FishProfiles.com Message Forums

One of my 3 apple snails had died, I don't know why, just found the empty shell... I need to ask 2 things: how long do they live? Is there anything that really afects them??

In a heated tropical fish tank they live a year or 2. In a coldwater tank they can live much longer. I've heard of snails at 5years old. Their growth rate and metabolism are quite dependent on temperature.

One of the most common reasons for snail death is starvation. They need to be fed sinking foods and/or vegetables such as a leaf of lettuce, kale, or chunk of cucumber. They cannot survive well on algae alone but unfortunately many people think that. The 2nd reason would probably be medications. Snails don't tolerate any ich medicines, much salt, or many other meds that are routinely used to treat fish illnesses.

They might also die with low ph. Snails like a high ph between 7 - 8.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

They will eventually die from low ph but it's not as common and you'd see alot of shell deformations and growth problems before they die. It would be a very slow painful death and quite obvious why the snail died.

can I feed them potatos?

about the algae they eat... my aqua as ALLWAY a LOT of algae on the glasses, on the sand and on the rocks, they pass a lot of time eating it but the algae never go away.. can they be suffering from starvation??

If there's alot of Algae, they wouldn't starve.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

They might eat potatos but I haven't tried it. Probably no harm in feeding it. They will nibble and graze a little on algae but it doesn't provide enough of the nutrients they need. With alot of algae to eat they probably wouldn't starve to death right away but their growth and lifespan will be shortened. The smaller applesnails around 2" in diameter are actually carnivorous and would appreciate fish foods and sinking foods like shrimp pellets or crab bites over algae and vegetables. They won't pass up a chance to nibble on any vegetables you add but are healthier if they get more meaty foods quite frequently.