I was at myfriends house today, and he has a tank with this snail in it....im serious, i almost crapped myself when I saw this thing...

it is easily 4-5 inches in diameter, has a dark brown body and a yellowy shell, although its shell is in horrible condition.....I tired to convince my friend to start feedign it, but he insists it loves the algae.....although I did see numerous mowed down aquarium plants, so at least he has something to eat....I feel bad for him...

but what I really want to know is what kind of snail is this?!?!?!

serious, his antennas are as thick as a pencil!

this guy is a monster!

Well,it could still be a Cana. I've seen some pretty big Cana's on Apple Net,but chances probably are that his Snail is an Insularium-An Apple Snails that gets much Bigger than a Cana.

At my LFS they have a HUGE snail in their plant tanks. Ive never seen one that big. It was a monster!!! I would love to have one that big. He was like this BIG!

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He would have probably fit into that, possably bigger then that. He was a giant!

I don't know how a snail that large has survived on algae alone; I have one that size and he can eat a whole leaf of Romaine lettuce at one sitting (it may take him most of the day, but he doesn't move from that spot)! It's probably eating fish food while he's not looking, or live plants if he has them in the tank. Try to convince him to put a piece of veggie in the tank. If the snail doesn't eat it, no harm is done other than wasting a piece of vegetable.

Holes in the shell are probably because of lack of calcium in the water.

I've seen a few canas big like that.

why do they call them apple snails anyway. they dont look like an apple, dont taste like an apple and they dont eat apples... wait, do they eat apples?

They can eat apples.. I've never tried it because it seems to me that apples are likely to cloud the water, but my theory is that some can be roughly the size of apples.. and they can be gold, like some apples.... it might be a stretch, but hey.

I don't know.. I think it's a Cana, mostly because they are more commonly found than the Insularums. Poor guy, loving the algae..

now Im trying to convince him to let me have the snail....i was like begging and pleading...but he loves it....supposedly...

It does eat the aquarium plants he said...hes mad cuz he alwasy ahs to buy new ones cuz it eats them....

this thing has these huge splits in his shell, like about half an inch wide....I treid to tell him how to fix it, but ended up just giving him www.applesnail.net!

The name "apple snail" came about because someone observed some that were apple size (or so they claimed, I doubt they were really that big at the time). Canas tend to be 3" spire max. 4"+ is insularum, although there is som overlap between the two species and they can interbreed under certain circumstances (although offspring tend to be a genetic mess and unhealthy, like ligers from lion/tiger crosses). The plant-eating thing makes me suspect insularum, because as full adults those guys are far more vegetarian than canas are. If it were a cana that big with no protein it probably would eat any/all fish in the tank.

Anyway, the common names for "apple snails" are a mess...you can trace it right back to some fish dealers confusion over Viviparids and bridgesii, then "mystery snail" and "apple snail" switching species. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to petstores and heard people say "yep! Those guys get as big as apples!" while pointing at a 1" bridgesii. Truth is, snails that big are pretty rare, although the extend of insulrums' range of availability in the pet trade isn't really known. Some areas they are common, some areas they are unheardof.

he got this guy from a shoddy little petstore at the mall near here....They alwasy have exotic stuff, although half the time its near death when you buy it.....it may be the rarer kind....it wasnt from a petco or anything!

id sure love a snail that big! how long does it take for them to get that big?? how do u tell the diff species apart??

Did it look like this??? This is the infamous "Naughty". She was an insularium.

Ahhh.......How sweet....I miss hearing about the old girl........She was never the same after she left you..... ---------------------Hey!!!!! HI!!!!!! Did you start moving in yet?????

Don't worry, your BACA will be that size in no time!



Mine like apples, not super healthy, but not unhealthy...just not much calcium.



I'd think it was an insularium too! I miss Naughty.

I miss her too. Even when she was eating my silk plants she was special.

Yeah Sharon, we're moved in, I haven't been on much since the unpacking is terrible. This place still isn't all straightened out so I won't be on like normal till it is..... I need to get pics yet too.

it looked like Naughty, only a darker body...very dark brown adn speckley....

I think thats what my Slimer is!!!! hes much bigger then Speedy, and is basically a clone of Naughty.....only more algae-fied.....hes a cow!

Cow is such an appropriate word for insulariums.....canas too. Naughty never found anything she didn't want to eat!

yup! this guy munches my fake plants when I forget to give them their veggie clip....