hey,, how large,, softball size,,baseball size ..ive got a 7000 gal pond in my backyard would like to raise a few this year. thanks
Hi, I have some giant apple snails for sale or trade for anyone in the state of Kentucky.
I'm sorry to say this, but it's against the law to ship or transport these things across state lines. However, it is perfectly legal to possess them in most all states. So unless you are in KY I will not be able to ship these to you.
The species I have is Pomacea canaliculata, and you can learn more about this species at this site which is devoted to all kinds of different apple snails: http://www.applesnail.net/
Here's a picture of some of mine that I just took a few minutes ago:
The largest snail is not for sale, unless someone makes an offer that is hard to refuse, because it is one of my first very apple snails. I just placed it into the shot in order to give some perspective as to how big these things can get. In fact, the big one in the photo still has some growing yet to do, but it was the largest one I currently have. The smaller ones represent the bulk of snails I have for sale or trade, and most are larger than a nickel (used in the photo for reference), but slightly smaller than a quarter. They are about 45 days old, which gives you an idea of how fast they grow.
I was initially told that these things will not eat plants, but that is not true in the least. These things will eat just about every plant they can, including all kinds of algae. They would even eat Java moss.
They seem to have a strong preference for romaine lettuce as well as for shredded carrots, and I keep a cuttlebone anchored in the tank they are in so that they can get as much calcium as they need for strong shell development.
In my backyard I've set up one of those little kiddie pools to breed them in this past summer, and I periodically added Caltrate tablets (an over the counter calcium supplement for humans) which seems to work as well as the cuttlebone for providing them the added calcium they need for strong shell development.
These snails do great in a discus tank (or any tank that is heated), and they are amazing scavengers. They do not like salt, so they would not work out if you were hoping to add them to a brackish water tank.
I've read that they raise these things for escargot in many places, and they apparently are good to eat, but I have not been too tempted to eat any.
Here's a link to a video I made of the large snail in the photo above as she tries to shake one of the males who was copulating with her earlier this summer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjdeMFmhbVM
By the way, this species of snails is dioecious which means that they require a male and a female snail in order to reproduce.
Send me a PM if you're interested.
.
.
.
.
.
hey,, how large,, softball size,,baseball size ..ive got a 7000 gal pond in my backyard would like to raise a few this year. thanks
I have some large apple snails at home also. I was wondering about hatching the eggs. My big female just laid two huge clutches of eggs. Can you give me any pointers on hatching them?
Sure, I would be happy to help if I can.
For starters, I would recommend this website as an excellent source of all kinds of apple snail information:
http://www.applesnail.net/
Based on my experience with raising apple snails, I would suggest that you incorporate a cuttlebone, or perhaps cuttlebones into the pond or tank you have your snails in. Cuttlebones are the dried flillets of a mollusk that is called "Cuttlefish." It's actually not a fish, but rather a relative of the squid, the nautilus, the octopus, clam, snail, etc.
Anyhoot, the cuttlebones offer the snails a very good source of calcium which the snails critically need in oder for their shells to develop properly.
I also reccomend the feeding of romaine lettuce leaves twice a week if possible, a thin slice of carrot every now and then, and also some watermelon or cantelope rinds.
However, if you do feed the melon rinds, be sure to not let the rinds stay in the tank or pond longer than 24 hours, and also be sure to do a 25% water change (in the tank, not the pond) after you take out the uneaten melon rind.
The reason for this is due to the amount of soluble sugars that leach from the ripe tissues of the melon rinds, and into the water in the tank or pond. It can quickly lead to a stinky water/cloudy water unless there is a minor water change. In a pond, you need not worry about the water change as long as the rinds are removed within 24 hours.
Anyhoot, I hope that helps.
I am interested in getting some apple snails. I live in Cynthiana, Kentucky, roughly 30 miles friom Lexington. Can you give me details about how to contact you? Thanks. I am assuming I should check this post, SimplyDiscus for your reply.
Thank you for the info. Sally A.