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Plants
May 30, 2008 4:30:52 GMT
Post by Paul on May 30, 2008 4:30:52 GMT
I recently went to town looking for good tank plants.
A lot of people are cautious because many of them are toxic etc. but I decided that snails manage to figure out what is edible and not in my garden, and a lot of the plants there are from all around the world. As snails have incredible chemo-receptors, I'd leave it up to them.
So I went out an bought a raft of plants. I've now got 2 x 4 foot fluorescent tubes over the top to ensure they grow well. I've got a plug timer on a fixed cycle for now, but I intend to wire that to a light sensor so I can mimick the light-cycle outside.
I'm happy to report no snail deaths even though a number of plants have been nibbled and they seem a lot happier. It really lifts the environment of the tank. Some of the plants were eaten too fast so I've taken them out to cultivate more of them. I'll add them as food plants. Some that are toxic to mammals were even eaten with no apparent adverse effects which makes sense because snails are very different.
Anyway, I thought I'd post a thread asking you to list plants you've used successfully, that have grown well in tank conditions. A sentence or two on whether they were eaten or not etc. would be useful, or where you got them from etc., how to propagate them etc. Any pertinant information at all.
I'm hoping that can make it's way on to the site.
I'm gonna get some pictures of the tank and I'll do a write up of the plants and my findings over the next week or so.
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Plants
May 30, 2008 10:52:21 GMT
Post by donut on May 30, 2008 10:52:21 GMT
ivy peace lilly some red leafed thing i always forget the name of creaping moss that DIDNT lasnt long as it died
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Plants
May 30, 2008 15:15:15 GMT
Post by Paul on May 30, 2008 15:15:15 GMT
Was the red thing "Fittonia"?
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Gino
Archachatina marginata
snail sauna
Posts: 24
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Plants
May 30, 2008 19:52:12 GMT
Post by Gino on May 30, 2008 19:52:12 GMT
Sunflowers also seem to be suitable plants. I have only tested them with a wild c. nemoralis, a while ago, but other snails probably like them too. They grow pretty quickly so if you plant / place lots of them in your tank and also provide other food sources, the snails probably won't, like, destroy them. But of course there often isn't much height and light for the plants to grow in, in snail tanks. I've recently planted some sunflowers outside of the tank to start testing their suitability as food plants, and to test the fertility of snail-pooped soil... I'll post my findings soon.
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Plants
May 30, 2008 23:24:16 GMT
Post by coyote on May 30, 2008 23:24:16 GMT
In my tank I've had an African violet; Dracaena variegatus; Microsorium pteropus (Java fern), which did poorly; Spathiphyllum sp.; and a fittonia (the latter of which was eaten by an aspersa to no ill effects).
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Plants
Aug 11, 2008 19:17:05 GMT
Post by sarahwhitetiger on Aug 11, 2008 19:17:05 GMT
Hi Paul, it would be good to see pics of your tank with the plants in! I bought some organic basil and parsley in a pot and im just trying to work out if i should put it in or not. Any ideas anyone?
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Plants
Aug 11, 2008 22:35:48 GMT
Post by coyote on Aug 11, 2008 22:35:48 GMT
If it was me, I'd wash everything, even organic plants, before putting them in my tank. Even better would be to grow something from seed, because then you know exactly how it's been grown, what kind of soil it's been in and which, if any, chemicals have been involved, right from the start.
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Plants
Aug 12, 2008 18:34:10 GMT
Post by sarahwhitetiger on Aug 12, 2008 18:34:10 GMT
Yes it might be best to grow my own. I will not put it in as I dont want to risk hurting the snails. Thanks.
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Plants
Aug 14, 2008 7:49:37 GMT
Post by snailysnail on Aug 14, 2008 7:49:37 GMT
i've had a peace lily, but it went incredibly floppy...although it survived for a short while perfectly fine beforehand. the fulicas ate this, but not as much as the (i think) a bird's nest fern, which survived really well, but you had to change the soil around it a few times a month. the fulicas munched it quite a bit, but it still survived very well, with new shoots growing on it. i tried cress too, and that sort of worked...it grew, but the snails ddnt eat it at all.
anna x
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Plants
Aug 14, 2008 12:05:45 GMT
Post by brgwnth on Aug 14, 2008 12:05:45 GMT
same here, 'cept it was all 3 of them!. if you leave the peace lily for a week it dies. its quite annoying, actually...
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kanin
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 263
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Plants
Aug 14, 2008 13:51:14 GMT
Post by kanin on Aug 14, 2008 13:51:14 GMT
I've used a large varity of plants with my snails, some managed being in the tank others didnt, some got eatens by the snails others they didnt touch. I've grown plants myself and I've bought organic plants and I've never had any problems with my snails health. I tend to use dried and scaled branches going through the tanks so they have something to climb on, and I use plants that also "climbs". Ivy for example, the snails have never touched it and I have had it in the tanks since i first got snails. In fact my first snail came to us on an Ivy from a flowershop. I've also used ferns, fikus ginseng, live moss and a plant I don't know the english word for.. I'll post some pics and you can look yourselfs oh, and this is bellman himself, who live in the tank.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Plants
Aug 14, 2008 21:41:00 GMT
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2008 21:41:00 GMT
nice tank and lovely snail
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Plants
Aug 14, 2008 21:44:55 GMT
Post by sarahwhitetiger on Aug 14, 2008 21:44:55 GMT
WOW! That all looks Great!
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kanin
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 263
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Plants
Aug 14, 2008 23:13:44 GMT
Post by kanin on Aug 14, 2008 23:13:44 GMT
Thanks, I actually had some problems putting the lid back on after I took the photo as he crawled up another two centimeters and refused to let go. I had to wait for him to move
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kanin
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 263
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Plants
Aug 14, 2008 23:25:12 GMT
Post by kanin on Aug 14, 2008 23:25:12 GMT
Yeah and, Paul, I forgot to write this before as i was in a hurry.. These are plants that they don't seem to eat. I sometimes put in eatable plants so they can feed live green, I've used different types of sallad and herbs such as basil(even though it's seems to spicy for them), clover and Aegopodium podagraria. The later was acording to what I've heard brought to swedish monasterys as food both for humans and edible snails and they really seem to like it. I've also tried to plant seeds directly into the tanks, Rucola amongst others, but the small plants seem to get trampled by the snails and stick to the ground by the slime and die..
I also share your opinion that they manage to know what to eat and not to eat and I also think that as this is a big part of snails life in the wild it's stimulating for them to do this in a captive enviroment aswell.
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fulica08
Achatina fulica
One of my 3 A. fulica.
Posts: 7
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Plants
Sept 23, 2008 20:37:45 GMT
Post by fulica08 on Sept 23, 2008 20:37:45 GMT
Dear all
While I understand you are trying to make the tanks look pretty, I must admit I never expected the snails not to eat the plants... I mean, they _are_ supposed to eat plants, are they not?
Ok, smart-ass-mode off :-)
Here is what I do: I get my snails a new potted plant once to twice a month. They usually eat them quickly, and then they get a new one (of course I give additional food).
The ones they like best (and are not expensive) are Epipremnum (sorry, I don´t know the English common name - it has variegated leaves, sort of grean-yellowish checked), which is also easy to propagate by cuttings, and Chlorophytum comosum (a very popular plant).
If you want a plant that does not get eaten, I recommend a Bromeliacea; my snails don´t eat them, but love to sleep on, between and under the leaves.
I read on another forum that many snailkeepers there put ivy in their tanks, as the snails seem to know it´s poisonous for them; I don´t know if it is indeed poisonus for them, and was never willing to take the risk myself, though.
As my fulicas are quite heavy, the Bromeliacea leaves tend to break after a while, but then again, if I wanted a pretty-looking tank with plants in great shape, I would not put snails into it..
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Plants
Sept 23, 2008 21:58:52 GMT
Post by morningcoffee on Sept 23, 2008 21:58:52 GMT
... The ones they like best (and are not expensive) are Epipremnum (sorry, I don´t know the English common name - it has variegated leaves, sort of grean-yellowish checked), ... Epipremnum is usually called Pothos in English Chlorophytum comosum = spider plant. Bromeliacea... not sure, "Bromeliaceae" is the name of a family of plants so it could be any one of those. Pineapple plant maybe?
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fulica08
Achatina fulica
One of my 3 A. fulica.
Posts: 7
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Plants
Sept 23, 2008 23:00:29 GMT
Post by fulica08 on Sept 23, 2008 23:00:29 GMT
Yes, the pineapple plant belongs to them, but pineapples have spiky/prickly/thorny leaves, which I think is suboptimal for the snails to climb on (they sure look uncomfortable...).
There are various species with smooth, dark green leaves and a beautiful flower which keeps for several months, they are getting sold at the nurseries as house plants. You can look up google pics of e. g. the following genus names: Vriesea and Guzmania. These are usually for sale in the nurseries. They do not require overmuch light, either. I have to admit I usually cut the pretty flower off as I cannot fit the lid of the tank on otherwise.
They come slightly more expensive than Pothos (yes, that is the one I meant, and yes, spider plant was the other one I meant, thanks :-) - but then again, they live rather long by comparison.
Although the little lawn-mowers manage to eat the plant life rather fast, I have a feeling they enjoy plants in the tank very much, looking at the fact they make their favourite sleeping place either under the leaves, half-buried in the flower pot, or sticking themselves to the side of the pot (I use plastic pots).
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Plants
Nov 14, 2008 23:06:03 GMT
Post by onyxtigersnail on Nov 14, 2008 23:06:03 GMT
Has anyone ever tryed using plasic or silk plants in their snails tanks? They last alot longer, are not toxic and are check and easy to clean. Im thinking of getting a few for my snails but I just thought Id check first.
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Plants
Nov 15, 2008 1:14:38 GMT
Post by morningcoffee on Nov 15, 2008 1:14:38 GMT
Has anyone ever tryed using plasic or silk plants in their snails tanks? They last alot longer, are not toxic and are check and easy to clean. Im thinking of getting a few for my snails but I just thought Id check first. I've got a fake star anthurium in with my snails at the moment - it has wires in the "stalks", so it's reasonably sturdy. The snails are still fairly small, so they like climbing on it As long as it's washed thoroughly before putting in the tank, I think they're fine
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Dusk
Achatina tincta
In ur viv stealin ur snailets
Posts: 665
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Plants
Nov 15, 2008 8:50:10 GMT
Post by Dusk on Nov 15, 2008 8:50:10 GMT
I've got plastic and silk plants in - the kind sold for reptiles. They love it for hiding behind and take great pleasure in trying to climb up them and pulling the whole thing down The smaller snails - up to about 6cm - aren't heavy enough to pull them down and are always tucked in there somewhere.
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Katie
Achatina tincta
Posts: 673
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Plants
Nov 15, 2008 9:15:32 GMT
Post by Katie on Nov 15, 2008 9:15:32 GMT
i have a plastic plant in my tank, the smaller of the 3 will climb on it, the other 2 will sleep next to it i used to have 3 spider plants, these kept well, the snjails would nibble on it every now and again. but then i got an outbreak of mites and had to take them out.
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Plants
Nov 16, 2008 13:18:34 GMT
Post by morningcoffee on Nov 16, 2008 13:18:34 GMT
I have some caracolus marginella now, and they love climbing on the star anthurium! I keep finding them sitting on the leaves I've had a live ficus plant in with the snails which they've nibbled with no ill effects. I've got a bird's nest fern (asplenium nidus) in with them at the moment which hasn't been eaten at all, but they seem to like climbing on it.
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