Animals
Bunnies
Bunnies II 
Cat-N-Around Cat Club
Cat-N-Around Cat Club 2007 Annual Show
Hawkeye Cat Club 2004
Hawkeye Cat Club 2005
Chinchillas
Degus
Ferrets
Ferrets by BOB
Gerbils
Ground Squirrels
Guinea Pig
Hamsters I
Hamsters II
Hamsters III
Hamsters IV
Hamsters V
Hedgehogs
Kittens
Kids & Kittens
Mice
Mice Pets II
Parasites
Rats I
Rats II
Rats III
Rats, Hairless
S-T Opossums
Siberian Chipmunks
Sugar Gliders
Sugar Gliders II
Water Bottles

Bugs
Crabby 500
Crab 04 Results
Centipedes
Cray/Lobsters
Crayfish II
Crayfish III
Cray, Yucatan
Fiddler Crabs
Shrimp, Algae
Shrimp, Aqua
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Shrimp, Red
Shrimp, Flower
Shrimp, Ghost
Shrimp, Rudolph
Hermit Crabs
Hermit Crabs II
Madagas Roach
Mantids
Mini-Clams
Mini-Crabs
Patriot Crabs
Giant Millipedes
Red Claw Crabs
Reiman Butterfly
Spider, Black Widow
Snail, Apple
Snail, Colombian
Snail, Land
Snail, Malaysian
Snail, Mystery
Snail, Trapdoor 
Scorpions
Tarantulas
Tarantulas II
Tarantula Night 2006
TarantulaWeen VII
TarantulaWeen 9
Walking Stick
Misc. Bugs
Misc Bugs II  

Birds
Breeding Tips
Button Quail
Canaries
Cockatiels
Dove, Diamond
Dove, Ringneck
Finches
Love Birds
Parakeets
Pelleted Foods
Quaker Parrots
Parrot Pictures
Parrot Pix II
Parrot Pix III
Dave's Parrots

Lizards
Alligators
Anoles
Bearded Dragon
Beardies II
Calotes
Chamel, Jackson
Chamel, Panther
Chamel, Veiled
Crested Geckos
Gecko, Golden
Gecko, House
Gecko, Leopard
Gecko, Tokay
Horned "Toads"
Iguana New
Iguana Dragons
Iguana Q&A I
Iguana Q&A II
Iguana Training
Iguana Update
Cool Iguana Pics
Knight Anoles
Monitors, Nile
Monitors, Savana
Monitors, Water
Salmonella
Skinks
Skinks Blue-Tongue
Tegus
Uromastyx maliensis
Water Dragon
Misc Lizards
Misc Lizards 2
Misc Lizards 3
Misc Lizards 4
Misc Lizards 5
Misc Lizards 6
Misc Lizards 7
Misc Lizards 8
Misc Lizards 9
Misc Lizards 10


Snakes
Anacondas
Boa, Rosy
Boa, Red-Tail
Corn Snake
Garter Snake
Green Snake
Kids/Corn Snakes
Kids/Red-Tail Boas

Kids at Pet Expo 1

Kids at Pet Expo 2

Kids at Pet Expo 3

Kids at Pet Expo 4

Kids at Pet Expo 5
King & Milk
Python, Ball
Python, Burmese

Snakes Alive
Snakesgiving
Snakesgiving II
Misc Snake Pix
Misc Snakes II
Misc Snakes III  

Turtles/Tortoises
Box, Asian
Box, USA
Races
Snapping
Spiny

Sulcata
Water
Western Painted

Live Foods
Blackworms
Blood Worms
Br Shrimp I
Br Shrimp II
Crayfish 1
Crayfish 2
Crayfish 3 
Crickets
Dandelions
Daphnia
Earthworms
Feeder Goldfish
Fruit Flies
Ghost Shrimp

Glass Worms

Grindal Worms
Infusoria
Mealworms
Microworms
Rosy Reds

Super Worms

Wax Worms
White Clouds

Decorating
Bubbles
Driftwood
Gravel
Plastic Plants
Rocks
Slow Growing Plants

Miscellaneous
Bob's Acclimation

How to Start
How to Add New Fish
How to Keep Healthy
Which Fish Get Along?
10 Questions to Ask
What is Ich?
Under Gravel Filters

Sponge Filters
Cloudy Water
Cool Water Tanks
Gravel Vacuums
Preventing Disease
Feeding to the Max
Frozen Foods
Green Water
Nasty Chemicals
Overfeeding
Power Filters
Rift Lake Salts
Quarantine Tank
Mini-Tank
2nd Av Bait

Pet World Visit
Dandelions

Aquatic Plants
Amazon Swords
More Swords
Sword Plants III
Anubias
Anacharis
Aponogetons
A. boivinianus
A. fenestralis
A. ulvaceous
Aquarium/Bog
Banana Plant
Bolbitis
Bunch
Bunch Plants II
Cryptocorynes
Crystalwort
Dwarf Lily
Grassy
Grassy II
Hornwort
Hygrophila
Lace
Java Fern I
Java Fern II
Java Fern III
Java Fern IV
Java Moss
Moss Balls
Onion
Vermiculite
Watersprite
Different Watersprite

Origins.  Apple snails (here we’re referring specifically to the big guys, not the mystery snails) now come from commercial fish farms.  Unlike their close relatives the mystery snails, apple snails grow as large as a baseball.  Mysteries top out at the size of a marshmallow -- an uncooked, raw marshmallow.

LA Pic
Young apple snails usually come on the market at the size of mystery snails.

LA Pic
Adult apple snails grow quite a bit larger.

Big Eaters.  Apple snails eat a much broader selection of menu items than mystery snails eat.  Mystery snails ignore most plants.  Apple snails love all plants except plastic and silk.   Apple snails eat day and night.  They will eat algae (after they eat all the other plants in your aquarium).  They greedily consume sponge filters if they can reach them.  Cover your sponge filters with gravel.  Their huge appetites cause them to grow quite large (or vice versa).

LA Pic
Apple snails learn to eat flake food off the surface.

LA Pic
Young apple snail consuming a formerly frozen green pea.

LA Pic
Zucchini also seems to hit the spot.

LA
Thin slices of carrots last three times longer than slices of squash.

LA
Perhaps they like the carrot slices less?  But they still eat them.

Favorite Foods.  Apple snails are voracious plant eaters.  Their speed at devouring your skillful aquascaping will amaze and astound you.  Economical vegetable foods include zucchini, squash, green beans, and peas.  They much prefer fish food -- sinking and/or floating foods.  Apple snails quickly learn to harvest fish food from the surface.

LA Pic
Apple snails eat algae from your tank walls.

Algae Eaters?  Sure, apple snails will eat algae.  They’re just not very good at it -- like Mr. Magoo mowing your lawn.  You can see where they passed thru, but they’ll never polish your glass.  

LA Pic
The rascals even learn to "walk" on the underside of the water.

LA Pic
Uncomfortable snails close up most of the way.

Better Water.  If you find your apple snails closed up or semi-closed for a couple days, you should move them to a different tank or give them a water change.  These big eaters can pollute their quarters fairly fast.  Organic wastes will stunt their growth and possibly even kill them.  They prefer harder water to keep their shells from getting pitted.

LA Pic
Apple snails come up out of the water to lay their eggs.

LA
They lay their eggs above the water level. 

Threats.  Clown loaches and cichlids will kill your apple snails.  Most livebearers will pester the heck out of them.  They love to nip their tentacles.  Outside, birds and raccoons consider them tasty treats.  Indoors, they will crawl out of their tank to lay eggs.  They do not necessarily remember their way home.  They can stand a couple of weeks on the dry carpet, but their survival rate starts dropping after that.  Do not use any medications with copper in them.

LA Pic
Obligatory sex scene gratuitously added to increase foreign sales.

Breeding.  Flip on over to mystery snails for a look at their egg laying process.

LA Pic
This apple snail rounded up lots of extra cichlid pellets.  They find them by smell.

Clean up Crew.  Apple snails eat humongous quantities of organic substances that would otherwise pollute your tank.  New tank owners need a healthy snail or two to correct their unwitting overfeeding.  Snails will eat old crummy food that fish turn up their noses at.

LA Pic
Apple snails are also very intriguing to watch.

Last Word.  Except for their size some of us can’t tell apple snails from mystery snails.  All mystery snails are apple snails.  However, not all apple snails are mystery snails.  Sound like a potential SAT question?  Anyway, in a tank with no fishes in it, your apple snail will come out of his shell and put on a show for you.  They cost more than your other snails, but they make very nice specimen animals.  LA

© 2004, © 2005 LA Productions

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Misc Odd  IV

Misc Odd V

Sharks  
Bala
Black
Bull
Chinese Hi-Fin Banded
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Red-Tail
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Pond Info 
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