Pictures of snail tanks!!

[lox]

Here are my tank:

Cepaea Tank:



GALS Tank:

Can you let me know if you can see the pictures?

[teessnails]

They look nice! The GALS tank doesn't look like it has much substrate, but they must love having all those plants to pay in! I wish I could fit plants like that in my tank!

[lox]

Apr 6, 2015 14:08:59 GMT teessnails said:

The GALS tank doesn't look like it has much substrate

Thank you, and it's because I was having big problems with mites and it was a hassle to clean out, so I bought some capillary matting for them instead. They do have a bowl with substrate in to burrow.

[teessnails]

That seems like a good idea! I've been wondering how people handle such large tanks. With GALS your tank has to be large, but I've always wondered how people manage mites and cleaning in such large tanks.

[lox]

Apr 2, 2015 15:16:52 GMT teessnails said:

It's a shame there aren't more posts in this thread, I really love the idea of everyone sharing their tanks!

I know! Sharing tank pictures is great for inspiration.

[etana]

Apr 6, 2015 15:39:59 GMT teessnails said:

That seems like a good idea! I've been wondering how people handle such large tanks. With GALS your tank has to be large, but I've always wondered how people manage mites and cleaning in such large tanks.

The cleaning is no big deal really, if you have no mites or other unwanted pests living in the tank. Picking up poops and food that's getting moldy when they bug your eye is very well enough most of the time (it must be noted that it's us who mind the poops and food gone bad, not the snails). Changing all of the substrate is not advised unless there are pests or the snails have a contagious illness. 

Snails need the substrate to contain bacteria from poop, they eat it to keep their gut functioning. If the soil is too sterile, and is repeatedly sterilised, the snails will lose their gut bacteria and actually be in a condition similar to starving, which can lead to death. That's why you should mix at least a handful of the old soil to the new soil if you must replace a lot of it, unless there's a huge mite/illness problem. 

If there are mites, the most common advice is to get predator mites, usually the Hypoaspis miles (there are other predators, but the Hypoaspis can be bought, and are effective when used properly). They can go even inside large snails' breathing holes and eat the parasitic mites in there. It's best to try to not have the mites come at all in the first place though, and a lot of hassle can be avoided by having any new sail sit in a quarantine tank for a few days before letting him in to the main tank. That way you can observe if the snail appears to have pests or be ill.

Also the design of the tank itself is important when it's large. One that has opening doors at the front is great, much easier than one with a detachable top, for example.

[teessnails]

That's a lot of great information! Since I can't have GALS (they aren't legal here) I'll be sticking to small tanks and my local helix aspersa. That's great information for anyone that wants a large tank though! I read that I should change the substrate monthly, but perhaps I'll change it less than that, if they need it. I would hate to harm my snails with something too sterile.

[morningcoffee]

Apr 6, 2015 15:34:06 GMT lox said:

Apr 6, 2015 14:08:59 GMT teessnails said:

The GALS tank doesn't look like it has much substrate

Thank you, and it's because I was having big problems with mites and it was a hassle to clean out, so I bought some capillary matting for them instead. They do have a bowl with substrate in to burrow.

If it's only temporary that's fine, but you should keep snails on proper substrate in the long term.

[mangoandlemon]

They are very nice! Is that a rose in the cepaeas tank?

[lox]

I think they are, but I don't know much about colour morphs

[lox]

Apr 6, 2015 20:34:00 GMT morningcoffee said:

Apr 6, 2015 15:34:06 GMT lox said:

Thank you, and it's because I was having big problems with mites and it was a hassle to clean out, so I bought some capillary matting for them instead. They do have a bowl with substrate in to burrow.

If it's only temporary that's fine, but you should keep snails on proper substrate in the long term.

In a few days (or today) I'm hoping to get some Spagnum Moss to go over the Capillary Matting so they can burrow in the moss. Would that be okay? Then wash it a bit every few weeks? 

[morningcoffee]

Apr 7, 2015 7:16:22 GMT lox said:

In a few days (or today) I'm hoping to get some Spagnum Moss to go over the Capillary Matting so they can burrow in the moss. Would that be okay? Then wash it a bit every few weeks? 

I'd say make half the tank coir (or suitable soil) and half moss. They need plenty of substrate with soil flora and bacteria to ingest as part of their digestion cycle.

[lox]

Sound good! Thanks for the help morningcoffee. I will be trying that, when I get my moss.

[jonnyvelvet]

They might like sharing the cage with their 180 Million year old ancestor 'Dactylioceras Commune':

[jonnyvelvet]

Finally everything arrived:

[teessnails]

Wow that looks great! I think I need to get a bigger tank for my lovies.

[nailvarnish]

Heres my terrarium, I'm leaving the plants a week to settle before adding anything else and the snails. I'm hoping to get some more ferns or at least larger ones but it'll do for the moment

[mangoandlemon]

Love your tank!

[teessnails]

That looks great! I hope you'll show us again once you get your snailies in there!

[jonnyvelvet]

That looks cool

[lox]

Your tank looks great nailvarnish!

[taliz]

Here's my Homemade tank made entirely out of stuff kicking around the garden and garage.



The glass is from a couple of old double glazed units. The perspex (back, lid and base) was from the back of an old wardrobe. The perspex base is epoxied onto a piece of painted MDF for strength.  
The insulation at the back of the heat matt is wall edge insulation left over from my underfloor heating, this worked really well as it has an adhesive strip on one side so sticks to heatmat.  All the plants, stone and wood are from the house and garden. The stone and wood was boiled and I barerooted the plants, washed them and replanted in coir in little coir pots that are burried.

Had to buy the heat mat, coir, hydrometer and thermostat , what can you do??  

I need some Sphagnum Moss but will forage that when I come across some (We're not short of it in Yorkshire)..

The whole thing cost £41.

Oh yes and £3 for 3 baby Albino yellow shelled Fulicas. 

I am hoping they won't out grow it, the tank has a relatively small foot print of 40cm x 40cm but it's tall (hence the massive chunk of wood) at 80cm; as snails live in an upside down 3d world I am hoping it will suffice. What do you think?

[teessnails]

What a great homemade tank! I'm impressed you made so much of it. It looks really great, though you might want one more hiding place, though if you get some moss that might work well. I'm not sure what the Fulicas require space wise, but it looks big enough to me. Maybe some one else will know.

[morningcoffee]

Apr 16, 2015 15:47:50 GMT taliz said:

Here's my Homemade tank made entirely out of stuff kicking around the garden and garage.

Looks nice, but I would get rid of the stone - they will crack their shells if they fall onto it, especially as your tank looks quite tall.

[mangoandlemon]

Apr 16, 2015 15:47:50 GMT taliz said:

Here's my Homemade tank made entirely out of stuff kicking around the garden and garage.

Nice! Do you spray pesticide in your garden?