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Post by baracoa on Jul 7, 2012 15:58:51 GMT
hello: anyone know what foods you eat? regards Attachments:
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rosiesnail2
Achatina immaculata
3 Albino Achatina Reticulata on sale with tank ♥️
Posts: 242
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Post by rosiesnail2 on Jul 7, 2012 16:35:23 GMT
Epic snail, love the colours, sorry I don't know the foods but will look into it
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Post by brunni on Jul 8, 2012 9:55:15 GMT
This is probably Liguus fasciatus (Müller, 1774) : www.jaxshells.org/60029.htmThey are a very popular family with their own homepage : www.liguushomepage.com/lighompa.htmlUnder the section Ecology of Liguus you will find Food. Their diet consists of confervoid algae, fungi, sooty molds and lichens from their native area. As far as I know they cannot be keep in captivity without access to this special kind of food. So if you are not in Cuba, good luck !
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 9, 2012 11:13:16 GMT
nI'd try with algae fish flakes as an emergency option. Also different cultures can be obtained from specialty shops. For example (found by googling, have not bought anything from this shop myself) www.reefphyto.co.uk/ sells phytoplankton for coral hobbyists. Perhaps your snail could eat something like that even if it's not their native food. It's a closer option. I'm not having much luck finding suppliers for lichen cultures but I imagine they do exist. But yeah, liguus is a difficult snail to keep in captivity. I hope your snail does not meet a slow starvation. I do recall seeing someone (maybe even on this forum) successfully breeding them so it's not impossible. Perhaps contact some malacological organisation or a nature conservation unit in Florida (where liguus is common and you may have better luck than contacting a Cuban authority), they probably know a lot. For example www.flmnh.ufl.edu/malacology/Liguus species are critically endangered btw, so please do everything possible to get the right food for your snaily so it doesn't die and waste another individual that cannot continue the species's existence by laying eggs. If it's not possible for you to meet the snail's needs then please return him to a habitat that is natural to him. Cuba or for example Florida Keys forest. The malacologists you can contact in the link above can help you if needed, I believe.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 9, 2012 11:57:41 GMT
www.hawaii.edu/cowielab/tentacle/tentacle_14.pdfAlso please read this, page 3 I think. Article about breeding treesnails in captivity, "Captive rearing of arboreal tropical snails". They need UV light to thrive, otherwise they will die no matter what you feed them. So you should expose them to sunlight daily according to what is said in the article. I think there was a bit about artificial sunlight (I only read the article halfway so far myself), that may be an option if real sunlight is not available . But, sunlight very important, remember that and your snail might just thrive. The article also has a suggestion for food that the author's laboratory snails thrived on, so try that for your snail. I'd love it if you can keep us updated on how your liguus snail is doing in the near future, and ask if there's problems. I for onehope this little fella lives a long life in captivity and doesn't wither away like so many of his species do when removed from their natural habitat.
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Post by brunni on Jul 9, 2012 18:50:19 GMT
That's an interesting article by Pete Krull about the rearing in captivity of native Florida Liguus but he didn't go so far to say his specimens are CB. He highlights the complexities involved but as he lives in Florida ( near where the snails live ) he does not have a climate issue. He seems to have sorted out exposure of the snail to direct sunlight or artificial UV light without giving specifics. But blending special foods containing "black sooty mold spores".......maybe not so easy for Joe Smith living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He also mentions that Florida Liguus were listed as "Species of concern" in 1980s and eventually their collecting became illegal : i.e. they are now totally protected. Another indication they live in a fragile and delicate environment.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 9, 2012 21:07:44 GMT
I understood he managed to hatch eggs from WC snails eventually, although it's not explicitly stated where he got the snails that eventually survived. I guess he wouldn't want to say WC after the time it was prohibited. He says the snails completed their life cycle so I assume he had them hibernate as well. There was an email address and that Tentacle is from 2006 so perhaps he could give some details on this. Need to check later issues if he has provided more material with updated contacts info.
And yeah, the sooty moss got me. I wonder if another type scraped off a rock or a tree would suffice? The diet example he provides is quite far from the natural diet but apparently palatable and nourishing. So maybe the required moss isn't as specific either. Worth a try, or a few, so the poor snail won't starve.
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