snail adventure

[emonemo420]

so we went down to bowers beach and grabbed about 25ish snails..... let them sit in a thin plastic container for about 5-6 six hours and are gonna do a very slow drip acclimation overnight.....yes i realize they are in like 35 degree weather and they might not do well in a 79 degree tank but i figure with a very slow acclimation they might work? i have heard of people doing it but idk what type of acclimation they did to achieve this...these snails seem pretty tough ...they can stand being outta water for a while so why not warm water...the water does get fairly warm during low tide in the hot summer right? so thoughts suggestions etc?

 

[a1amap]

They will probably make it through the acclimation but won't last long. It is said that even the snails from as far south as carolina have the same problem. The increased temp speeds there life cycle. There are tons of threads here that that people confirm this. You also have to watch when you buy certain snails as they are captured local and also die quick. Nassarius vibex are the ones you want not Nassarius obsoletus. If your tank temp runs lower say <76 then they will last longer.

 

[icy1155]

Well, I make no guarentees, especially in winter, however in Maine I used to have a mantis tank, and I would go out to the beach every so often to get food for him ... crabs, shrimp, snails, ect. The snails seemed to do fine when I just threw them into my tank and would last untill my little monster could crack their shell (sometimes over a month). Let us know how it works for ya.

 

[Jocephus]

They are going to kill everything in your tan... Wait a minute, there's nothing in there to kill. Buy some fish!

 

[emonemo420]

Hey hey hey ^^^^^^^now....I got 4 chromis and an eel...oh and an mia for over a week yellowtail which my eel prolly got....but either way imma get fish then...I'm trying to save for a place sir...since u can't find a place for me!!!

 

[SnEaKyPoLoCk]

So yea we are starting to rise the temp on our lil QT tank we got em in. Prolly watch the group of them to see what they eat. (Hopefully the normal diet for snails...)

 

[Gordonious]

Yeah, I tried it several times in the past, believe I still have the shells from some of them. None of them lasted more then a week. If they do make the very harsh acclimation they won't last long. I know of one particular LFS in lower DE that stocks there tanks with fish collected locally. Suppose it's a lot cheaper for them to pick things out of tide pools at the beach then to pay for animals to be transhipped across the planet.

BTW local snails are know to carry a parasite that has not been found anywhere else on the planet. It is unique because it convinces the snail to pull itself out of the water so that it can be eaten by a bird. The bird then spreads the parasite to land with it's waste.

Now you may have the parasite in your tank, but then again I don't know if the parasite can survive at tropical temps.

Jon

 

[Jocephus]

^^ Jon, good stuff. Evolutionary biology is a hobby of mine. Pick up "A plague of frogs" for a good read. I might even have a copy around here...

 

[martinfaimly]

i have done the very same thing but only a hand full of snails and in warmer months. they seemed to live a long while. also gave some to sister for trigger food and he ate them fast. would suggest to bring them up to temp slowly and rinse them good, as not to bting any bacteia or other harmful stuff to tank. i also had a baby horseshoe crab from lewes for almost 8 months till my crab ate him. my tank has sand flies all summer long> kids catch them and bring them home.

 

[Gordonious]

Carefull now people. Collecting some of these animals is illegal.

I love that kind of stuff Jocephus. There was a guy in Lewes the student sometimes called "The snail man". It was his life works to study that parasite.

 

[emonemo420]

dude could u do that? i want a fricken sand flie!!!

 

[kaptken]

Do Sand fleas make your fish itchy?

 

[scubadoo2]

Not if u use flea collars!

 

[SnEaKyPoLoCk]

So I added a few to my 55 and they didn't have a chance. I guess peppermint shrimp are these guys' worst enemy. My shrimp pretty much destroyed them as soon as I pulled my hand out and backed away. I thought maybe a few would bury themselves before the shrimp got em but no the shrimp flipped em over and game over... O well found something to feed my shrimp so they will lay off my other better snails.