apple snail questions

**fishmommie** · 09-30-2012, 01:57 PM

Hi. I currently have 2 apple snails in my 30 gal community tank - a yellow and a blue. I LOVE them - they are so interesting to watch.
They seem to be very healthy snails, are very active and good eaters. I feed them algae tabs and veggie pellets and always keep fresh zuccinhi, or watermelon or cucucumber in the tank for them and the BNP which they devour. And of course, they are always working the sides and bottom of the tank as well as the artificial plants.

Since I've had them - approx 3 months - they have doubled in size.
Questions:
1) How big do these suckers get? LOL If they keep doubling in size every 3 months, I'll have to get them a tank all their own soon.
2) Today I noticed that the blue snail has a little hole in its shell about the size of a small grain of sand. I can see through the blue shell to the dark gray snail matter. Is this something I should be worried about? And if so, is there anything I should be doing about it?

thanks. I really like these guys and want to make certain I'm doing right by them.

**Cliff** · 09-30-2012, 02:06 PM

Sounds like your snails could use a little more calcium in their diet. Try some of the calcium rich foods in the below thread

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=71890

They can get as big as about 3 inches across.

**Goes to 11!** · 09-30-2012, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by fishmommie

1) How big do these suckers get? LOL If they keep doubling in size every 3 months, I'll have to get them a tank all their own soon.
2) Today I noticed that the blue snail has a little hole in its shell about the size of a small grain of sand. I can see through the blue shell to the dark gray snail matter. Is this something I should be worried about? And if so, is there anything I should be doing about it?

I really like these guys and want to make certain I'm doing right by them.

I don't know much about them, But these guys do.

**fishmommie** · 09-30-2012, 02:56 PM

thanks guys. Looks like I need to get my blue boy some spinach. And it also sounds like they can get even bigger!

Appreciate the responses and helpful links!

**HEADIN** · 09-30-2012, 03:17 PM

I had 1 that grew to about the size of a tennis ball

**fishmommie** · 09-30-2012, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by HEADIN

I had 1 that grew to about the size of a tennis ball

Holy cow! These two are about ping pong ball size right now ... and still growing.

**madagascariensis** · 09-30-2012, 05:46 PM

it depends a lot on actual species and unfortunately apple snails
aren't really labeled well in the aquarium industry. In my home country(thailand)
you can find apple snails the size of oranges and grapefruit in the canals.

**fishmommie** · 09-30-2012, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by madagascariensis

it depends a lot on actual species and unfortunately apple snails
aren't really labeled well in the aquarium industry. In my home country(thailand)
you can find apple snails the size of oranges and grapefruit in the canals.

again - wow!

**Scrup** · 10-02-2012, 10:39 PM

This is a good start for the food- http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=71890

The hole will heal up, their flesh will actually calcify around it and close it off, but it will always be a little pock. Not a big deal, purely asthetic. It was either caused by an impact, or soft water. To play it safe I would add something in the tank that can buffer the water. It'll keep the shells from deteriorating in the first place.

Then again, I love snails.

Also, it is highly unlikely your's will get as large as tennis balls. The larger ones are extremely hard to get a hold of in the US, and will actually do quite a bit of damage if you have any plants at all. Most likely you just have the standard run of the mill apple snail that will..maybe get a little bigger than a ping pong ball. Most likely not.

If you do have the large variant (channeled apple snail or Florida apple snail) I will pay you for babies

**fishmommie** · 10-02-2012, 10:51 PM

Hey - thanks for the info. This tank is so stable with the current chemistry that I hate to mess with adding any buffer for fear it will mess with the fish. Water has been testing about 7.2 on the low ph API chart. I'm hoping that's high enough. But will absolutely get them some more calcium via food. I LOVE these 2 snails - they simply fascinate me. I bought them on a whim just to add a little color and for clean up but they've become favorites in the tank.

So - how do you get them to eat the food listed in the chart (and don't shoot me for being stupid) I can sink zuccini and watermelon and cucs (all of which they eat) but dill weed? Spinach? How do you make that happen? Is it something as simple as 'snail food' i can buy? Going to feel very stupid if that's the case.

Originally Posted by Scrup

This is a good start for the food- http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=71890

The hole will heal up, their flesh will actually calcify around it and close it off, but it will always be a little pock. Not a big deal, purely asthetic. It was either caused by an impact, or soft water. To play it safe I would add something in the tank that can buffer the water. It'll keep the shells from deteriorating in the first place.

Then again, I love snails.

Also, it is highly unlikely your's will get as large as tennis balls. The larger ones are extremely hard to get a hold of in the US, and will actually do quite a bit of damage if you have any plants at all. Most likely you just have the standard run of the mill apple snail that will..maybe get a little bigger than a ping pong ball. Most likely not.

If you do have the large variant (channeled apple snail or Florida apple snail) I will pay you for babies

Bite your tongue LOL. I don't want babies. I just want these 2 guys and will be VERY upset with my LFS who PROMISED they would not reproduce .