Bugs and Apple Snail Clutches

[hooray]

:mad: MUCH to my horror, while examining my apple snail clutches under a magnifying glass last night, I noticed 5 or 6 tiny insects crawling about the clutches?

Barely detectable to the naked eye, they seem long in the body, black in colour with "feelers" on their heads.

Has anyone had a similar experience? The tank is about 95% covered but I'm guessing somehow these insects found their way in.

I don't know if they are parasitic or not. They are about the size of a pepper flake and you wouldn't even notice them without very close examination.

EGADS!! My first ventures with apple snails have not been successful thus far.:wideeyed:

[Katalyst]

I recieved a few clutches recently that weren't exactly covered but had little black/greenish worms crawling out of them. They were fruit fly larva :wideeyed: ..I had them for a little over two weeks, yesterday tonnes of fruit flies were in the container and it smelled positively putrid. The clutches had gone rotten...

At the first sign of the clutched I emailed a friend who breeds snails and she said they probably wouldn't hatch but to give them a quick dunk underwater. I was hopeful but unfortunately for me she was right. Luckily she's sending me new one's which should arrive tommorrow. :)

Hope you have better luck with your clutch!

[Melody]

I've had something similar but it was with Marisa clutches (under water) that I got in from elsewhere. I had them in a container and none hatched, but I'm not exactly an ace hatcher either.

I'm assuming that the eggs must be resistant to most bugs, because they're laid above the waterline in nature. Rotting clutches could be another story though, so maybe there has to be a problem before the bugs set in?

I don't think I've ever seen it discussed before. These observations, while frustrating to those of us experiencing them, could help us learn more and hopefully we'll find a way to prevent it happening. Good post!

[Katalyst]

I've had something similar but it was with Marisa clutches (under water) that I got in from elsewhere. I had them in a container and none hatched, but I'm not exactly an ace hatcher either.

I'm assuming that the eggs must be resistant to most bugs, because they're laid above the waterline in nature. Rotting clutches could be another story though, so maybe there has to be a problem before the bugs set in?



I would assume they would be bug/larva resistant. Not too sure, they were also shipped to me and who knows what happens to them during that whole process. :(

Hopefully in the future my snails will decide to indulge me and lay some clutches, right now they all like to crawl to the top and then as soon as I'm watching, they either start their bobbing quartet as if to say FOOLED YA! Bratty snails.

[Melody]

I'll make sure there's some breeder-size snails in your box if you win the auction. Sometimes just some new blood gets them going.:yes:

[hooray]

Good point about the eggs being pest resistant - I hadn't thought of that. :wideeyed:

My latest "find" while looking at snails on the front of my 40 gallon (under the magnifying glass) was a tiny (and I do mean tiny) white worm crawling on the glass. I have no idea if this is the larvae stage of the black bugs on the eggs but I can't say I feel good at all about it .

As muphy's law would have it - just the day before I moved 4 albino cory's to my 90 gallon tank. Here's hoping I've not spread whatever this is to the other tanks. As I have Cherry shrimp in the tank without any success breeding - I started thinking the Corys were the guily party eating the young shrimp?


EGADS!!!:eek: :eek:

[Katalyst]

I'll make sure there's some breeder-size snails in your box if you win the auction. Sometimes just some new blood gets them going.:yes:

Oh I'll win that auction allright. Or steal them off of someone's porch...:laugh: Thanks Melody!

[Katalyst]

Good point about the eggs being pest resistant - I hadn't thought of that. :wideeyed:

My latest "find" while looking at snails on the front of my 40 gallon (under the magnifying glass) was a tiny (and I do mean tiny) white worm crawling on the glass. I have no idea if this is the larvae stage of the black bugs on the eggs but I can't say I feel good at all about it .

As muphy's law would have it - just the day before I moved 4 albino cory's to my 90 gallon tank. Here's hoping I've not spread whatever this is to the other tanks. As I have Cherry shrimp in the tank without any success breeding - I started thinking the Corys were the guily party eating the young shrimp?


EGADS!!!:eek: :eek:

I don't know about the corys (I want some so bad!) but the white worms could be planaria, which the cories should eat. Ugh worms, larva....Who knew the secret little treasures that fish keeping would bring us eh? :wideeyed: I think we need a puking smilie lol.

[CACAdmin]

:wideeyed: I think we need a puking smilie lol.

The closest we have at the moment is this one::Eeewww: Will it do?

[Katalyst]

The closest we have at the moment is this one::Eeewww: Will it do?

I must have missed that one! I love it! It's perfect! Thanks! I love this place, so accomodating, even for puke faces requests...:eek: :laugh:

[Melody]

I agree, probably planaria. Between that and bugs, I'd cut back on the feeding. I know its hard when you're worried that they won't get enough, I do it all the time to this day...lol...but its best for everyone overall.

Ms. Katalyst, it is very difficult to keep perfect shells on a breeder size snail. Breeding is hard on them in the first place and my water barely meets their needs. In other words, there won't be a problem finding some breeder size scratchies for the auction box. I get dibs on adopting all of the millions of babies when you get overwhelmed though :laugh: .

[jumpingtadpoles]

I had little bugs, I woudl say half a millimeter big. they jumped all over my duckweed, climbed over the clutches, and squirmed across the moist glass. Had no clue what they were, but once I had no more clutches, there have been no more bugs. I used to think they were there because of the duckweed, but now I wonder if they are why I didn't have many "good" clutches. 99% of them went bad, and i only had one hatch...

[Melody]

Bugs with floating plants is relatively common, but you certainly could be onto something with them eating away at your clutches :yes: . Here's some aquarium bugs (http://naturalaquariums.com/inverts/flies.html) for you to peruse.

[Katalyst]

I agree, probably planaria. Between that and bugs, I'd cut back on the feeding. I know its hard when you're worried that they won't get enough, I do it all the time to this day...lol...but its best for everyone overall.

Ms. Katalyst, it is very difficult to keep perfect shells on a breeder size snail. Breeding is hard on them in the first place and my water barely meets their needs. In other words, there won't be a problem finding some breeder size scratchies for the auction box. I get dibs on adopting all of the millions of babies when you get overwhelmed though :laugh: .

Deal!

[hooray]

:confused: :confused: :confused:
EGADS!
My wonderful apple snails are trying their best (9 clutches in total) to reproduce but I am still dealing with some kind of bug (parasite?) in the tank.

7 of the clutches did not develop - I think due to the mytery bugs. Two I left where they were laid - the others I put in a floating tray with a bit of water - with the clutches resting on a sheet of plastic canvas (folded over 3 times) to give air space.

I have since disposed of them after examining them under a magnifying glass. They were all crawling with tiny little bugs.

Needless-to-say, I'm not sure where to go from here? Do I move the snails to another tank and restart the tank? Am I just transfering the problem to another tank?

All the fish and other snails (Ramshorn & Trumpets) are fine and prolific.

Any suggests will be most appreciated!

[Melody]

I think the most simple solution would be to temporarily move your snails, or the ones that are breeding, into a tank without floating plants - just bare, and keep it well away from the other tank.

I have a 'Critter Keeper' tank, probably about 3.5G's, with a cover to keep the snails in. You could put a pair in that until you get a clutch if you'd like to borrow it. Of course, with gas prices you might be better off to contact Mr. Mykiss and see if he has a small tank for sale. Offer is there anyway.

Very frustrating - been there. The other thing you can try is adding some liquid garlic that most fish stores carry - its supposed to repel bugs. You can also temporarily remove the floating plants and increase the water movement at the surface of the tank - both plants and stagnant water attract bugs. I saw one flitting through the tank I have with the most floating plants the other day.:rolleyes: