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MonknSharona
I have an apple snail in a 10 gallon tank. His buddy, Tai the betta, just passed away (which was a huge ordeal here) cry3.gif The heater malfunctioned and the temp of the water got way too high way to quickly before we could save him. We did everything we could but it was too late. Anyway, Riddley, the snail, is now in the tank all to himself. I am wondering what your thoughts are as far as tankmates. I have two other bettas, in their own tanks, and will probably end up getting another one for Riddley in the end, but I do worry that I will get the one that is overly aggressive and picks at him. sad.gif Are there other types of invertabrates that would work well with him? I worry about getting another apple snail because I don't want a ton of babies later on. (I'd have no where to put them). smile.gif I'm not sure how many babies they'd have but I only have three other fish tanks and I wouldn't want to cram a snail into a five gallon or put it in with the orandas.... they tend to eat anything that hits the water...even your hand. smile.gif So, any other critters or fish that work well with them in a small tank? I've been reading up on Dwarf Gouramis, but seem to find conflicting opinions on them.
Any thoughts are appriciated.
Thanks so much.
tinkerbell
does it have to be fish? coz if not, then i would strongly suggest african dwarf frogs! they are the cutest things, easy maintainence, and they make great tank buddys!
good luck!
tinkerbell
oh - also, they dont need much space - they do better in smaller areas!
leo
I so much want a dwarf frog or any other type fo frog but no shops near me sell them! sad.gif .Thats why i go for different fish.
airwen
I would really recommend that you not mix frogs and snails together. Ditto on the gouramis, especially the aggressive ones that will hurt your snail (which is the same with most Bettas too).

Here's a list that I've found:

QUOTE
Corydoras catfish
Cory's are small, peaceful catfish which are ideal for the community aquarium. The commonly available species are generally hardy and easy to breed.
Examples:
• Albino/Bronze cory
(Corydoras aeneus)
• Peppered corydoras
(Corydoras paleatus)
Rainbowfish
Rainbowfish are colourful and active shoaling fish, which are often overlooked as community fish, probably partly because the juveniles seen in the fish store are not showing their impressive adult colouration. Dwarf species are suitable for smaller tanks.

Suckermouth Catfish/Plecos

These fish, popularly known as plecos, are an extremely docile fish. Active during the night, they will feed along with your snail. Smaller specimens may latch on to your snail, but there is no danger.

Khuli Loaches
Bala Sharks
Danios






Iffy Fish
Livebearers

This common species of fish is a good community fish and are hardy. These species include Platy’s, Guppy’s, Mollies, and Swordtail’s.

Barbs and Rasboras
These are an active and colourful addition to any community tank. Not all are peaceful, and some grow quite large, but the species listed opposite are ideal for the general community tank.
Examples:
• Cherry barb
(Barbus titteya)
• Golden barb
(Barbus semifasciolatus)
• Five-banded barb
(Barbus pentazona)
• Harlequin
(Rasbora heteromorpha


Dwarf Cichlids
Unlike many of the larger cichlids, the dwarf cichlids from South America, and some from Africa, are generally peaceful, and only become territorial when a pair are spawning. Most only grow to around 2" (5cm) long.

Most goldfish.


Aggressive Fish
Loaches
The loach species make an interesting addition to the community aquarium. The species listed below are sociable towards other fish and best kept in groups. Note that some other species of loach, includingt the clown loach, can be aggressive, especially toward apple snails.
• Clown loach (AGGRESSIVE!)
(B. macracanthus)
• Pakistan loach
(B. almorhae/lohachata)
• Zebra/Candy-stripe loach
(B. striata)

Paradise fish
Though small, they can be aggressive and aren't recommended companions of other slow moving fish such as Angelfish. Body color is dark red, with several blue vertical bands running along the fish. The upper body and head are spotted in black.


Bumblebee catfish
Relatively undemanding fish. They are primarily nocturnal, but once well-settled in an aquarium and given retreats, they will venture out and be seen looking for food. Although peaceful towards most fish, individuals may be territorial toward one another, and very small fish are regarded as food.

Puffers


I've kind of added to the list as I've found information. I got this off the "Apple snails, fish and plants" section of the Applesnail.net discussion board.

With goldfish, it's kind of a hit-or-miss thing. Some people have kept goldfish peacefully with snails, but I've not had that experience. My goldfish continually pecked at my snails' antennae and soft bodies, eventually (I think) causing fatal mantle collapse in my gold, and possibly contributing to the death of my adult blue (this was while I was on vacation so I'm not totally sure, but she nipped off an antennae of the gold previously). It basically depends on the goldfish, I think.
Milky
Hmm.. Cories work well i believe...

i have heard of peopel putting ghost shrimp with their apple snails..

Guppys are a good choice for apple snails... if you onyl get males they wont breed liek crazy...

you could also get another snail.. if you get a different species they wont breed, and even if oyu get the same species it takes a male and female to breed and they lay their egs abouve the waterline so you can see them and get rid of them if you dotn want babies..

hope that helps ..
MonknSharona
I really enjoy getting all these insights. I've learned a lot and welcome any other thoughts as well. I have been comparing the ideas and am still up in the air as to what I should do. Do apple snails do OK by themselves or do they prefer to have a tankmate or two??

Was also wondering about hatchets?
Milky
QUOTE(MonknSharona @ Dec 20 2004, 08:23 PM)
I really enjoy getting all these insights.  I've learned a lot and welcome any other thoughts as well.  I have been comparing the ideas and am still up in the air as to what I should do.  Do apple snails do OK by themselves or do they prefer to have a tankmate or two??

Was also wondering about hatchets?
*



Hmm... I have never had jsut one snail.. but when i get 2-3 together they interact and it is funny to watch..

I guess i dont know if they prefer to be alone or not..
airwen
There is some speculation that being surrounded by adults helps babies grow faster. I'm not sure there's any basis for reasoning on this, but after I got a snail, it was natural for me to get more. I'm not totally sure they even notice each other, except for when they mate, climb over each other, fight over a piece of food, or eat off each other's shells.

With a ten gallon you probably don't want more than 4, so don't overload your tank with new snails.

Personally, if I was in your position, I'd get more snails and maybe 2 Danios and/or a Rainbow fish. I had an Australian rainbow once that was beautiful.
MonknSharona
I don't know a whole lot about danios or rainbow fish...can you have just one rainbow fish and it be happy? and any particular kind of danio or rainbow fish that won't do well or that will get too big for this small tank? I really do love the bettas but I've been lucking getting three that are pretty much non aggressive, even though they are all by themselves. I had to move Riddley once while treating the betta for an infection and the betta I moved him in with had the potential of being a bit aggressive with him. This is why I am leary of getting another betta for the tank and possibly get something else. Guess that means I'll just have to get another tank if I get another betta. smile.gif oh darn! smile.gif

If I were to get either the danios or a rainbow fish, how many more snails do you think would suffice in this 10 gallon? Also, I'm assuming danios and rainbows require regular tropical care?

(I'm fairly new to the fish keeping world having only begun in March of 2004 with my two orandas. And now I'm only up to four tanks.)

Thanks so much.
tinkerbell
airwen - i have had my african dwarf frog i with the snail for months now. Trust me - they are very shy creatures and spend most of their time under bits of wood or in plants. their mouths are tiny. they would be more scared of the snail than the snail would be of them. i had my frog in with an ordinairy pond snail, that is much, much smaller than an apple snail, and they got along fine. african 'dwarf' frogs are actually pretty small, hence the 'dwarf'!
Selena
Do you have a picture of your Dwarf frog Tink? I would like to see what one looks like. I dont think we can get them in Australia sad.gif
MonknSharona
Can other snails get along together? Since he is an apple snail, would perhaps he get along with a trumpet snail? He's also very large...is it likely that he will eat a smaller snail? Most of the snails for sale at the stores are very tiny.
Selena
A trumpet snail will be fine. The only snail you would have to watch out for when putting in with apple snails is the pond snail 'physa acuta' They apparently can bite apple snails sad.gif Hamstaman knows more about it.
Hopefully he will come along and post some info for you soon smile.gif
airwen
I know some kinds of frogs are pretty bad with snails... just a cautionary statement, and of course, I could be wrong. smile.gif

Actually I've never heard of pond snails biting another snail... I just know that they are pests so most people don't want them anyways. But yes, to my knowledge, snails get along with other snails.

The rule of thumb is one snail for every 2 1/2 gallons of water, mostly because they make a lot of waste. That can be manipulated if you have good filtration, have them all by themselves, etc.

I believe you can have one rainbow fish by itself. I had one, but it was with my GF and followed her around constantly, so I guess you could get more than one. Danios I think are more sociable. Mine love to hang out together, and they are small so you can have more of them.
tinkerbell
selana, unfortunatly i dont have any pics of Bob, but i can show you what one looks like......

here ya go!
they are sooo cute!
Selena
Cool Alice!!! I wish a could get them in Australia! We can get Green Tree Frogs though and they're pretty cute too:



You need to have a licence to keep them. Maybe Koko will have to start a frog forum soon lol.GIF
MonknSharona
OK. So I am trying to finally make up my mind. How does this sound? I've got little ol' Rippley in the ten gallon alone. What if I added a Trumpet Snail (assuming I can even find one), and a Rainbow fish?? I don't want it to get too overcrowded in there. I would like to add one of the dwarf frogs, since they are very readily available here, but seem to get conflicting opinions on them. I've heard they are escape artists too??
pheonixx
I dont know much about other tank buddys but I think you and your little friend would get a lot of pleasure out of a couple more snails they are great to watch interacting with each other...and if they do what comes natural heartpump.gif then scrape and flush the eggs..Linda
hamstaman
WIth trumpet snails be ready to get lots of babies. They are livebearers, asexual and hermaphrodites. So with one, you'll get a 100, those 100 will get a 100 etc. They breed so fast, but eat up left over food and algae and even rotten stuff or beneficial bacteria growing on the glass. They do get stuck in filters though, so you may find some in your media stil living lol.

Don't let this discourage you, they are great lil guys!.
MonknSharona
Most of the snails that I find to purchase are very small...is there a chance that Riddley will eat it if it's small enough? He's pretty huge! Huge for me anyway...He's a good 4 in' diameter. He was only about 1/2 in when we got him just months ago. smile.gif

Now I'm not sure about the Trumpet Snail. Breeding is what I am trying to avoid biggrin.gif And since we like the apple snails so much we may just take our chances and get another and hope it's the same sex as Riddley...even though we don't know what he is exactly (I saw on applesnail.net how to tell the differences but am having difficulty seeing it) smile.gif We did see there are different types of apple snails (the ones that are more flat in particular). will different species' breed together?

Thanks so much. I seem to making this decision more difficult than it should be. I'm such a worry wort. biggrin.gif
tinkerbell
im no good at sexing either! Apple snails are very cute tho! good luck!
Selena
QUOTE(MonknSharona @ Dec 24 2004, 11:13 AM)
Breeding is what I am trying to avoid biggrin.gif  And since we like the apple snails so much we may just take our chances and get another and hope it's the same sex as Riddley...even though we don't know what he is exactly (I saw on applesnail.net how to tell the differences but am having difficulty seeing it)  smile.gif  We did see there are different types of apple snails (the ones that are more flat in particular).  will different species' breed together?

Thanks so much. I seem to making this decision more difficult than it should be.  I'm such a worry wort.  biggrin.gif
*


If your apple snails mate and lay eggs you can just remove the cluches. They are not hard the see like ramshorns eggs.

I heard if a Brigg apple snail mates with a Cana apple snail, the eggs are infertile.

If I was you I would go for another apple snail. I'm not sure if they get lonely or not, but it's always makes me feel better to get a pair of the same and know they have company just in case smile.gif
airwen
Brig males are sort of notorious for trying to mate with everything, but different species don't crossbreed.

Sexing is pretty hard until you've got it. Basically, you have to take them out of the water, hold their shell in your hand and wait for them to come out if it. I put my hand underneath so they stretch towards it. On (your) left side of their heads, males have a bump up in their mantle beyond their heads. Females have nothing. That probably didn't help very much, did it. Sorry! biggrin.gif
kit2004
loves the snails, they do a pretty good job at cleaning the tank too, very comical as well, on new years eve we had one go up the pump tube thats in the water like nobodys business lol, he actually left the water too, I slid him back down into the water with a net, I haven't covered the holes of the tank yet, suppose I should pretty soon huh? Its fun to watch them crawl all over everything, even in places you wouldn't think they could fit into. Likes the snails very much, may consider a snail tank some day..I don't have room for babies so I read some where that you can just scrape the egg cluster off with an old credit card.
Hope this helps
airwen
My tank is a "snail... oh yeah, and fish" type tank. The snails outnumber the fish 15-4 and are much more spoiled.

Yup you should cover all the holes. My dad was nice and made me a cover of plexiglass so it lets in light and isn't ugly like putting duct tape over it.
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