Apple Snails.....good Idea Or Not?

[Cheffi]

Someone is selling Apple Snails locally and I just wondered good idea or not. Must say they look very attractive and they're def better looking than some of the other algae eaters.

I'm having a Malawi tank if that makes any difference, it will have no plants, my water ph is 8.0. Will they be safe with Malawi's?Whats the minimum number you can keep? If you have several does your tank get over-run with them?

 

[Teelie]

The fish will probably terrorize and eat it, so I'd say not with Malawi's.

 

[Cheffi]

What about Golden Clams/Mussels?

 

[nmonks]

Clams and mussels are a pain in freshwater aquaria (and usually short lived). They need to be fed daily with filter-feeder food, which you buy prepared from shops that deal with marine inverts. Basically, forget about clams and mussels. More trouble that they're worth.

Apple snails should really be kept on their own. They are fine with small, non-nippy things, say hatchetfish or neons, but anything even remotely inquisitive tend to nip at them. Even if they don't mean to eat them, they seem to stress the snails. Apple snails are well worth keeping on their own; they are very amusing pets, and breeding them is fun. Apple snails often, but not always, destroy plants.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Teelie]

Actually, they rarely destroy plants. It's the canaliculata species you really need to avoid for planted tanks. Bridgesii, which is the more common Apple, is completely safe. Cana's are also common though so you'll need to identify what you're getting first, which is why http/applesnail.net/ is a good place to look.

 

[Cheffi]

I haven't got a planted tank but neither do I want the little critters to get eaten so I'll pass on them even tho they look cute.

 

[OldMan47]

Many of us really like the brigs in our tanks. As NMonks said, they can be a bit hard to keep with any fish. I tried them with my little endlers and was surprised that the endlers harassed them to death, quite literally. By picking at the snails all the time, the snails refused to come out of their shells and ended up starving to death. The endlers are seemingly harmless fish but even they were too much for brigs.

 

[Cdarmychi]

huh....mine never get bothered, and are in my angel tank. guess it all depends on the fish

Sakura