Golden Apple Snail?

[Katie]

Hello =P

Yesterday i bought myself a Golden Apple Snail to go in the goldfish tank to keep the goldfish company. He (i think its a he anyway) is doing great, and moving around the tank =]

I read at the fish store to feed them Algea wafers that you feed catfish, but i want to know when to feed him? How many times a week do you think i should put one in, baring in mind that the goldfish are greedy little buggers, and will eat most of it first, and only leave a small bit for him.

Secondly, does anyone know where to buy those calcium blocks that you put in the tanks for them, because i cant find any in my area, and nothing comes up when i google it?

thanks xx

[Snail Lover.]

I think 3 times a week would be an ok feeding time , e.g monday,wednesday,friday because they will eat algae off the tank sides anyway , but you should look into it more , and what tank do you have marine ?

[Snail Lover.]

im not too sure about it but i think that ^ , i would definetly investigate it more and i myself will have a look for you

[Dusk]

Algae wafers soften slowly - unless you have a very large goldfish they won't be able to swallow a wafer whole. (If you do have a huge goldfish, *don't* let them swallow one - it'll expand inside them and best case scenario, serious swimbladder problems.)

Do you feed your goldfish flakes? If so, the snails will probably get enough leftovers from that. With only one snail, one algae wafer will be far too much for it.

If you weight a chunk of cucumber or courgette once a week, the snail will love that and so will your goldfish, and it's too big for the fish to eat it all

I'm not sure where you can get the calcium blocks locally but you can also use liquid calcium, and some people add limestone flour instead. If you're in a hard-water area, they won't need as much, if any, added.

[Snail Lover.]

Dusk's answer seems much more better than mine, i agree there should be enough left-over from the flakes you feed and plus more of the tank sides !

[Dusk]

I have an awful lot of goldfish and an awful lot of apple snails I recently decanted all my goldfish from several smaller tanks into one 500l one, which they adore. I also sell the baby apple snails on eBay, which largely pays for all the snails' upkeep. Currently there are pink, blue and purple ones, and young giant apple snails. They are very entertaining to watch, I find.

[coyote]

Have you heard about the surfing snail? A few years ago on Cybersnail someone posted about their apple snail that figured out how to surf in the tank --climbing to the top of the filter, flattening his body and putting himself in the path of the air as it propelled him across the tank.

[Dusk]

Hehe! I can see it happening The closest mine have done to that is position themselves over an airstone so the bubbles carry them up, up and away - then make the long slog back to the airstone and do it all again

[coyote]

I guess some snails, contrary to the stereotype, enjoy life in the fast lane. ;D