The Puffer Forum

I have an empty 20 gallon that I want to set up as a snail propagation tank. I'm setting this up well in advance of the Fahaka so that I will have a good supply. What should I try to ptopagate Ramshorn or common pond? When a Fahaka gets really big, like full grown, will they eat those big a$$ 4 inch apple snails?

Yes he will, but why feed a fish a $12 meal?

You wil want to set up a snail colony based on how quickly the population will double, and how quickly it takes to get those snails to proper edible size, in order to support your fish. Apple snails are very slow growers, from what I hear..

Common ramshorns, identifiable by the lack of an operculum (flap covering the shell opening), breed more frequently than the Columbian ramshorns. That said, they do not grow as large as Columbian Ramshorns. I've been breeding Colombian Ramshorns using about 7 adults in a 10g, and my findings are that with an abundance of food (lettuce, algae wafers, clippings, etc), these snails will breed like crazy - 2 or 3 large eggsacs per week. This colony has kept my fahaka in check for a year now. I feed snails as a treat, maybe 3 to 6 a week. It takes about 3-4 weeks to grow a columbian snail out to 3/4" in diameter. That's a decent snack, and, more importantly, a decent crunch, even for full-grown fahakas.

Do you want to feed 4" apple snails to a fahaka, even fully grown? Probably not. This is quite a hefty meal. Diligent and proportionate feedings are the name of the game for raising large puffers. Unlike SAPs (Colomesus asellus), fahakas do not routinely suffer from tooth overgroth, so snails do not need to be the staple food in their diet. Use as a treat a few times a week.

For your 20g, I would suggest stocking it with 12-15 adult Columbian Ramshorns. Feed algae wafers, lettuce, spinach, plant clippings, and so forth. A filter is a must. Heating the water to ~78F will speed up metabolism and encourage breeding.

Mmm... I'm craving escargot all of a sudden...

Thanks, I didn't have the energy to write all that!

I've found that ramshorns are crazy for squash so I bought several green and yellow varieties, sliced them lengthwise and keep the pieces in the freezer. I put one or two slices in the 10-gallon breeder tank every day or so, supplemented with French cut frozen green beens (thawed of course) every couple of days. The snails are multiplying like crazy--enough to suppy 15-30 per week for my GSPs.

I've given up on full time filtration for the tank though. I find it is easier to change out 50-75% of the water every two or three days and I run a Magnum HOT filter with a micron filter for a couple of hours once per week to deep clean the tank.