Feeding and Nutrition :: snails

[daredevilgirl013]

Ok first off, are apple snails really like 15 bucks a snail!?! At my local walmart it said Apple snail on sale for 15 dollars. But I think the snail was dead, there was the snail shell floating around the top of the tank and fish kept eating at it..........(and that was the only apple snail they have..wonder if they give discounts for the dead ones......)

Also I am considering getting a snail or two for Michelangelo to either eat or to have in his tank.

The apple snail that I saw was huge compared to my turtle, should I get anything that is bigger then Michelangelo?

Also will just any snail do or are there certain kinds that I need to get?

And what do they eat?

And will they ever come up out of the water? (the last thing I need to do is wake up to a snail on my face......)

[ellman605]

hmmm, michelangelo is going french i see, wee wee!

i have 2 golden mystery snails in my tank, the turtles dont notice them, i love them though, i dont know, just see someone elses response.

No they wont come out of water, they have gills.

Tey eat water plants and veggie scraps.

[jenaero]

When I was breeding mystery snails and ramshorn snails I just fed them romaine lettuce. I had to weigh it down on the bottom of the tank tho. I think pretty much any snail will do. If you go to a pet store instead of walmart you'll get them much cheaper. The pet store here actually gives them away because they hitch hike on the anacharis they order and they breed so fast they just have too many. They're a great source of calcium also.

[blaydes]

do they eat the shell?

[cam722]

I had golden mystery snails in my tank for a few hours and that was the end of them. I never saw their mouths (the turtles) open so far. Mine didn't eat the big shells but they do the little guys. The ones that came in on the aquatic plants.

[jenaero]

Some turts will crack the shell open just for the meat inside, others will eat everything including the shell.

[blaydes]

oh, ok, so the shell doesn't harm them if they do eat it though?

[jenaero]

Nah, snail shells aren't that hard I don't think. It's also a good source of calcium.

[reptilegrrl]

Apple snails usually eat algae. Thats why people put them in ponds and aquariums. I suppose you could feed them leafy greens if you have no algae in your tank.

My best friend bought a house with a pond in the yard, and it was FULL of algae until they got the apple snails. Within a few months you could see all the way to the bottom. Then last fall the snails laid eggs.