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Good pic that second one Theresa!

Now, the question is: how small is a dime?

Or you could just PM me when you need more. I'll gladly send any excess I have after they breed in my brackish tank.

From what I have read, you need to buy more as they die off, if you want to keep up the crowd. Or, you could easily put some in a 2.5 gallon brackish tank for a week

how long do they live if they don't reproduce in fw? and how do you get baby snails if they won't reproduce??

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

No I had not seen them. Thanks for the link Diane. I've been looking for an algae team for my brackish tank. I'll just toss a puffer in there from time to time to help keep them under control/:'

A lot of my fish eat MTS. In several tanks I don't have any adults because at about 1/2" they become targets for shellie snacks, and in one tank they've been completely wiped out.

Selling them should work well, or even trading them off to the LFS to sell as the ideal snail, or something.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

I was editing shannen. Did you see the Olive Nerite Snails at AZ Gardens? No reproducing in fw, yet good algae eaters that won't eat plants

I'll send you as many as you want Dian.

Hah! Have you ever taken a good look at pictures of Amano's tanks? I see MTS all over the place. That almost convinced me to get some. I've been snail free and just keep thinking I should do it.

Devon - try here too:

http://www.azgardens.com/snails.php

Look at the Olive Nerite Snails - They eat algae, don't harm plants and cannot reproduce in freshwater

Last edited by Cory_Di at 24-Mar-2005 18:30

devon, check your local LFS first to see if they'll give them away to you for free. Specifically ask for MTS or they'll probably give you ordinary pond snails. If you have no luck like me, there's always aquabid.com where I think I paid around $8 including shipping for 25. Not much I know, but now I have hundreds and hundreds.

They are worth it.. cool snails and great for sand bottom tanks.

you should send them to me! i cant find MTS anywhere

That's a great pic. I think they're even smaller than that when first born. They're almost completely clear, and just a pointed speck on the glass.

Sorry, couldn't find the ruler earlier. It seems to be 1.7cm across.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

How does everybody deal with their expanding MTS populations?

I see no other option other than washing them away down the drain :#( I don't like to do this as I actually find them quite endearing - except they multiply continuously.

Is there any other way to put them to gainful use, or any other way to deal with the populations aside from "death to those that get vacc'd up"

My 20l had more babies in it again this morning so I tried to get some pics.

The first shot isn't the greatest I left the cherry barb in for size comparison. You can also see a 'normal' size MTS kind of on its side. I circled the very, very tiny ones that I knew I'd have to chance of getting out of the tank.

The other pic shows the smallest two I was able to catch (using my fingernail) in comparison to a US dime.



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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

the smallest i've ever seen was .5mm in my 50g tank, but that's about as small as i can see them and not think they're part of the gravel or something

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

Well Smantzer, I posted some within the UK and they were fine, so I'm sure they'd make it to the US ok! Maybe I should try listing some on eBay.

...Just out of interest, what is the smallest anyone has seen the babies..? As they are livebearers, I am curious to the size they are born at - I've seen some really teeny 1mm ones, but even they seem quite big in proportion to the bigger snails (to be newborn size).

Hey, I'd take them! I could really use some for my future shellie tank (sand bottom). Surprisingly, I havent been able to find them ANYWHERE, and they've never come in on any of my plants!

For whatever reason some of my tanks seem to have more than others. One in particular has babies all over the driftwood almost every night :%)

So I spread them out between tanks, I've given some to my kids for their tanks, I also think my dwarf puffers and some of my loaches eat the tiny ones.

Do you have any fishkeeping friends that might want some? I know a few lfs sell them, maybe check in your area if any want a donation. I was thinking about Aquabid too since I'm sure they'd be inexpensive to ship...is there anything like that in the UK?

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

There's a fairly large demand for MTS's on Ebay, Aquabid, and other forums such as www.applesnail.net and here, probably.

It's very easy to give them away to fellow hobbyists. And I'm very surprised at how much people are willing to pay for them.

Shipping them is very simple. They don't have lungs like apple snails. So, you put them in a fish bag, with half water and half air (and some duckweed, or the like, if you have it). Get a USPS box (free), line sides, bottom and top with .5" styrofoam (pink stuff from Homedepot or similar), fill with polyfiber (pillow stuffing), to keep them from bumping around too much. And, as long as the weather is mild, you won't need an ice/heat pack. MTS's are very hardy. The boxes cost $3.80 to mail priority.

It's what I plan to do this spring. You can either make some money or some friends!