Has anyone on here ever had a tank specifically for breeding snails? The specific kind of snail doesn't matter much to me I'm just interested in the concept. If so could you lay out some of the general information I would need to know in order to be successful. Thanks in advance.
Breeding snails
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Bret Brinkmann
Well-Known Member
I have some kind of baby snails in my tank currently. Too small to tell what they are but I'm leaning towards red handed trochus.
Snails aren't always as easy as people like to believe. My tank used to do great with astrea order snails but not anymore for some reason. Still can't figure out why.
My tank has 1lbf of LR per gallon, 20K LEDs, and lots of hair and film algae growth. Certain snails definitely prefer certain types of algae. They may eat other types, but only sparingly and out of desperation. Learn the details of your snail before attempting to breed it.
I have found that bristle worms have a tendency to develop a taste for snails and have caught several actively attacking snails. I remove the offenders, but more keep showing up. To be clear, I actually see the worm go up to an active healthy feeding snail and attack it. I would avoid introducing them in a breeding tank.
Snails aren't always as easy as people like to believe. My tank used to do great with astrea order snails but not anymore for some reason. Still can't figure out why.
My tank has 1lbf of LR per gallon, 20K LEDs, and lots of hair and film algae growth. Certain snails definitely prefer certain types of algae. They may eat other types, but only sparingly and out of desperation. Learn the details of your snail before attempting to breed it.
I have found that bristle worms have a tendency to develop a taste for snails and have caught several actively attacking snails. I remove the offenders, but more keep showing up. To be clear, I actually see the worm go up to an active healthy feeding snail and attack it. I would avoid introducing them in a breeding tank.
Different snail types breed differently. Most types in reef tanks (turbo, atrea, nerite, margarita) don't seem to breed in tanks at all - perhaps they have a planktonic stage or something. Some people find that trochus breed in their tanks. Other types breed readily and have no strict requirements other than a source of film algae for food and a lack of predators (wrasses, crabs, any fish that actively forages among rockwork or glass).
The best type for breeding for me are Strombus grazers. They lay clusters of eggs that hatch in a few weeks to yield tiny snails.
Here is a link:
The best type for breeding for me are Strombus grazers. They lay clusters of eggs that hatch in a few weeks to yield tiny snails.
Here is a link:
