yesterday I had about 100 babies and now today I have about 15 of them! Does the parents or the others eat their babies?
mystery snail babies
- Thread starter Shroomz
- Start date
What kind of snails? If they're a type of apple snail, than yes, parents sometimes eat the babies.
I don't think apple snails eat their babies, not unless you starve the parents halfway to death in which case, they might resort to cannibalism but this is very rare among diffusas. What other fish and snails do you have in there? Don't expect all resulting baby snails to survive. What are your water parameters? Tank size? Filtration?
Lupin;4291921; said:
Let me be more specific. Ramshorns ( type of apple snail I believe ) will eat their eggs for sure. The babies, I might be wrong. I keep 2 tanks with snails. 1 holds and grows out the eggs, the second is the parents. Rams and Giant Columbian Rams. Puffer food. Tank params aren't even necessary for snails. Water temp can vary dramatically as well. Run a small HOB filter and do a 50% water change a week. That's more than enough. Once the babies are born or eggs are laid, I suggest seperating them from their parents.
Geronimo, you're forgetting that the OP wrote the title "mystery snail". Since when have the marisas been called "mystery snail" if not Columbian ramshorns? It's why I based my answers on experience with Pomacea diffusa.
You kind of contradicted yourself in saying that water parameters don't matter, then saying that you need to have an HOB filter and do 50% weekly water changes...geronimo69;4291931; said:
Lupin;4291998; said:
My bad. I didn't really even notice that. As for the eating eggs, I did see it happening, but perhaps they were eating that protective "slime" that covers the eggs?
"You kind of contradicted yourself in saying that water parameters don't matter, then saying that you need to have an HOB filter and do 50% water changes weekly"...
Not really. What I meant is that water tests etc. aren't necessary. Neither is the temperature. I live in Canada ( ya ya, cold winters, my tanks all have heaters ) except my snails. I never check levels of nitrates, PH, KH or anything of the like in my snail tanks. My other 8 fish tanks are a different story. So again, not really a contradiction.
Yeah, I see what you mean, but water parameters do matter in this situation, because if he had, for example, a nitrate reading of 200ppm, that could explain why the snails disappeared, and if the parameters didn't matter, you wouldn't need a filter and would never have to do a water change.geronimo69;4292023; said:"You kind of contradicted yourself in saying that water parameters don't matter, then saying that you need to have an HOB filter and do 50% water changes weekly"...
Not really. What I meant is that water tests etc. aren't necessary. Neither is the temperature. I live in Canada ( ya ya, cold winters, my tanks all have heaters ) except my snails. I never check levels of nitrates, PH, KH or anything of the like in my snail tanks. My other 8 fish tanks are a different story. So again, not really a contradiction.
