# Big ole snail... :D



## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I had this guy for a few but i finally got some crappy photos. I just love him and hand feed him often.

Currently trying to fix his crappy shell. He has two scars from who knows what.

sleepy snail...









Size idea...my thumb is on the glass and he's about 4-5 inches in. I'll try to get a shot of him actually in my hand somtime...









okay...you've woke me up! where is the food! 









thanks for looking you guys :3


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Wow, is that a ram horn snail? If it is, that's the bigger ram horn I've ever seen.

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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Pomacea bridgesii (yellow/golden apple snail)

Hey Jess you can't repair the top layer of the shell once its been damaged. You can however promote healthy growth in the new shell.

Hunt down Tetramin tablets. Just tell harold you want Pablo's snail food he'll know what you mean. This stuff is god's answer to the perfect shell.

Also buy some Nori seaweed. They love it and it makes them grow like bonkers. And feed it fish once in awhile. I used to feed mine Giant Danios. That size snail can take down an entire 3" danio in one try. 1/2 hour tops. Obviously you need to pre-whack the fish and put it in the snails mouth.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

oohh he got a mosquito fish i hated... 

Plus i give him some cuddle bone.. just hard to keep in his mouth. He doesnt understand that it will float away. 
I was mainly concerned about how chipped up the new growth of shell was. I know the rest wont ever repair.
I'll keep an eye out for that stuff pablo! thanks 

Pablo is right Zebra, not a rams horn.  My rams do get big thou! i've had some around dime sized...i dunno if they get bigger than that.

I have a cool snail from florida i'll have to get photos of. Looks much like a apple but has a flat side instead of nice smooth rounded shell.

Thanks for looking guys


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Plus i give him some cuddle bone.. just hard to keep in his mouth. He doesnt understand that it will float away. 

No mon. You wan't calcium citrate not calcium carbonate. Get those tablets.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

They are just called teramin?? 

i'll try to get them from work if possible. Prolly not thou.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

http://img.products.howstuffworks.com/cctool/PrdImg/images/pr/177X150/00/01/c3/61/ec/29581804.JPG

These things

Tetra (who are scum) bring them in and out of production.

You can make your own super good snail food by mixing 33% skim milk powder with bloodworms, fish meal (or just fish pellets ground up) and some noori and vegetables, ground well, made into a paste with gellatin powder (which also helps the shell)


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Thanks pablo!


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## Coyote24 (Jan 26, 2007)

*Ivory has the same issue*

My Ivory snail has the same issue and I too was worry about the shell.
can I use the same stuff (tetra) for him?
I am a bit concern since the water is rather soft and I read somewhee that this is not good for snail shell...
Anything else would be good for the shell? and the general health?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Coyote24 said:


> My Ivory snail has the same issue and I too was worry about the shell.
> can I use the same stuff (tetra) for him?
> I am a bit concern since the water is rather soft and I read somewhee that this is not good for snail shell...
> Anything else would be good for the shell? and the general health?


Same species.

Just use toronto tap water. That's fine. If the water is soft move him to his own tank or a tank with a pH of around 7.5 and the same hardness as toronto tap.

Feed him atleast 1/2 his bodyweight per day. If he's still eating he's still hungry. Lots of greens too. Good quality veggie wafers will do.

You should also include fish in his diet. Twice a week whack a nice fat guppy and put the snai'ls mouth directly on the dead fish. It'll eat it. If it doesnt, make a cut in the fish and put its mouth on that. It'll get the point.

Remember that apple snails are really omnivores. Shrimp, fish, worms, pellets, wafers, plants. If its edible they eat it.

Feed them like you feed yourself. Basic food groups, the whole thing.


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## Boomer (Mar 18, 2007)

If you haven't already, check out this website:

www.applesnail.net

I used to have a whole tank of these guys - that was all that was in there - snails! I loved them and all the different colours that similar snails come in. If you wanted, you could even dose the tank with liquid calcium - but you would have to look into the doseage cause it is gallon specific. Cuttle bone really didn't work for mine too much either. On the site you will find a list of foods that are high in calcium that will help the shell to grow good and thick.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Dosing with calcium wont do much as you can only get carbonate of calcium for a reasonable price and toronto tap already has a lot.

What you want is calcium derived from milk.

Even applesnail.net, I dare say, in my experience, has the science nailed down not quite as well as the germans, all of whom also recommend the tetra tablet food.

I dont know anyone else who's ever grown out apple snails as well as me. Not to sound like a jerk- Im just saying. If you do it right you can put 1/4 inch of new shell on a P. bridgesii every 2 days. Even more on a healthy canaliculata, which can eat its bodyweight in a sitting.

Feed, feed feed. Always provide a fast day with no food. Sunday is easy to remember.

A good basic diet (remember most snails will learn to hand feed and can be trained to come to a tapping sound just like most fish):

Tetramin tablets as 50% of the diet

leafy aquatic plants. Giant Hygro is best (but will be refused by true P. bridgesii. Only canaliculata benefit greatly from plant material like this)

Algae wafers. HBH is fine.

Noori (Julian Sprung's sea veggies, Big Als seaweed delight). Has a lot of bioavailable iodine to assist in shell growth .

fish. Keep a tank of breeding guppies or convicts. Feed a whole fish 3/4 the size of the snail (for canas, 1/3 the size for bridgesii) 2x per week.










The dark area of the shell here, representing new growth, should be achieved approximately every seven days in a properly growing apple snail.

If done right, you'll get this








but hopefully with a nicer shell, from a loonie sized snail, in well under six months.

I've also heard of people adding Kalkwasser.

In my opinion its all utter BS. Change the water daily, feed well, you'll get a nice monster of snot in a shell


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## Coyote24 (Jan 26, 2007)

*oups Wow*

Wow thx Pablo I sure have work to do then I never really fed him anything maybe a piece of salad here and there. I though he was fine surfing the side of the tank and some dead leaves from the plants...
A little disaster occured over the weekend see "4dead but why?" tread I am creating.


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## Boomer (Mar 18, 2007)

It may be nice to have a snail grow quickly, but you also should know that the quicker the snail grows - the shorter the life span.

Hope everything works out well. Though most don't "get" and appreciate snails - they are a wonderfull addition and do take on their own personality.


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