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Moon - how long did it take for him to get that size?

Mine is a half inch or so. I know he will outgrow the 2.5 gal betta tank, but how soon?

Very interesting, I must say. Thanks for sharing .

Here's a pic of a DSP (dark striped purple).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/SSanchez/IMG_0362.jpg

You can see the different colors in the shell that create the "purple" color.

I used a flash, so the color's a bit washed, but I assure you it's magenta, and completely natural (selection).
Okay, here's another picture of my hatchlings:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/SSanchez/IMG_0307.jpg

If you look closely, the babies are blue, purple, ivory, brown, etc. All born in my tank that way. No Dyes at all.

I'm not a genetics expert, but this is how I understand the development of the many colors. The truly natural Brig colors are "wild" (which is dark brown, striped) and "gold" (yellow, no stripes). From those, ivories (white) were developed. They aren't albino, just carry recessive genes. Here's a pic of gold, ivory and chestnut, which is a mutation of the wild. (There's an actual wild pictured above).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/SSanchez/IMG_0415.jpg

Snail shells have layers of pigment in their shell. A base shell color, a stripe color, etc. And, there are two body colors dark and light. Wilds contain many colors in their shell. And when bred to an ivory will produce new colors, such as chestnut and olive, sometimes blue. When blue is crossed back to wild (which is what I did to create "fresh" purples), dark purples are created, which are beautiful. When dark purples are crossed to ivory, light purple is created.

So, it's not unlike any other selective breeding. It's just that it can happen fast since snails mature within a few months of hatching. Purple snails are a very new variation, I believe less than 2 years.

You mean that magenta snail is not dyed? That seems such an odd color for a non-marine creature. Typically, nature has them blending in with their environment, not standing out. The magenta just appears unnatural, unless it is the picture itself. The rest of the snails are very pretty with natural looking shell designs, but the magenta one I'm suspicious of.

No, they're absolutely not dyed. And Shannon is a great lady. Here's a few of my colored snails:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/SSanchez/IMG_0292.jpg

The picture "moondog" posted is not the same species, though. It's most likely Canaliculata or Insularum, which get huge, and love to eat plants. Mine are commonly called "Brigs" (Pomacea Bridgesii), and they don't eat plants at all, and max out at ~3in. diameter.

So, adult size and feeding requirements depend on the species. All snails need a pH of 7.0+, and hard water. If your snail is actually leaving the water, something's wrong. Check ammonia, nitrite and pH. They're as hardy as a betta, but not much more. Feed them like you would a fish, with a varied diet.

They need a mate to reproduce, so if you only have one, you won't be getting eggs. (unless they're already pregnant, but that's rare).

Picture of face:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/SSanchez/IMG_0418.jpg

Last edited by Georgia at 08-Mar-2005 12:28

I got a email back from the lady that sells them and she said that they are not dyed.

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

hmmm, from looking at them I didn't get the impression that they were dyed. I'll email her and ask.

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

But are these much like the dyed fish? I can see playing around with the shell as it doesn't hurt them, but the body on that one looks pink.

just for fun, scroll about 1/2 way down this page http://home.mchsi.com/~masts/index.html and check out the cool colors. A friend and I are going to order some when the weather gets above freezing (next month I hope).

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

i think he's almost grown twice his size in the last year-ish that i've had him, but i have no way of measuring that, except by the lighter and darker parts of his shell. even that little snail underneath him there has doubled in size since i took that pic about a month ago

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Mine is more the size of that smaller snail shell underneath him.

How big was he when you got him a year ago?

i've had this snail for well over a year, you can see the growth since i've had him as the darker part of the shell. the lighter part was from before i had him, so no telling how long it took to grow that big first. i'm guessing at least 2 years old.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Hey people

Are Golden Mystery Snails compatible with bettas? I never thought of it and bought one. I don't have it in the tank yet and won't until I hear back from some people. The snail is about 3/4 inch or smaller in diameter. It is golden - does this make it an apple snail?

I wanted something to eat algae in my 2.5 gal betta tank, which has no algae yet. I planned on feeding him fresh veggies and wafers.

I'm thinking of quarantining him for a while anyway, just because I know snails can carry parasites. I don't want to overload the betta tank and in a few weeks some algae will be growing.

Thoughts?

i have never noticed this with any apple snail i have ever kept. although my big guy is a little large to escape these days



moondog attached this image:

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Thanks Steph - I've been warmed of that one and do have a lid on the 2.2 gallon now. He seems happy tho going back and forth between one spot where the wafer was (now gone after 2 days) and a spot just above the water line where he sits for a few hours. I've placed some stones in there with some velvety algae and I'm curious as to whether he will clean them. I'm not going to put a pellet in there now that I know he is ok and see if he munches on that. Otherwise, I'll put spinach in there tomorrow.

Di, one thing that just came to mind is to make sure you have a good cover on the tank with the snail. I've found my snails in really weird places. (like the dog's water dish :%) which was about 4 feet from the tank and about 24" up on a metal stand)

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

Well, the little guy opened up and was found eating his algae wafer this morning.

How often should I feed him? It is a bare tank, with no algae, no gravel or nothing. I just put a couple of algae-laden stones in there for him too.

I had just read on Applesnail.net that feeding too much too soon can cause growth issues.

I have baby spinach in the fridge. I can tie a piece to a stone and sink it tonite. In fact, I think I'll remove the algae wafer later today so it doesn't sit in there too long. When I get a chance, I'll get the Crab Cuisine for him for a good boost of calcium.

I need to try to get a picture of one side of him. I think the poor guy has some early type of erosion in one nook. I saw another mystery snail with a cracked shell. They may not have been getting enough calcium.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 01-Mar-2005 10:25

i always thought the "mystery snail" was just another name for "apple snail" anyway, if you check out that site, and specifically go to the identification characteristics, it will tell you if you have an apple snail or not. i do believe that if it has a trap door, that only apple snails have that trap door, so it's a good bet you have an apple

my apples don't usually want algae wafers. if you have some good lettuce (romaine is best) or zuchini they will love you for some of that. the zuchini they may not touch for a couple days, but mine can't get enough of it once they find it

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

I was just at that website. But is my "Golden Mystery Snail", really an Apple Snail?

He's slowly coming out of his shell. His trap door is extended away from his body and some of his "stuff" is starting to show . I just don't know what stuff it is . I have to go look at the anatomy.

either way, I put a piece of algae wafer in there for him in case he wants to feed during the night.

How tolerante are they of ammonia and nitrite, should the tank go back into a mini-cycle. It was cycled, but then ran without any ammonia source for a few weeks, so bacteria may have died off. I put Fritz Zyme-7 in there just to be safe.