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Full Version: Aahhhhh! New Snails!
Forum > The other fish > Snails & Crustaceans
ryukingirl793
I just got a new Cabomba for my 55 gal tank and i guess i got some visitors. I counted one black mystery and at least three gold mystery snails. They are tiny. At the height of my stupidity, I just dumped them in the tank and they got lost in the gravel. Three questions: How do I draw them out?, How do I draw them out without my fish eating them?, and What do I feed them? Any help would be appreciated!
P.S. The black one is this big --- maybe less. The gold ones are seriously like this big - !
Jaxom_Ruatha
If they're that small you could try sucking them up with a... blink.gif can't remember what they're called. I am thinking syringe, but they are those things that you squeeze a ballish thing on one end and then suck up water with it at the end of a tube thing. Well I hope you know what I am talking about, crap.gif I'll try to get back to you if not.
ryukingirl793
Yep, like a turkey baster thing. Only problem is, they are so tiny I have no idea where they are! Could I put some food there to lure them out or would that make them vulnerable as fish food?
Ranchugirl
Only one way to find out - put a piece of salad on a clip into the tank, and wait what happens. A 55 gl is a pretty big tank for such tiny snails, so they might take a bit to find the food, if the fish don't eat it first.
Are you sure they are mystery snails, and not some ramshorn pest snails?
ryukingirl793
The lps had a sign that said mystery snails, so I'm assuming they're right. smile.gif
airwen
Personally I wouldn't trust the LFS.. after all, "mystery snails" is hardly a species name. It came from LFS dummies who didn't know what kind of snails they were selling so they called them that.

A lot of hitch-hikers aren't actually Brigs (Pomacea bridgesii, the most common snail sold as 'mystery snail', although I believe that occasionally Canas are sold as that too). Plus, with babies that size, it's almost impossible to tell their color. Or maybe you have super good eyes or something. smile.gif But their color does change a bit as they mature.

I'd weight some lettuce (to make it sink), carrots, or algae wafers (that's just what I have in my fridge right now, I have a snail food list at a sticky) and put a few in so they can find it easier. Good luck!
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