japanese trapdoor snails

[stevej37]

About a month ago, I ordered online...3 of these for my pond. They supposedly eat nothing but algae...continuously. Each is about 2 inches long.


Today, I get a small box in the mail. A freeze pack is enclosed...warm.
The snails are described as shipped in a baggie with water to keep them alive. The baggie has no water...it leaked or just evaporated from the heat.

I figured they were dead...but decided to give them a chance. I put them on the driftwood in the pond..where the turtles couldn't get to them and sprayed some pond water on them.

I went inside to read the enclosed guidelines again....came back out and all three are somewheres in the water!

Can't believe they pulled through.
My question is.....Do they require a dry area occasionally? Or can they live in the water?

[Crowbob]

They require a frying pan and lotsa butter.

[stevej37]

^^^
Yeah...but they have this 'trapdoor' thingy to protect them from that.

[gizmofixer]

some years ago i had a great idea, snails to eat the algae! I started with a few big snails, found the empty shells the next day. ok, get a few more. then i watched the turtles just waiting for the muscle to appear.......chomp. ok, get small, tiny snails. nope, they're just crunchy little tasty treats. tried pleco cats and all sorts of other algae eaters also. nope, just got fatter happy turtles. finally i gave up and got a wife that doesnt mind cleaning off the algea every week. Good Luck!!

[stevej37]

^^^
The turtles already get freeze-dried shrimp....snails are 'off the menu'.

I'll watch to see what happens. I do know that the turtles like to chew anything green and growing. I'm hoping the snails are big enough to protect themselves.

[masraum]

this is going to be an interesting saga to track

[stevej37]

I may have to re-aim the camera to see 'what's really going on in the bottom at night'.

[gizmofixer]

we use the frozen shrimp for the babies, to bridge the gap from tiny crawly worms to stick food.
the ultimate treat (as i'm sure you know) is earthworms, the bigger and wigglyer the better!

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I may have to re-aim the camera to see 'what's really going on in the bottom at night'.

You will probably need to point the camera into the turtle's stomach...

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by gizmofixer

we use the frozen shrimp for the babies, to bridge the gap from tiny crawly worms to stick food.
the ultimate treat (as i'm sure you know) is earthworms, the bigger and wigglyer the better!

I've never tried live earthworms. I might do it...I was always concerned about the uneaten parts that drop to the bottom and stay.
The food I give them always goes into a dish above water...so there is no waste.

[gizmofixer]

there is no uneaten parts.
when they see or smell earthworms they try to climb out to get them.
its a feeding frenzy, they will literally pull them apart, 3 or 4 on one worm, no waste, not a crumb left. and then there's the hour long bottom search for any missed bit of worm.
its always a fun time to watch earthworm food treats!!

[Tobra]

I have a freshwater tank at the office with cichlids in it. Patient brought in some worms from his house. They were practically jumping out of the water to get that snack.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Tobra

I have a freshwater tank at the office with cichlids in it. Patient brought in some worms from his house. They were practically jumping out of the water to get that snack.

What you need is a couple of tanks of garra rufa!

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by gizmofixer

there is no uneaten parts.
when they see or smell earthworms they try to climb out to get them.
its a feeding frenzy, they will literally pull them apart, 3 or 4 on one worm, no waste, not a crumb left. and then there's the hour long bottom search for any missed bit of worm.
its always a fun time to watch earthworm food treats!!

Ok..you sold me. I'll give them a try.
The local sport shop should have them....I don't like digging.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I put them on the driftwood in the pond..where the turtles couldn't get to them and sprayed some pond water on them.

I went inside to read the enclosed guidelines again....came back out and all three are somewheres in the water!

Yeah. uh. There's an internet .gif of a turtle biting off the entire back half of a mouse in a second.
Like the dog who will gobble a giant bowl down and look up curious wondering where his treat is.
Something about living a hundred million years applies.
You need King Crabs to clean the algae.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Ok..you sold me. I'll give them a try.
The local sport shop should have them....I don't like digging.

No digging necessary. You've just gotta grunt for 'em!

[stevej37]

^^^ lol...never heard of that before.

[ramonesfreak]

those snails won’t survive your michigan winter. if you really want more, just go to the pet store that has fish and ask for mystery snails. same thing. and trust me, 3 of them will not make a dent on your algae. i used to keep those in my fish tanks but they really did nothing and if they die and you don’t find it, the water goes toxic quick because of their size. not a problem for turtles though

algae is hard to control because you can’t really control the light but there are ways. an algae problem is usually the result of some imbalance which is easy to control in a fish tank but in a pond, not so easy

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I've never tried live earthworms. I might do it...I was always concerned about the uneaten parts that drop to the bottom and stay.
The food I give them always goes into a dish above water...so there is no waste.

i can guarantee you have planaria in your pond that take care of any uneaten protein

when i’ve had planaria in my tanks, before i found a safe planaria killer, i used traps filled with freeze dried shrimp. boy do they love that

[stevej37]

^^^ The pond is torn down every late fall. I just wanted them to keep the algae under control.
It's not bad at this point. Enlarge screen to see better.