trapdoor snails

[CountryEscape]

And, they are talking about the trapdoor snails, which can hibernate in the wintertime in ponds that freeze. The tropical snails that you find in most pet stores I think are different, and may not survive in a pond that freezes.
Sissy, I had checked into the trapdoor snails on EBay and I looked just now and the guy I was messaging with is that Mr. Bullfrog, and I've had no problems with him. I suspect he mistook you for someone totally different! Sad for him! I asked him how big the snails would be, since they advertise all sizes in the group. He said that if I wait until the pond thaws out in the springtime when he can collect them, he will have ALL of the large sized ones! So, I told him I'm going to wait. He assured me the prices would be the same, or maybe even cheaper than they are right now, as he said the prices get inflated at the end of winter, as his numbers go down until he can get the ones out of his big pond. I think he said to wait until April. He said if I contacted him again in the spring, he will send me all large ones. So, he is being very kind and I just have no idea why he would not have sold to you. That's something that happened by total accident I'm sure, and again, it's his loss!

 

[CometKeith]

I have lost all my trap door snails two years in a row. They made delicious snacks for the raccoons that live nearby. I would never know if they do okay in the winter because by mid-summer they are all gone. I changed my liner last year in August (not a great idea but I had to). There was not one snail in the whole pond. I think I'm done with snails!

 

[CountryEscape]

Darn, that's awful, Keith. I had a raccoon that came to my house while I was starting to dig my pond, and while I was thinking, "Well, here on the prairie like I live, I won't have to worry about raccoons or possums or anything else coming to my koi/goldfish pond." The dogs were barking, I walked out new sliding glass door, and there he was!

Sorry picture is small, took it with my cell phone, as I figured by the time I found my camera, he would be gone.
I asked him where he came from, he just stared, so I told him to go away and not come back to my backyard. He is welcome to hang out in the barns, but not in my back yard. Guess that talking to worked, because I have never seen him again, nor have any of the rocks been knocked in .... except for the few that my dogs knocked in.

 

[sissy]

I put the bigger snails I bought in the pond and they seem to like the waterfall best and are keeping that nice and clean .I read they like moving water so must be why they like it up there .The babies the bigger snails had are still in the tank in the basement with the air pump going and have grown alot since I got them .I guess you cannot expect a miracle from them but they do at to the pond .I know come summer I will have to be carefull netting the bottom and checking the gunk for snails but still worth the price I paid for them .I guess if you had a couple of thousand snails they may be able to keep the algae cleaned up .I guess really the tadpoles do a better job at cleaning algae .I got 20 babies from the snails .I guess it was better I put the snails in the tank for about a month before putting them in the pond .

 

[HARO]

I have noticed that trapdoor snails tend to die off in ponds without sufficient algae. The poor buggers probably starve!
John

 

[sissy]

There is algae and slime on the liner and they like that slimy stuff .They just hang onto the side of the pond and you can see the clean liner behind them .Funny how those things can clean a big area like the do .I was watching 3 of them before all close together and the black liner shows through where they were at .

 

[CountryEscape]

I'm planning on getting a bunch of the big ones this spring! How many did you get, Sissy? I know you said it would take a bunch to really clean a pond, and I guess we really don't want them to clean it all off, as the fish pick at that algae, too, but I'm thinking of getting at least 25, maybe 50 depending on the price and if the guy is REALLY going to send me the huge ones like he said. I think if I get him early when he first gets into the outdoor pond, he will be willing to send all big ones like he told me a month ago. He actually told me to wait until spring and he would "send (you) all large ones". We shall see. Guess they will likely have the babies as well, so that would multiply the numbers, too. And, I think they only have a 3-5 year life span, so hopefully they will reproduce more than they die.

 

[j.w]

Wonder if the fish eat them after they die or do they just lay in the water and rot? Seems as tho snails may sometimes fall out of their shells when they die as I took a picture of one in my aquarium that did just that. Watched it fall right out!

Here is shell it fell out of:

Here is innards:

Now go try and enjoy your dinner,lol!

 

[CountryEscape]

Well, huh .... looks to me like the "innards" landed on some new babies! See those egg sacs??? What are those from? I bet snail eggs, maybe they die after they lay eggs? I have mystery snails that look just like that in my aquarium, and several of them have died, although I never saw them come apart like this! I suspect my fish would eat the innards.

 

[sissy]

snails give birth to live babies as mine had babies stuck to there shells and few hours after I put then in the tank they had more babies and I see all the ones I put in the pond .I got 25 of them and before I put the big ones in the pond I had 30 babies .They have gotten a lot bigger ,both the ones in the pond and the ones in the tank .My fish have not touched the ones I put in the pond

 

[sissy]

The babies just fell out of the shell to the bottom of the tank and they just kept coming and usually will crawl on the back of another snail and clean there shells off .

 

[CountryEscape]

Sissy, trapdoor snails have live babies, I'm not sure about the mystery snails sold in pet stores. I've never seen any baby snails from mine, but maybe they are similar to the trapdoor snails. Most snails lay eggs, at least the smaller variety of snails lay eggs I'm sure. Those eggs are on a leaf, it looks like, so will be interested to see what JW thinks laid them! Sissy, do you know, are the mystery snails the same as trapdoor snails??? I don't think they get near as large, but I may be wrong.

 

[sissy]

mystery snails are not hardy for outdoors and if you check them out online it says they give birth to living babies .Springdale even sent a paper telling you about them and how they reproduce .It also warns you to look for them on the adult snails shell .I watched these teeny tiny things fall out of the momma who was crawling up the tank .

 

[sissy]

dragonfly aquatics has a whole article on the trapdoor snails

 

[CountryEscape]

I just looked up mystery snails, and they lay eggs, above the waterline, it says. I think it looks like globs of tapioca pudding, as a friend had eggs from his snails, but they didn't hatch. I think you're thinking of the trapdoor, who have the live babies that they "drop" from under their shell, right? And, yes, mystery snails are sold in pet stores for aquariums, because they are not hardy for outdoor ponds. Trapdoor snails, however, will hibernate in the water during the winter time.
Now that I re-read what you wrote, Sissy, I think you started out talking about mystery snails, and then were referring to the trapdoor snails having live babies. Just trying to clarify. I'm easily confused. LOL