Snails in soft water

MikeR · Post by **MikeR** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:14 am

All:

Is there an algae-eating snail that would do well in soft, slightly acid water?

Thanks,

Mike

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:48 am

I keep red ramshorn snails in slightly acidic water. They are not great algae eaters, but not bad.

A much better choice for algae eating is a bristle nosed pleco. They get along fine with all shrimp but ones that want to share their hiding spot. They won't eat them, but they will actively chase them out of their hole and can injur them. I had this happen with bamboos. They never bothers the CRS I was keeping with them.

BNP's only get to be about 5" too.

MikeR · Post by **MikeR** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 11:05 am

Bad:

Thanks for the response!

The BNP gets a little big for what I want, but I could try a smaller specimen at least for a time. Or I could load up on shrimp if I can find them. I saw the posts on the Nerite snails, so I was hopeful <G>.

Thanks,

Mike

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:04 pm

I saw the posts on the Nerite snails, so I was hopeful <G>.

Nirites are great in my community tank where the water is hard and basic. They keep the entire tank algae free and look good in the tank

I am not sure how they would do in a soft water acidic tank, could anyone share?

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:20 pm

Nerites need extreme levels of calcium. There shells erode very easily.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:23 pm

Thanks badflash, I would not want to hurt or lose any of these great snails.

MikeR · Post by **MikeR** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:39 pm

All:

Thanks for the help. I guess I'll stay with the scraper <G>.

Mike

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 6:28 am

Physa sp. or Physella sp. (i.e. common "pond snails") can and do live and breed in soft and acidic water in aquaria and in their natural habitats. My MTS and Tarebia granifera don't seem to mind slightly acidic conditions either. Ramshorn snails can live and breed in acidic water, too. Their shells seem to be more fragile under such conditions, though.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 8:57 am

I keep MTS, ramshorn and pond snails in my soft water acidic tank. Is any one of these particularly better at controlling algae growth?

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:53 am

I don't think any of them are very good at it, but my rams seem the best.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 6:00 pm

Here is another prospect: Asolene Spixi.

I've just confirmed from some research and a friend that has very soft water that spixies do just fine as long as they have a diet high in calcium. They are from the Amazon basin which is known for soft acidic water. They have adapted to having egg masses below the water that have no calcium structure like most apple snails.

You'll need to find a local source though. The USDA is refusing to give permits to ship these even though they are harmless. It iiis not illegal to own them, but shipment across state lines without a permit is an offence.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 6:22 pm

It iiis not illegal to own them, but shipment across state lines without a permit is an offence.

Is this a recent restriction? I did not know about it until you mentioned it in your posts. I am just curious when it was implemented.

Thanks.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:38 pm

The snail-shipping laws seem to be multiplying as fast as snails in an aquarium lately. I've noticed an absence of Asolene spixi snails listed on aquabid within the last couple weeks, and suspected it was due to another restriction. I wonder whether they will eventually get around to banning all transportation of snails across state lines. Instead of a traffic stop resulting in a drug bust, it will be apple snails with an out-of-state license plate...

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 5:30 am

The USDA put restriction on all apple snails last year, and then announced this year that they intened to enforce the law. They have started random inspections of people selling Canas and have taken their shipping records. They are following up on those leads.

They also monitor aquabid and applesnail.net and have set up a few "stings".

If they find you own a restricted snail and can not document that you had it before the ban went into effect, they will take and kill the snails. This would include legal snails shipped without a permit.

All species of plant eating snails and some carnivorous snails are banned. Common pond snails, small rams, MTS, Nerites, and Japanese trapdoors are not restricted. Giant Ramshorn and all species of apple snails except Brigs are restricted and Brigs require a permit.

The permit process requires you to fill out an on-line form and go to a USDA office and provide proof of who you are. You then must apply for a permit to ship to every state you want to ship to. Permits to Hawaii are not being granted.

My permits allow me to send Brigs of any age, but no eggs. I am requred to keep records of all shipments sent for resale. I have ask for clarification, but have not received an answer, as to if I need to keep track of sales to individuals.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:42 am

The permit process requires you to fill out an on-line form and go to a USDA office and provide proof of who you are. You then must apply for a permit to ship to every state you want to ship to. Permits to Hawaii are not being granted.

My permits allow me to send Brigs of any age, but no eggs. I am requred to keep records of all shipments sent for resale. I have ask for clarification, but have not received an answer, as to if I need to keep track of sales to individuals.

What a hastle!

Instead of a traffic stop resulting in a drug bust, it will be apple snails with an out-of-state license plate...

No kidding. It looks like it is heading towards this