GOT SNAILS? Snail Breeder Tank Pics

[JRC3]

JRC3, what is the pH of that tank? Those shells look alittle, scraggly. Maybe put a limestone rock or bone for them.

My PH 7.8 and my GH 10 and KH 4 is a little low but fine for breeding snails. The adult snails in the pic were from someone on Craigslist and from a completely different water source altogether. There were some that were even worse so they got snacked on by my puffer. I have added cuttlebone to the tank and feed them foods that contain calcium. Their new shell growth looks great as has every mystery and nerite snail that I've ever introduced to my water.

Thanks for the advice and concern, it's always nice to know that others might see something that you've missed.

[J-P]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=135871

there are a few variations on it.. but the basic ingredients are the same.

yes.. I find strange stuff... well actually the pros point me to the strange stuff

[purplecandle]

Sorry, Jmiller, I was talking about the OPs picture! Yours are definitely ramshorns!

I see a couple of big ramshorns and a bunch of baby pond snails

I like that you have decor in the tank..it is a PITA to clean..but I think it makes them happier for some reason..

They should all be ramshorns. The other black specs are black gravel I thought were snails during the separating. Not an easy task telling the difference between brown snails and black gravel.

I have since cleaned them out and here is how it stands now:



I removed that big rock because it was a pain to clean around. Now all I do is remove each rock and put it in the clean out bucket. After water is syphoned out I swish the plants around to knock off any big pieces and put back in the tank. Makes cleaning much easier that way. I spend less than 10 minutes from start to finish now.




To give you an idea of scale that white one in the front is just a tiny bit smaller than a dime.

[purplecandle]

I do snail jelly and the snails LUV it. I use green bean and spinach baby food as it usually has higher levels of calcium.

[~reefchik~]

Thanks J-P, I'll have to make some of that. I'm not getting fabulous breeding results yet.

[JRC3]

I see a couple of big ramshorns and a bunch of baby pond snails

I like that you have decor in the tank..it is a PITA to clean..but I think it makes them happier for some reason..

I also thought you were talking to jmiller. Anyway, probably about 85-90% of all the small snails are ramshorns, except the ones that look nearly black.

I decorated the tank with extra stuff I had laying around and I wouldn't have done much if I had put it in the basement like I originally planned. Instead I put it in the same room as my F8 tank for the convenience. I figured it's probably best to drop a 2-3 snails in his tank every now and then, rather than a bunch at a single feeding. Plus, sometimes once he's had his fill he chomps up and spits out the extra snails. And that's wasteful and dirty.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Topic moved to correct subforum.

I'm about to have a really nice-looking snail breeder. Dang it, my camera probably moved out with my stupid sister.

[~reefchik~]

I made snail jello per those instructions (turned out just as described) and also tried to make the calcium blocks but on them. The calcium I used was new, Repto-Cal calcium/vitamin powder, and while the recipe called for several crushed calcium tablets, I thought that a reptile calcium supplement made more sense. It never thickened at all. I added 4 packets of calcium chloride leftover from our pickling season, and still the stuff is near liquid. Weird!! Have any of you had success with this recipe? I used 3 tbsp water. Now I have such an expensive bowl of gooey mush that I'm determined to solidify it

Calcium Blocks for Picky Snails
Another gelatin/calcium recipe.

Ingredients:
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
5-10 calcium pills, crushed
1 tbsp honey
(optional) other vitamins, low-sodium seaweed powder, etc

-Dump gelatin into a small bowl. Boil 1 cup of water, and use as little of it as possible to dissolve the gelatin ( I used 3 tablespoons or so).

-Let it cool for a few minutes, then mix in the honey, calcium and optional ingredients. This step is kind of tricky- you want a thick paste, but without any air bubbles in it. Try kneading it instead of stirring.

-Flatten into a circle about ¼ of an inch thick. Put it on a sheet of waxed paper, and put it in refrigerator for a few hours. Once it is set, slice into thin chunks and place the chunks (not touching one another) onto a piece of waxed paper.

-Put them into a warm, dry room. If you have a fan handy, you might as well point it at them (if not, don’t worry about it). Leave overnight. By the next morning, they should be completely dry. When these blocks are done, they’re hard as a rock, and sink like one too. You could probably use a dehydrator, if you have one, but I found that they dried very quickly without one.

[J-P]

haven't tried that one.. only the Jello.

I stopped using the Jello when I moved over to Shirakura products. I got tired of making it

If you want to "dry it out" try a cookie sheet with the oven on its lowest setting and leave the oven door slightly ajar. That is how we do beef jerky

[~reefchik~]

You and I are on the same wavelength. I think I will try it.

[jmiller]

I've got a quick question. While doing a mini vac tonight I noticed that they are starting to get much bigger, which is good but I also noticed the lack of small ones. They are laying eggs everywhere. You can really see them all over the plants especially. So where are all the small ones? Are the eggs being eaten before hatching or are they just to small to see right now?

[J-P]

snails typically are not cannibals... they are in there somewhere...

There is an ebb and flow to breeding. Varying temps have an effect. Do you keep a constant temp? It looks like you don't have any fish in the tank. Is that correct?

[jmiller]

Snails only & constant 80*

[J-P]

you can drop that temp from time to time... they really don't need a heater but it spurts the breeding process.

Try maybe 2 weeks on 2 weeks off? Experiment a little and see how it works

[jmiller]

Thanks.