Apple Snail needs a brushing

[meanjean]

So I got the cutest (and most entertaining) apple snail for my tank and she's fitting in quite well with everyone else.

My question is, can I use a soft brush on her shell to get rid of soma algae? She had a pretty thick coat of the stuff on her shell, and parts that are bare look like her shell may be a purple and tealish color. I don't want to hurt or traumatize her.

 

[FroggyFox]

Sure go for it Just be sure its nothing abrasive that would hurt its shell...try your finger and see if it'll just rub off. here's a spot with a ton of apple snail info too The Apple Snail (Ampullariidae) Website

 

[phOOey]

So I got the cutest (and most entertaining) apple snail

sorry, but this made me chuckle

 

[meanjean]

Thanks!
I googled 'apple snail' after I posted and found that site. Its really comprehensive! Someone really likes the snails.

I tried rubbing my finger on it when I first put her in the tank, and that's how I could see her shell actually had some color to it--I can see purplish-greenish-blue, which isn't one of the colors on that page, but you never know.

I gave her some zucchini at the recommendation of that site, she's crawled over it several times but hasn't really eaten it.

 

[bala_aquarium]

i never cared for snails

 

[FroggyFox]

They'll pretty much eat anything, leftover food, some algae...they love bloodworms! (the frozen kind if you ever feed them to your fish) I remember leopardess telling us about feeding her apple snail bloodworms through a syringe

 

[Chazwick]

Aw, i miss my snail!
This thread really made me laugh, tbh i never thought about cleaning mines shell! If i get another, i'll keep it in mind

 

[meanjean]

I have to say that I probably spent about five hours this week staring at that snail--it was soooooo interesting to watch this thing glide around the tank with these graceful moves. One co worker came in and watched her eat an algae wafer for about 30 minutes. She just sat there are watched.

 

[FroggyFox]

haha thats great. I know I've said it before...but I never thought I'd hear myself saying that a snail was entertaining to watch or a great pet!

 

[JeLeAk]

I have to say that I probably spent about five hours this week staring at that snail--it was soooooo interesting to watch this thing glide around the tank with these graceful moves. One co worker came in and watched her eat an algae wafer for about 30 minutes. She just sat there are watched.

wow, nice to know your spending your time wisely at work *crazysmil

yeah i am gona admit it, i spent 15 min watching one of my snails move around the tank, i dropped in a algae wafer in and saw the snail moving in its general direction, i thought ohh cool i get to watch em eat... 10 min go by and they made it about halfway to the wafer, another 5 min go by and maybe 3-4 inches away it veered left and started to almost backtrack, lol... yeah it only traveled maybe 6-7 inches so i just moved over to the saltwater *BOUNCINGS

 

[Breene]

Use a toothbrush =]

As long as the snal isnt too small where its shell is still thin enough where it could break under small ammounts of pressure a soft bristle toothbrush should be fine.

 

[violettattoo]

I remember the first time I looked up apple snails on the net, all I got was recipes, was horrible....

 

[SANND]

Don't it look like they're saying 'meow...meow....meow' when they're travelling across the glass? Even my cats have spent hours just watching the snail

My otos keep my snails clean so I've never had to brush them.