Apple snail ? Apple snail owners? Advice please?

Question

Hi im thinking of getting a Golden apple snail, For my 20 gallon, It has a fluval4 filter/pump and the fish are :
1 male betta
4 male platies
And would it be ok to put a snail in with them/ And any good/bad facts about these snails, Do you suggest i get one?

Answer 1

I have been experimenting successfully with apple anails in my goldfish tank for the past one year, and here are some facts and info that you may like:

Apple snails eat a much broader selection of menu items than mystery snails eat. Mystery snails ignore most plants. Apple snails love all plants except plastic and silk. Apple snails eat day and night. They will eat algae (after they eat all the other plants in your aquarium). They greedily consume sponge filters if they can reach them. Cover your sponge filters with gravel. Their huge appetites cause them to grow quite large.

Favorite Foods. Apple snails are voracious plant eaters. Their speed at devouring your skillful aquascaping will amaze and astound you. Economical vegetable foods include zucchini, squash, green beans, and peas. They much prefer fish food -- sinking and/or floating foods. Apple snails quickly learn to harvest fish food from the surface.
Dont give them sinking pellets if you do not want to dirty your tank water.

Algae Eaters? Sure, apple snails will eat algae. They’re just not very good at it -- like Mr. Magoo mowing your lawn. You can see where they passed thru, but they’ll never polish your glass, so do not be disappointed.

Better Water: If you find your apple snails closed up or semi-closed for a couple days, you should move them to a different tank or give them a water change. These big eaters can pollute their quarters fairly fast. Organic wastes will stunt their growth and possibly even kill them. They prefer harder water to keep their shells from getting pitted.

Threats: Betta and Platties are very safe with them and vice versa. Clown loaches and cichlids will kill your apple snails. Some livebearers will pester them as they love to nip their tentacles. They will crawl out of their tank if the top is open. They do not necessarily remember their way home. They can stand a couple of weeks on the dry carpet, but their survival rate starts dropping after that. Do not use any medications with copper in them.

For more details on care for snails you can visit:
http://www.firsttankguide.net/ornamentalsnails.php

Answer 2

Apple Snail Facts

Answer 3

Ok ignore the mean people. I love my snails to. I would go to the pet store and buy some algae pellets and see if he will eat those. Also any freshwater plant life might help. Also let the food sit in the tank over night if you haven't because, Apple Snails like to eat at night. I really hope he gets better!

Answer 4

i see no problem with an apple snail being in that tank.
they will need supplementary feeding, they like their greens (including any plants you may have in the tank) and algae wafers.

they'll also poop a lot, so make sure you vacuum up waste every week to stop the water going bad.

fish can nip at the snails antennae, hopefully they won't harass the snail too much though once the snail is established.

Answer 5

These won't be a problem with your fish. If you don't have enough algae for them in your tank, you should supplement their diet with some greens (romaine, squash, cucumber) weighted down with some gravel. You fish might nibble on these too.

Apples are one of the better liked aquarium snails - you need to have both a male and female to produce young, although a female can store sperm and produce fertile eggs for a few months after mating. The eggs are laid above the water line in the tank, so they're easy to remove if you don't want babies. After about 6 months, it won't matter.

If your water isn't very hard (most public water sources soften the water), you should add a calcium supplement, otherwise the snail's shell can start to get holes in it. A good calcium supply allows it to keep making new shell material.

See this website for some good info about them: http://www.applesnail.net/

Answer 6

ive had apple snails in a tank with those fish before and had no problem.

they are great snails - will eat any dead fish, other smaller snails and their eggs as well as all the algae and any fish food that falls to the bottom.

just make sure your fish dont start picking at the snails feelers or it will stress him, hurt him and he will die. sometimes the fish will think his feelers look like worms (a good meal).
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Answer 7

yes they eat the alage