My Snails

*Click on the species names to the left to navigate*

10.19.00
It all started sometime in June 2000 (or was it May?) when my boyfriend Travis and I were walking through Walgreens and we spotted some tiny fishtanks they had on display. "Aquababies," they were called, and you had your choice of fish or frogs for $15. About 6 inches cubed, these little fishtanks were their own little biosystem-- no need for an aerator or filter, the plants and snail did the job there. All you had to do was feed them a tiny amount of food every day and they did just fine. So Travis bought a tank for his desk at work. It was kind of a casual thing, fish and a snail for his desk, nothing more. Granted, they were pretty cute.

A little while passed and I got a frantic message from Travis-- "My snail had babies!!! They're soooo tiny!" Or some such. There were six of them, and as they got bigger, Travis became more and more worried-- that little tank couldn't sustain all those snails! Flushing started becoming an option. But it was one that neither of us could deal with. I offered to get a tank and provide a home for these little guys. I got the smallest one the fish store had, 5 gallons, put natural rocks in the bottom and some live plants. Amazingly, the very first day I had the tank, snails began to appear. Mind you, this was several days before the actual snail transfer was to take place. I was quite pleased when I first spotted pointdexter, the malaysian trumpet snail. I noticed one of the tadpole snails next... So far my snail tank was already growing-- I'd hardly intended that to happen! A few days later, the snail transfer was conducted with a small ladle and a large amount of TLC. For kicks Travis picked up the little fish in the ladle. That was one of the cuter things I've seen...
So for a time I had a tank that was snails-only. I loved watching all the crazy things my snails did. I've chronicled some of them in this web page. But I was worried. My five snails Travis had given me (I later found out they were ramshorns) didn't seem to be growing at all, while the one he had kept was getting (to my estimation) huge. I was convinced they needed fishpoop. So I went again to the fish store and got some fish that wouldn't need any fancy setup (like an aerator or a filter). I got 4 tetras (I think?) and 3 orange platies (platy's?). I also got some algae wafers but didn't like the way the snails did nothing but eat when one was in the tank. Since then, my snails have grown to be about 3/4's of an inch in diameter (about 3 times as big as the one Travis kept is), and their previously clear shells have filled in a lovely brick-red color. They've truly become a full-blown obsession for me, hence the inception of this webpage. On a side note, I've gotten a filter for my tank, finally. Enough platy's have died already.
Travis too has gotten sucked into the hobby, although more with fish than snails. He just recently got a little 2 1/2 gallon tank. The initial plan was to go down to the beach and pick up some of the cute little black ocean snails we'd spotted on a hike. All went well with that for a day or two, and then the tank started to decay. The water became stagnant (no fancy wave machine) and too warm, and everything began to rot. It stank to high heaven. Discovering that marine tanks took a lot more work than freshwaters, he abandoned that idea, releasing the remaining snails back into the wild. After giving the tank a good scrub and soak, he got 2 little angelfish, 4 teeny guppies, and a plecos to fill the tank (and of course a heater and a filter). Unfortunately, as of yet the plecos and one of the guppies have already died. That tank is proving to be the tank of inevitable aquatic doom, much to Travis's dismay :( (10.23.00: We've found out the reason the fish died was because the tank wasn't properly cycled and there was an ammonia buildup. So far no more of the fish have died, and I've given him a single little malaysian trumpet snail to do some cleanup.)
However, depite the bumps we've gone through, the fascination with snails and fish remains strong for both Travis and I. We're continuing to learn more and more each day, and both of us have begun longing for much larger tanks. And imagine, it all began with a fifteen dollar desk-tank sitting on the shelf at Walgreens.

10.23.00: Addendum
There is apparently quite a bit of controversy about AquaBabies.
  • Here is the AquaBabies website
  • And here is one of the many petition sites against Aquababies.
I personally agree with a lot of what the petitioners have to say, especially in regards to the frogs. However, I've watched Travis's Aquababies swim around. While I can't tell whether they're happy or not (because they're fish), only one has died, and that was very recently, after he had had it for 5 months (or so). I don't really expect tiny fish like that to live too long-- perhaps I'm mistaken? The remaining two seem to be doing fine. He doesn't even do very many water changes.


10.26.00: another addendum
Alabama wrote me an email yesterday:
I visited your website recently, and I really liked it. I just wanted to mention a couple of things. Your fish are dying because you have *way* too many in such a small tank. In a five gallon, the maximum number you should have would be about two platies. In a 2.5 gallon, only one. Plus that plecostomus may get to be 18" long, depending on what kind you got. Please do your fish a favor and either return them to the store or get a bigger tank. I hope you don't think I'm preaching, I just want you to know.
< snip >

I'd like to thank Alabama for her (?) information. Unfortunately, before we could do anything about it, another 2 of Travis's guppies died leaving just one little guppy and 2 small angels in his 2 1/2 gallon tank, which I think should be OK until the angels get bigger. I just wanted to say as a follow-up that my 5 gallon seems to actually be doing quite well. The fish seem very healthy and happy. The tank doesn't seem too overcrowded since all the fish are small (the White Clouds are about an inch or so long, as is the one remaining Platy). For now, I think, our tanks have stabilized and should be ok. I'm hoping to get another tank sometime soon. I'm aiming for a 20 gallon show tank. The population will be some variation on:

  • 1 green spotted puffer (acclimated to freshwater)
  • 3 albino cory catfish
  • 1 more medium sized fancy fish (like the puffer): a clown loach maybe? I'm not sure yet. A loach might get too big, and also it's a schooling fish, so 1 wouldn't be enough.
  • 1 small plecostamus (the kind that doesn't get big)
  • 1 large apple snail ("Giant Ramshorn" variety), maybe. I'm not sure I want to deal with it eating all my plants.
My goal with this tank is to have a sparse population of animals with lots of plants. Hopefully with what I'm planning, it won't be overcrowded and the fish won't die. I've had enough of that recently.

NOTE (11/2/00): I've gotten the tank. It's a 29 gallon, and have it all set up, but with no fish or plants yet. I hope to get those this weekend...

  • 1 male dwarf gourami (or 1 male and 2 females)
  • 3 albino cory cats
  • 1 red-tailed black shark
  • 1 female betta
  • 3 praecox rainbow (or blue-flame tetra)
  • possibly 5 green tiger barbs. I'm a little worried about their aggressiveness.
Expect a website. In the meantime, here are some not that great pictures of my current setup. (Bucket Betty is my betta-- I bought her early because she was so pretty and I didn't want anyone else to buy her. She's hanging out in a bucket in my bathroom till the new tank gets settled.)


my tank:


  • Plants: Elodea (Egeria densa?), Hornwort (Ceratophyllym demersum)
  • Fish: 1 Orange Platy, 4 White Clouds
  • Snails: Malaysian Trumpet Snails, Ramshorns, Tadpole Snails, Pond Snails.
  • Size: 5 Gallons
another pic of my 5 gallon hex. It's getting a little crowded with all the snails!