Yay! We Got Some Mts!

[Amunet]

Weird to celebrate about, but I'm just happy we got some. I know I'll probably be regretting that whenever they start breeding like crazy, but oh well, I'll enjoy the few that we got for now lol.

If you're in the US and have a Petsmart near you, do NOT hesitate to ask for them. We went in looking for another BN pleco at first, they didn't have any, so we decided to get some mystery snails and I figured I'd go ahead and ask if we could have some of the trumpet snails for free. BOY she practically shoved them in to the net! She spent a good 10-15mins getting as many as she could find for us.. which wasn't alot since they blended in to the gravel so well (got around 10-13), but still.. VERY eager to give them away!
So don't pay for them if you don't have to people

 

[TylerFerretLord]

I did the same thing, bought an apple snail and asked for the trumpets(also pond snails).

I only got about 5 of them, but they doubled their number in a week. I think one of them was already about to release the babies, though. The pond snails have just laid some eggs, so I should see some more of them soon.

I celebrated when I got them too, it's not that odd. Of course, it could always be that we're both weirdos that celebrate when the get snails.

 

[Corleone]

Weirdo parade continues: I celebrated when I managed to score some free trumpet snails, too. I was also pretty excited when I got ramshorn hitchhikers on some plants, and recently told my (completely uninterested) girlfriend "Hey you have to come look at this!" when I found a baby apple snail and a ramshorn with a bright red shell in my tank.

 

[chesterscot]

lol i phoned my mum at work when my apple snails laid for the first time she wasnt heppy
and when i got my mts through the post my nurse was here and the looks i got when i was delighted at unwrapping a freezer bag of snails lol
scot

 

[Amunet]

Lol, yay!
I never thought I'd be happy about getting snails of all things. I'm like deathly afraid of gooey wormy things (which includes snails)....but it's different with aquarium ones.
I love watching the little pond snails in the tank by my computer and get all excited when I see little baby snails


Anywho.... it looks like some of the snails haven't moved since putting them in to some of the tanks, is this normal? Or should I be concerned that they've died?
A few of the MTS were burying themselves within mins of getting in to the tank.

 

[Corleone]

Some snails will hide if they're in new water. I can't remember if trumpet snails have a trapdoor or not, but any snail with a trapdoor, if it's clamped shut, they're still alive.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Trumpets do have a trapdoor.

The trumpets burying themselves is normal, you should see them out an about in a day or so. It's the same with the snails not moving.

 

[Amunet]

I think the couple that aren't moving are dead. Fished one of them out today to see if there was actually a snail inside, and it looked like there was.
I'll leave them in for a bit longer, but if they don't move any, then I'll know that they're dead


The trumpets that I put in to the other 10gal seem to be doing great though. One was happily cleaning the glass when I turned on the light this morning. Hope all of the other ones are still doing ok

 

[Syphoniera]

I know nothing except that I've bought several Nerites and other large trapdoor snails which all were unmoving in the sale tank, the bag the whole time they were adjusting, and the tank they were placed in.
I was told that as long as the trapdoors held, they were alive, and to try shaking them.
If they didn't fall out, they were supposedly alive.
In each case, they held, and held, when shaken - and by the time they did fall out, they'd obviously been dead a very long time (black slime) and I suspect were all purchased as 'dead parrots'.
(OK, so I OD'd on Monty Python in my youth...)
While this obviously cannot be applied to free 'pest' snails, I no longer buy any large snails which I cannot see moving/clinging to the glass, and which do not have to be pried off.
If I'd acquired any free smaller snails which weren't moving in the tank after being in for some hours, I'd put them with some tank water into a transparent, disposable glass of the sort I keep handy for various purposes and give them time there to prove dead or alive.
Granted, I can only say what I'd do, and I've had bad experiences, but I sure wasn't happy with myself for leaving dead snails in with my fish for a week...

(Edit: should add that I've read that trumpet snails - and I'd be celebrating pretty hard if I could get any myself - do tend to bury themselves immediately on arrival in a new tank.
It would therefore not be a very good sign if they don't move at all.

And the problem is not that we're weird, but that we've been letting the snail-bigots inflict their weird values on a vulnerable society...
Don't let them win!)

 

[Mikaila31]

I wish peeps would take my MTS and what I think are Ramshorn snails. I don't care about the MTS, since they are crazily tiny and stay hidden. The ramshorns where ok at first, since most of the shells are see-through. I can see there hearts beating and stuff, which is interesting, but it doesn't stop me from smushing them. They get too big for my liking and are out during the day. I'm planning on getting some loaches . Hopefully I will find some at the fish auction this weekend.

 

[Syphoniera]

I wish peeps would take my MTS and what I think are Ramshorn snails. I don't care about the MTS, since they are crazily tiny and stay hidden. The ramshorns where ok at first, since most of the shells are see-through. I can see there hearts beating and stuff, which is interesting, but it doesn't stop me from smushing them. They get too big for my liking and are out during the day. I'm planning on getting some loaches . Hopefully I will find some at the fish auction this weekend.

I wish you lived in my area - I'd love them.
Can't seem to get them around here, either MTS or ramshorns, and you need lots of both for the Walstad tanks, so instead I've got the sort of 'pest' snails I've spent my life industriously removing as soon as seen.
They're better than nothing, but sure don't do the job Ramshorns do, or aerate substrate the way the MTS do either.
Count yourself lucky.

 

[Amunet]

Update on the non-moving snails. 1 is definitely dead, and the other was moved the next morning, so guess it was just waiting til it felt safe.
Sucks that the 1 is dead though b/c it was a pretty good size.

All other snails seem to be doing well though.
The MTS in the other tanks.. I see them on the gravel or glass or on plants when lights come on and the big apple snails are all doing really well. Before, there would still be some left over frozen bloodworms from the night before on the gravel, now.. nada! They are definitely a great clean up crew although I wish they would eat the algae off the glass

 

[Corleone]

My nerite snails do a good job with algae on glass. They won't touch it on plants, though, they seem to only stay on hard surfaces. When I added my ramshorns, they did a good job with algae on plants.