# Quarantine?



## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

So I have a couple of questions:

Should you quarantine invertebrates (ex. apple snail) before putting them into your tanks? I'm just curious because I wanted to get a couple. Can they transfer diseases?

EDIT: I have some more questions about snails. I thought I would add them here instead of making a new thread. Can someone help me out, please? :?:


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

They can, but it's not very common. Some have flukes, but most snailborne flukes aren't a problem for fish. The water that gets trapped in a snailshell can harbor ciliates ( ick ) or dinoflagellates, so it's always a good idea to q-tine them for at least a few days and give them a good rinse.


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

Okay. Thanks!


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

So I decided to go with *Olive Nerite snails instead of Apple snails*. The main reason is because my local fish store (lfs) carries them. The other is that I was searching them online and it seems they are *very good algae eaters* (what I needed) and they *won't eat my live plants*. I don't know about the apple snails eating plants but didn't want to chance it. Plus the Nerites are smaller and less likely to be seen as a threat by my Bettas. I think. 

So my questions are: I have my 6 snails in a quarantine container but want to move them to the tanks soon. I watched the lfs owner careful pluck them off the glass of tanks, but I worry about using this method to move them. I don't want to accidentally damage their really fragile antennae, rip their feet, or pull their shells off their backs in the process. I have tried just pulling them off the glass but they seem to be glued on (or I am not pulling hard enough?).*Is there an easy way to safely move them?* *I have heard of putting cucumber in the tank and waiting for them to crawl onto it but what about zucchini?* I don't think I have any cucumber in the house but know I have zucchini. I also have another question for when I get them in the tank. *Will they be okay during water changes if they get above the water level? Will they just hold their breath?*


Here is a cool thing about Nerite snails that I learned: They can't breed in freshwater!  Apparently they can only breed in brackish water. The owner of my lfs showed me a 6 gallon tank with some tiny Rasboras and some of the olive nerite snails. There were these tiny white eggs on the sides of the glass. He said that after a while they disappear but he doesn't think they are being eaten because there is a small outline of where they were. His hypothesis is that they hatch but die because they can't find anything to eat or the water parameters aren't right. This is interesting because most commercial retailers of the snails get them from the wild because no-one can really determine how they breed or more specifically how to keep the larval form alive. Figuring out how to breed them would be a cool project!


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## Kurtfr0 (Nov 2, 2008)

def quarintine the snails if there form the wild, and sorry my spelling is bad. Also, for the pulling them off. try a bit harder if they dont come off, leave them there. and just hurry with the water. 

(I do not own or use snails, just giving my 2 cents from what I've heard) 

And snails stink !


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

Umm...So does anyone who has had experience with snails know the answers to my questions. It's not that I don't appreciate the help Kurtfr0 I just don't want to go by hearsay and end up killing them. And how come you don't like snails? Snails are awesome and good cleaners too!

Okay so I am going out of town this weekend so I decided to just pick them off the glass. I was kinda scared for them at first but got them all into the Betta tanks. All of them have been moving around alot except for two of them. If they don't become more active I'm afraid that I did something to them.  *I would really like a surefire way to move them the next time I get some. What method is best?* *Anyone?* :?:


*Apparently I can't get anyone to help me. I'm leaving and joining a local forum. I don't know what I did wrong but generally when someone asks for help nicely you give it to them. It has been days since I have gotten a reply on this excluding Kurtfr0's response. I'm not mad at anyone and am grateful for the help I got for earlier problems but it seems no-one will talk to me. You guys seem polite enough to other newbies. How am I any different. I have never been anything but thankful for helpful information. I don't know any of you so I guess there is no loss on my part. Bye.

P.S.- I guess no-one reads my posts anyways so I am just talking into a vaccuum. *


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

I know snails will eat zucchini just as much as cucumber. I wouldn't worry about snails dying during a water change. I don't have the exact same type of snail as you, but the snails I have seem to be able to stay out of water for about an hour.


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## Lupin (Aug 1, 2006)

FuzzyDragon09 said:


> So I decided to go with *Olive Nerite snails instead of Apple snails*. The main reason is because my local fish store (lfs) carries them. The other is that I was searching them online and it seems they are *very good algae eaters* (what I needed) and they *won't eat my live plants*. I don't know about the apple snails eating plants but didn't want to chance it. Plus the Nerites are smaller and less likely to be seen as a threat by my Bettas. I think.


There are hundreds of species of apple snails. Of the hundreds, there are only two that are often seen in the trade although some can be found by accident as they are collected from ditches, lakes, etc. These two are _Pomacea bridgesii_ and _Pomacea canaliculata_. Now, _Pomacea canaliculata_ has been banned from transport by state by state shipments due to the possibility that they will escape and invade other waterways. They are by nature destructive to local fauna eating plants voraciously. Juveniles are more voracious in comparison to adults. They lay clutches of pink eggs ranging from 100-1500 depending on the size of the adult and the number of eggs she can channel out.

As for the _Pomacea bridgesii_, these are not plant eaters. They will never eat healthy plants and will prefer consuming dead and decaying specimens. You can try feeding them vegetables as alternatives. Calcium blocks may be needed to avoid shell erosion which is indicated by the cracks found on their shells unless your tapwater is hard and alkaline in which case calcium blocks are not a necessity at all. This can also be corrected by the use of cuttlefish bones and egg shells.



> So my questions are: I have my 6 snails in a quarantine container but want to move them to the tanks soon. I watched the lfs owner careful pluck them off the glass of tanks, but I worry about using this method to move them. I don't want to accidentally damage their really fragile antennae, rip their feet, or pull their shells off their backs in the process. I have tried just pulling them off the glass but they seem to be glued on (or I am not pulling hard enough?).*Is there an easy way to safely move them?* *I have heard of putting cucumber in the tank and waiting for them to crawl onto it but what about zucchini?* I don't think I have any cucumber in the house but know I have zucchini. I also have another question for when I get them in the tank. *Will they be okay during water changes if they get above the water level? Will they just hold their breath?*


Any vegetable matter will be fine. Just be patient and tempt them along until you can prod them off the glass. They will be finewith your water changes. There is no harm done there. A lot of snails are amphibious and can live long enough as long as there are damp.




> Here is a cool thing about Nerite snails that I learned: They can't breed in freshwater!  Apparently they can only breed in brackish water. The owner of my lfs showed me a 6 gallon tank with some tiny Rasboras and some of the olive nerite snails. There were these tiny white eggs on the sides of the glass. He said that after a while they disappear but he doesn't think they are being eaten because there is a small outline of where they were. His hypothesis is that they hatch but die because they can't find anything to eat or the water parameters aren't right. This is interesting because most commercial retailers of the snails get them from the wild because no-one can really determine how they breed or more specifically how to keep the larval form alive. Figuring out how to breed them would be a cool project!


The eggs will never hatch in FW at all. They are not viable in FW conditions. Nerites breed in tidal pools where salinity varies.


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