple snails in my heavily planted tanks along with red ramshorn,
brown spotted ramshorn, pond, and trumpet snails.  Among the Pomacea
species (apple snails and Columbian ramshorn snails are included), and
among mystery snails as well (mystery snails are large, livebearing snails
from the northeast U.S.), I understand that most are voracious plant
eaters, but the apple snails are much less so than others.

In my tanks, apple snails will only eat dead or dying leaves and roots.
They never touch the healthy leaves of any of my plants.  Cryptocoryne
roots that stick up from the surface seem to be happy munching grounds for
them as well, but they primarily seem to be interested in algaes and my
algae wafers.  I've been getting an egg-pouch per week out of my latest set
or pearl apple snails since I put them in my 55g and began adding weekly
doses of powdered limestone (all of my snails eat the limestone right off
of the floor of the aquarium).

When I read a report of a ravenous plant-eating snail, I first wonder what
type it is, then I wonder how healthy the plants in the tank are.  I only
run 160w of 2-year old light over my plants, so I'm not in the hyper-bright
category, but my snails almost never eat my plants.  I've begun to gauge my
plants' health by whether or not the snails are feeding on them.  If the
snails begin to feed heavily on a plant, I know there is something very
wrong with that plant.

David W. Webb           Corporate Business Systems
Texas Instruments Inc.  Dallas, TX USA
(972) 575-3443 (voice)  MSGID:       DAWB
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