WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY SNAILS?

[Mmathis]

1. Does it matter what the water temperature is when introducing Trapdoor snails to the pond? We're having a cold snap here, and my snail order is due in 2 days.

.....and.....

2. Do you quarantine snails? I never thought about it.

 

[sissy]

I put mine in a fish tank and used my pond water .Trapdoors give birth to live babies sometimes like mine they were having babies when i put them in the tank .I got algae wafers to put in the tank and also took some algae covered rocks out of the pond and put in with them

 

[HTH]

I recall that snails are one stop in the life cycle of parasitic flukes of some sort.

Do not think it is gill flukes.

Don't take my word for it.

 

[sissy]

I bought mine from shanandoah pond place and they warned me not to put them in the pond until I was saw they were not carrying anything .They did not tell me what the anything was ,They were kept in very clean ponds but the lady said you never know .So it could be true

 

[HTH]

IIRC the life cycle includes birds, snails, and fish.

Around here snails seem to come into existence by spontaneous generation but the fish love to eat the small ones and keep them in check..

I like apple snails but they are tropical

 

[Mmathis]

So, what do you do to quarantine snails? And for how long? And like Sissy, WHAT are you looking for?

Is there anything you can add to the water that won't harm them?

 

[Mmathis]

Gee, there's not much info out there regarding snail quarantine. Found a few mentions, but no specifics. Mostly, what I found is how to get rid of them.

 

[callingcolleen1]

You should wait till weather is warmer before putting in pond. You can keep them in a pail and feed lettuce to hold them over. I would not worry too much about the the parasites that may harbor in the snails. I have had snails and still do in all my tanks, and I believe the benifits outweigh the risks.

 

[HARO]

What should you do with your snails? I hear they're great with garlic butter!!! :biggrin:
John

 

[HTH]

You should wait till weather is warmer before putting in pond. You can keep them in a pail and feed lettuce to hold them over. I would not worry too much about the the parasites that may harbor in the snails. I have had snails and still do in all my tanks, and I believe the benifits outweigh the risks.

If you start with clean snails in an aquarium they should stay clean unless you bring the parasites in.

Birds carry parasites which they pass to ponds.

How much of a risk is it. I said up front I was not sure. May depend on where you live etc.
Is it worth the risk. That is up to you.

I have snails in my ponds which are largely controlled by the goldfish and koi.

I expect that without fish to complete the life cycle that the parasites will die. Just keep them in a fishless tank for 2 weeks or so.
If you are really interested or worried read up on it.

 

[sissy]

yep my aggie ate all of my snails and she said they were yummy too and no garlic on them either

 

[HTH]

I love the look of apple snails. I was thinking they were all tropical but there is one species
Pomacea canaliculata link to table that might be ok if one took a colony inside for the winter.

But they may well be a plant eating monster. Maybe is a small ornamental pond.

 

[HARO]

yep my aggie ate all of my snails and she said they were yummy too and no garlic on them either

Hold on there,Sissy! Didn't you say you add garlic to the fish food?
John

 

[capewind]

came up with Leucochloridium paradoxum on a fast search ... dont know if relevent or not ...

 

[Mmathis]

I expect that without fish to complete the life cycle that the parasites will die. Just keep them in a fishless tank for 2 weeks or so.
If you are really interested or worried read up on it.

Hmmm.....HTH, did I forget to mention that I'm not finding much out there to do any research on?

So about the extent of what I've learned is to isolate them for a couple of weeks. Good advice, but what is supposed to happen during that 2 week period? Assuming it's not like fish which might start showing signs of illness or infestation, so WHAT are you looking for? Will "critters" start crawling out, looking for the next host-phase (Alien!). How do you know when and if they are safe to add to the pond? Anyway, all I have set up is a 20 gal. with a spastic Ryunkin, so don't know if I'll even worry about it too much.

[OK, please no more talk about garlic butter (yum, yum) or escargot (gross!). You're torturing me! I've been sick the past few weeks, and it's affected my taste buds big time. The only way I can taste ANYTHING is to get something strong or spicy to eat. I LOVE garlic AND IT WOULD TASTE SO GOOD RIGHT NOW -- you're making me hungry enough ...... to eat a snail --- yuck!]