A couple of Q's .

[Katie]

Hai, how are you all. Long time no see

I have some questions, that i ahve been meaning to ask for quite a long time now, but haven't got roud to it yet

1st . . .
How to do you all go about setting up your coir? Like, how do you loosen it, and make sure its not to wet, and all that. What i used to do (Soak and stab) would take me hours to complete, and still it would be soggy and lumpy :/
I've read that people just leave it to soak over night, so i'm in the process of trying that, but how much water do you leave it in. And will it just loosen by itself, with no stabbing?

2ndly ..
I fancy putting a couple of worms, and perhaps some woodlice in the tank to help keep it clean (mainly just fore the fun of it ;D), do i just pluck them out of the garden (mainly the worms), and how do i make sure they are mite/worm free and safe to put in with the Snailies?

3rd ...
Can anyone suggest some really easy plants that i could grow? I'm rubbish at gardening, and all my spiderpants died Lool
Something sturdy enough to not get bulldozed by the fulica, but won't die at my hand haha?

Thankyou x

[crossless]

1. I think you could squeeze excess water out of coir so it's not too soggy before putting it bottom of terrarium. What ever you use as substrate it's ok when it stays in shape of wierd lump after you have squeezed it.. Coir could be little bit more moist i don't know how fast it dries out..

2. I used worms for while they where nice and everything but they disturbed my snail too much, climb in food platem climb on snails in hope of moisture and warmth I have to take them out.. Maybe they suit better for other people not for me.

3. I have used many plants in terrarium they need too some plant light to grow plants don't like too dark.. I have in terrarium now Epipremnum pinnatum (light green version) and
Syngonium auritum. I have heard that some snails like to eat too much of Epipremnum pinnatum so it might die, but mine has been just little tasted and left alone. Some pineapple looking plants are ok if snails are not too heavy, leaves are really long and pointing up so they can't support huge snail..

Any plant that don't mind of disturbing while it's grow, it don't mind if roots gets tasted and don't break too easily and like high humidity like snails it's ok to put it with snail. Just need to too avoid plants that are use as pest deportation, I once saw that kind of plant in wild so never can know if there some of those in flower shops. Cissus family is nice too wood stemmed so it can stand climbing but my baby snail started to eat it and I killed mine so have to get in back to live so it could grow bigger and I could put it back with snails..

[coyote]

1. I soak and stab. Soaking in hot water might hasten the process, but you'd have to wait to let it cool off anyway. I squeeze out excess water will it barely holds in a clump in my hand.

2. Any worms you'd find in your garden probably prefer cooler temperatures than your snails, so they would be unhappy in the tank. With woodlice, I've taken them right out of my yard and put them in the tank. You could rinse them off under the tap if you're concerned about mites.

3. I have not been able to keep any plants alive in my tanks. I have a green thumb with houseplants in general, but no luck getting them to grow in the tanks. I use plastic aquarium plants instead, and the snails don't mind. My tanks are pretty small anyway, so it's probably just as well I don't have to deal with live plants outgrowing the space.

[Katie]

Thanks for the answers guyses

I left the coir soaking overnight, and then thismorning, it only took about half an hour for me to turn the 3 blocks into lumpy soily stuff ;D And later i'm off to the garden centre later to find me some spagnum moss

I've decided against putting worms in, as your probably right. too warm :/ But I do fancy putting a few woodlice in. How many should i get? The tank is an XL Storage tub but i don't want to end up with it absolutely crawling with the little things. 3 or 4 be alright?

And as for the plants, i may look into finding some Syngonium auritum, i adore plants like that

Thanks x

[aerliss]

2: You could always buy the tropical tiger worms. They like snail tanks and will breed readily in them. I started with two (thank you Royal Mail for delaying delivery so most of them died) now I have lots.

I'd go with 10 woodlice at least. Too few and they'll never keep up with the snail poo.

3: Can't believe I had spider plants die on me. They were doing so well till I had to clean the tank out. Guess I did too much damage to their root systems. Now I've moved on to lettuce... they grow fast, are sturdy, like snail tank environments, are cheap and for some reason my boys don't eat them >_>

Best thing about lettuce; if they die, you've not wasted any money XD You just take the heart of any lettuce you've been munching through, trim the base of the stalk so it can put out roots and stick it in some damp soil. Voila. It'll have new root growth within a few days and new leaves sprouting within a week.

Of course, if your snails like to munch lettuce you might have some trouble

[Katie]

Haha, i'v tried lettuce before, needless to say, it lasted about 2 days

Tiger worms? Hmmmm, never heard of them before. Are they stripey or something? And are they very expensive?

I'll go with 10 woodlice then do i pick them from the same place, or will they kill eachother if from different areas of my garden?

[crossless]

In Finland they use Eisenia fetida as compost worms that can tolerate higher temperature up to almost +30 I have read? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenia_foetida In here you can in Finland them in wild likes more damp than "normal" worms..

[coyote]

May 22, 2010 12:35:58 GMT aerliss said:

You just take the heart of any lettuce you've been munching through, trim the base of the stalk so it can put out roots and stick it in some damp soil. Voila. It'll have new root growth within a few days and new leaves sprouting within a week.

I didn't know lettuce could root like that. I'll have to try it.

[aerliss]

May 22, 2010 21:41:00 GMT coyote said:

I didn't know lettuce could root like that. I'll have to try it.

I've only put romain in there so far, and they've rooted nicely. Going to try the leafy one I have in the fridge next... it's prettier than the romain.

[coyote]

My snails won't touch leafy lettuces, but they love Romaine and Little Gem. I'm partial to those as well! ;D