Re: Recommendations on feeding snails to Yoyos

[Marc999]

Hi guys,

I'm interested in breeding snails to feed to my Yoyo loaches. The loaches range from 1.5-4".

What species would you recommend?
Also, is snail size a determining factor in whether or not the Yoyo loaches will attack the snail?

Marc

[Marc999]

Well, interesting behaviour going on in with my Yoyos. I dropped in a couple 'mystery' snails. They have picked up on the snail trail scent and homed in on them. I haven't seen this behaviour before but they are quivering and circling around one of the snails, nudging it on occasion. The snails are about 1" so a good size.

I also picked up 10 tiny ramshorn snails to breed in a 10 gallon.

Anybody know the sexual maturity age and/or gestation period of ramshorn snails?

[Diana]

Loaches can pester the larger snails, nipping their antennae (Whatever!) and in general bothering the snails to the point the snail stays in its shell and starves to death.

Some Loaches (and other fish) learn to suck the meat out of hard shelled snails like Malaysian Trumpets.

My Loaches will eat Pond and Rams Horn snails like candy. Even tanks with Kuhlie Loaches have small snail populations; I think Kuhlies with their small mouths go for the youngest snails, and leave the breeders alone. I have no idea the breeding cycle of these, but I think pretty fast. I emptied a tank when someone gave me some fish that I wanted to house separately, and the snails grew really fast in there. I was feeding extra food for fry, and I know this will grow snails as well as fish.

I will add garden snails to the tank with Clown Loaches, and there is usually an empty shell the next day.

[Marc999]

Well, I haven't had much luck with Ramshorn snails and Yoyo loaches.

Unless the ramshorn is very tiny, as in ~ 1wk. old, the snails just retract into their shells and make it very difficult for the yoyos to get them. The interest is certainly there, quivering yoyo bodies and they usually grab and dash off under a log to brace it against something.

A couple days ago when I did a major tank cleaning, I found ~ 8 fairly small ramshorn snails perfectly alive and well. My guess is the ramshorn snails were 3-4 wks. old which were too large for the yoyos to handle.

Largest yoyo is about 4", so you'd think he wouldn't have a problem.

Perhaps I can find trumpet snails and give them a go. Some snail design that isn't circular.
Any other suggestions regarding snail species?

Marc.

[soul-hugger]

Even in a tank with Loaches, some snails will survive. My experience is that the Ramshorn populate the fastest, and have always out-bred any Pond Snails in my tanks. I once went away for a week and when I returned, the Ramshorn snail population had exploded. It got so bad after that the entire tank had to be emptied. I am assuming because of this that Ramshorn Snails can breed in far less than a week.

Pond Snails seem to have the softest shells. Ramshorn shells become pretty hard when they reach a larger size, but sometimes the Loaches need only incentive to eat the larger ones. Of course as long as there are babies, the Loaches will go after them because it is easier. I found with mine as well that the interest was there for the bigger snails, but they have to learn a certain technique in order to get into them. I crushed a couple of the bigger snails and dumped them in with my Loaches, and after this, they seemed to eat them more. Just be careful when you crush them because the shell can get into your skin and cause an infection.

The benefit to Malaysian Trumpets is that they won't eat your plants and will also provide the added benefit of sifting the substrate. These as well can easily become overpopulated, because they are a livebearing snail, but a few Assassin Snails added to the mix will take care of this if the problem gets out of hand. They are harder to get into, though, and a little technique is needed here as well.

You might also want to start a small separate tank for the snails. They don't need much; a couple of plants in a kiddie tank or goldfish bowl will do. I would suggest the Pond Snails for your Loaches. They have soft shells and their bodies are also more "out" of the shell than with the Ramshorn, making them easier to tackle. They also seem to have more meat inside.

soul-hugger

[JonasBygdemo]

Our kubs are the best in our tank for snail-control. They just stick their snout in the shell and suck 'em out!

[Marc999]

I have a small breeder tank for the snails. A 2.5 gallon brita water purifier that I wasn't using. I feed them zucchini, flakes, algae wafers and leave some cuttlefish bone in the tank. Once in awhile I drop in a tums tablet, which they seem to go for as well. Plenty of calcium to go around.

I have crushed larger mystery snail shells in the past, but this didn't seem to prompt any new behavior.
I'll try out some pond snails if I can get ahold of some at the pet store.

[soul-hugger]

Sometimes the snails will come in on plants. A few is all it takes to start a population. Next time you go to the pet store, look on the plants to see if you can see some; the store might just give them to you.

If you have any friends nearby who have aquariums, or if you are in an aquarium society, you could ask there too.

I have just started a tank for Dwarf Puffers, and between these three sources, I now have a good supply of snails for them.

soul-hugger

[JonasBygdemo]

Sometimes the snails will come in on plants. A few is all it takes to start a population. Next time you go to the pet store, look on the plants to see if you can see some; the store might just give them to you.

If you have any friends nearby who have aquariums, or if you are in an aquarium society, you could ask there too.

I have just started a tank for Dwarf Puffers, and between these three sources, I now have a good supply of snails for them.

soul-hugger

Do you get any snail-babies from them?