The Puffer Forum

Before I bring home a figure 8 puffer, I want to make sure I have enough snails on hand so that I won't run out. I have a five gallon bucket with a sponge filter in it - will this be adequate to house enough snails to feed one puffer? I was planning on putting it under my desk where the tank is. I have kept "Trapdoor snails" before - the livebearing kind, and they popped out little baby snails every second or third day. I am wondering what size of snail a F8 can handle - the adult trapdoors and ramshorns seem like they would be too big. The F8s they have at the store right now are about 1.5 inches long.

The baby trapdoor snails seem like they would be the perfect size, and I like that the snails don't lay eggs to reproduce and that the young are big enough to be a meal upon first being born. There are small snails at the LFS but they are soooo tiny, about 1/8 of an inch long, and they charge a dollar for six of them! Even though their tanks are completely overrun with them. I can get snails way cheaper on aquabid or something, but I don't know what kind would be best for my situation. I am wondering if "common pond snails" would be better, as they seem to only grow to a smallish size that can be handled by a small puffer.

The grocery store is right accross the street so I can get frozen whole shrimp and live mussels any time I want - but I understand that snails are pretty much an essential part of a puffers diet so I do intend to feed them regularly. I used to feed my trapdoor snails algae pellets, brine shrimp and mushed up peas.

Also, for the purpose of feeding/breeding snails, do they require a light? (it's dark under the desk)

I have already read this article but it does not answer a lot of my questions, like:

1. Do snails *require* light? I have always heard they do better in the dark.

2. How many snails will one puffer go through in, say, a week?

3. What is the ideal size of snail? I don't want to order snails and then have them too big for the puffer to eat.

There are all kinds of articles out there, but I like to ask questions directly to people who have done it because many of the articles say different things and I want to hear it directly from the source.

Recommended size is snails the size of the puffer's eye but you can always smash larger ones.

my puffers (f8's) like ramshorns and pond snails. They seem to like the pond snails better but the ones I have are a bit small for them.

I try to keep my snails as healthy and as well cared for as possible because, like people I figure the better quality food the better quality puffer. Mine have a 10 gal and I feed them every other day. I have a light for the tank but I fugure that's more for me than them. I'm not sure about keeping them in the dark though, I mean I don't know if it's bad or not but just seems like why would you want to?

Oh and if you have pond snails I would recomend some sort of lid. I often find mine in all sorts of places, on the lid, on the lid of the filter, ect.

I don't feed only snails but if you gave them snails every day it would just depend upon the size of the snail and how many puffs. If you have 1 puff and your snails are eye size like pufferpunk says and you feed once a day thats 7.

Oh and I wouldn't worry about the snails being to big. My puffs leave what they don't want and I just pick it out. This way you don't overfeed.

Hope this helps a bit!

I try to keep my snails as healthy and as well cared for as possible because, like people I figure the better quality food the better quality puffer.

You are what you eat!

I have a clear tupperware bin with five gallons in it (about 3/4 full) and I punched a one inch hole in the lid for the cords - I have an internal filter, a submersible heater, and an airstone in it. I have it under the desk because there is literally no other place for it LOL I live in a dorm room that is nine feet wide by 12 feet long. It contains my bed, my desk, a full fridge, a single kitchen sink and about a square foot of counter space. I am actually amazed that I have fit as much stuff in here as I have! Half of my shelf space is taken up with bettas at the moment, but I have been downsizing. I had about 40 juveniles that I have sold in the past couple weeks, and most of my breeders I sold as well, I just kept the father and one of the sons. And then I inherited a couple pet store bettas that a classmate needed to get rid of - she was doing a behaviour project on them and couldn't sell them all so I took them off her hands. I have 3 more females left to sell and I will be "out of stock" yay!

I was thinking about a light more to promote algae growth - but I guess that doesn't really matter if the snails are getting pellets. I have both algae and shrimp pellets to suit their palates It's not pitch black down there or anything, it just doesn't get as much light as a normal lit aquarium would. I have heard that snails actually prefer dim lighting rather than bright, but I don't know what truth there is to this.

I scrounged up about a dozen small pond snails from the lfs today, and got 6 snails of some unidentified kind - they look like baby ramshorns to me, nobody in the store knew what they were either. I may end up asking my mom to go to the store in my hometown and picking me up half a dozen trapdoor snails, because I know they always have those in stock. The babies should be just the right size and when I last kept trapdoors I had TONNES of baby snails. I bought them for my betta fry tank and they popped out a baby snail every second day or so.

every 3rd day i do real snails..this guy dont get enough but im learning to use grazing vegis to help supplement he would eat till he exploded i think.big thick piece of krill..yum yumwraped in seaweed holy crap.

My f-8s ate largely snails,with other foods only as occasional treats. My snails are always in lighted tanks - algae is a normal part of their diet and highly beneficial to the puffers - you are what your prey eats.

To be honest, I think that the statement that snails do better in the dark is among the dumber comments I have ever heard. I would love to see data on that point, and until I do I contiue to think it idiotic. Please offer any justification for any algae grazer being bred and maintained in the dark. Cattle and other grazers are not best bred and maintained in caves. Snails for smallish puffers are the aquatic equivalent of cattle, sheep, and goats for land-dwelling predators.

RTR wrote:My f-8s ate largely snails,with other foods only as occasional treats. My snails are always in lighted tanks - algae is a normal part of their diet and highly beneficial to the puffers - you are what your prey eats.

Correct

To be honest, I think that the statement that snails do better in the dark is among the dumber comments I have ever heard. I would love to see data on that point, and until I do I contiue to think it idiotic. Please offer any justification for any algae grazer being bred and maintained in the dark.

I didn't say this is what I BELIEVED, it's just what I HEARD. It sounded kinda wonky to me anyway, that's why I thought I would ask. No need to attack me about it, especially because I am a newbie and trying to learn by asking questions.

RTR did not attack you... he attacked the person that first said that snails should be bread in the dark. They gave you poor advice.

Someone earlier said a covered tank.... that is the truth. I just found 3 snails climbing up the side of my PC 18 feet away from the snail tank! I thought they would have dried out in that journey. Must make sure I fit the lid on that tank better.

I'm using a clear tupperware and just popped a hole in it for the cords - in my last snail tank they got out all over the place because I didn't have a proper lid for it.

Yes, definitely on the dark/light issue. My apologies if I did make it clear that I was being shocked at the person who told you that idea. If they had stopped to think about themselves (preferably before they passed it on), they should have realized that consumers of algae and unwell plants would not inhabit the dark. Some snails can and will go nocturnal in captivity if they are co-housed with snail eaters - MTS will do that. That implies that they would do the same in the wild, but without predation pressure, even they seem to ignore or prefer the light although they can be active round the clock.