Pond and ramshorn Questions

[toehead11183]

I just set up a plastic 55 g drum filtered with a cascae 1000 canister filter in a storage closet in the garage. It is insulated with 2 walls shared with interior of the house so it should stay a little warmer than the garage and alot warmer that outsie. I just added a few hundred pond snails and ramshorn snail and plan to keep them through the winter. Im wondering how low temperatures can go before they stop breeding and start dieing. Also, is a month sufficient time to wait for any internal parasite to die off without any further hosts? These will be food for a puffer

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[martialtheory]

I don't think you might need a canister filter for this set up. I routinely have a trash can outdoors in the summer where I add my snails to culture. No filter or air pump. They do just fine. Unless you feed a crazy amount, you don't really need it. I think you can even get by with a sponge filter.

With pond snails, they are so hardy that as long as the water doesn't freeze, they will keep reproducing. With Ramshorns, I notice a drop in reproduction when it reaches below 55 degrees. I have very soft water here and thats actually the only thing that stops them from breeding like crazy. You may need to add calcium in the water if you noticed them with thin shells.

Also throw in some sticks or anything to give it more things to climb on and thereby increase the area that the snails can inhabit. That will really increase your population.

 

[martialtheory]

Oh I forgot to mention, why do you think there are parasites in the snails? Are they wild collected?

If you do suspect parasites, the best way is to put some snails in a smaller tank. Wait till you see eggs, and place the eggs in the 55 gal drum. Scrap it off the glass or if it lays it on plants, then place the plants in the drum.

I wouldn't trust any snail that was perviously infected with a parasite. I wouldn't use any adults in that case.