Feeding and Nutrition :: snails

[retard]

alright i was thinking about getting a few snails. Are these good for the turtles? i heard they reproduce qucikly. my turtles tend to eat alot of live things so should i get 4-5 snails and let them reproduce? do they clean the tank to?> thanks

[missibsu]

It all depends on the type of snails that you get. Some snails don't reproduce as easily as others. The small cornucopia snails (go by many other names as well) that hitch rides on aquatic plants, reproduce really fast. I breed these for my turtles. I would warn you that they can get out of control very fast. They will start breeding in your filter, on aquarium decorations, etc. If you ever decide that you don't want them they can be hard to get rid of. Some people say that they keep things clean, at the same time they add to the waste load in your tank. One other thing that I would add, if you buy them and put them in with the turtles, they may be eaten before they have a chance to breed.

[Spookster]

It all depends on the type of snails that you get. Some snails don't reproduce as easily as others. The small cornucopia snails (go by many other names as well) that hitch rides on aquatic plants, reproduce really fast. I breed these for my turtles. I would warn you that they can get out of control very fast. They will start breeding in your filter, on aquarium decorations, etc. If you ever decide that you don't want them they can be hard to get rid of. Some people say that they keep things clean, at the same time they add to the waste load in your tank. One other thing that I would add, if you buy them and put them in with the turtles, they may be eaten before they have a chance to breed.

I can attest to that. They hitched a ride either on the turtle from when she was outside or on some vegetables we bought at the grocery store. They quickly overran the tank so I completely cleaned the tank and everything in as well as the filter. I must have missed at least one egg sack because they were back in a few weeks. They aren't overrunning the tank anymore though. I think the turtle has been keeping them in check.

[scripta_elegans]

I got ramshorn snails, and they seem to multiply a little slower. I haven't seen the turtles eat them, but they are disappearing.

[BullDog]

I've got a whole bunch of snails that came with some plants I bought I keep my plants in a little 2 gal tank, with 2 feeders that I decided to save. For a long time there was nothing, then just a couple weeks ago all the snails hatched (or at least they grew big enough for me to see) and theres tons! And there's still the original 5 giant ones who were the first... They're bigger than the fish o.O. I also find they produce more waste then the fish I've got no clue what kind of snails they are though...

After that long ramble, I would not recomend buying snails, because as spookster mentioned, they get into your filter and can run rampid.

[Kallistos]

Are there any really large snails that turtles wouldn't be able to eat even if they tried?

[turrbee]

haaa yeaa
cornucopia snails are crazzzzy!!!
i put one into my turr tank
it was gone the nxt day
=P

[marisa]

I've got many tiny snails in my RES's tank---they ride around on pieces of lettuce, and when he eats the lettuce, he gets a bit of added calcium.

[missibsu]

Another thing on the tiny snails that hitch rides, I wouldn't buy them...my local pet land gives them away because they are considered pests.

There are larger snails, and I tried that route once, but the turts still took nips at the soft part of the snail when he was out eating. I couldn't stand to watch that, so he got moved to a safer location. Too much trauma.