- Joined
- Mar 2, 2005
- Messages
- 56
Guilty already, but anyone see any long term side effects?
Feeding garden snails to octopus?
- Thread starter Swarvegorilla
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2004
- Messages
- 159
thats an awesome idea if that works.
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2005
- Messages
- 410
you better make sure those snails wernt exposed to any sort of pesticide or other harmful chemicals. I wouldent see a proublem if you used food grade snails, like the ones used in escargot. but snails you find in your yard may not be the best bet.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2002
- Messages
- 4,217
Personally I wouldn't (yep Jean's on the soapbox AGAIN!). You have no idea if these snails have been in contact with copper, pesticides etc, plus they may have totally different nutrient values than marine snails. Then there is the problem of parasites..........yes I know that marine critters have parasites too, but most marine animals can, to some degree, deal with a parasite load of MARINE parasites, I'm not sure how they'd deal with terrestrial ones. My basis for concern is this, for many years our aquarium had a Tuatara (a sphenodont reptile) which was, for a treat, occasionally, given a rock pool fish, now most of these fish carry small flukes which don't bother them much, but they made Toots VERY ill and may in the long term have contributed to her death.........we have never given freshwater to marine or terrestrial to marine or vice versa since......it's simply too risky.
My
J
My
J
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2005
- Messages
- 56
Ok well I am happy to say I can put your mind at rest on a few things. Digenetic trematodes and the like are an interest of mine and a justification for spending so much on a microscope. So trust me I did a thorough check.
Also in a very convienient twist i have an old green house. Just clear plastic, but yea overgrown with strawberrys and capsicum. These are my captive stock. I got them trapped. As to food, well I get veges from the organic fruitshop here for my fish and birds. Snails seem happy with it. Population explosion plus.
Snails also don't seem to mind fish food, so yea I would give the chosen few of them a last meal or two of marine flake fish food.
Anyway ocky seemed happy, and my shell dweller keeping friends like the empty shells....
Breeding live feeders is always gonna be gross but snails aren't to bad.
easy and low tech, and if you keep them seperate you can always just throw away the collected parents and feed the growing kids off.
I like snails a lot more after getting to know octopus...... but yea as the lady said snails get a LOT of parasites. Bet if I mixed spirulina powder with a bit of crushed praziquantrel I could worm them though..... or kill them. Either way I have thousands more. Could march on paris with this army. Just wouldn''t be a lightning war is all.
Also in a very convienient twist i have an old green house. Just clear plastic, but yea overgrown with strawberrys and capsicum. These are my captive stock. I got them trapped. As to food, well I get veges from the organic fruitshop here for my fish and birds. Snails seem happy with it. Population explosion plus.
Snails also don't seem to mind fish food, so yea I would give the chosen few of them a last meal or two of marine flake fish food.
Anyway ocky seemed happy, and my shell dweller keeping friends like the empty shells....
Breeding live feeders is always gonna be gross but snails aren't to bad.
easy and low tech, and if you keep them seperate you can always just throw away the collected parents and feed the growing kids off.
I like snails a lot more after getting to know octopus...... but yea as the lady said snails get a LOT of parasites. Bet if I mixed spirulina powder with a bit of crushed praziquantrel I could worm them though..... or kill them. Either way I have thousands more. Could march on paris with this army. Just wouldn''t be a lightning war is all.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2002
- Messages
- 4,217
Well........ I still wouldn't use them as a staple diet for an octopus, as a treat perhaps. Octopus do best on marine crustaceans, they are healthier, more active and grow better (the octopus that is 
).
Cheers
J
).Cheers
J
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2005
- Messages
- 56
I agree it's probably not the best staple. In a way that sort of worked to my advantage, in that it may have helped keep the octopus smaller. Not begging for a flaming for talking about stunting here, although it may seem that way.... doh! I am curious about the relationship between growth and health. Can an octopus be truely healthy and yet not be recieving the food it needs for maximum growth?
I'm not a scientist here, just an advanced aquarist. For me I can see the benefit of a healthy diet for an (pet) octopus that resulted in a smaller animal in the long run.
Myself I have a 6X2X2 foot tank and that lets me go for maximum size possible. That means red crabs from my personal observations... kinda hard to weigh them every day to be sure...
If I could find a species of marine snail that would breed well a shallow salt pond is easy enuf, and I have plenty of experience turning them green. heh heh
Not sure why I am locked onto snails at the moment. Maybe because they are sensetive to many of the same toxins as octopus. If they are contaminated they are dead anyway in most cases.
All things in consideration though, your prob right about banishing them to the treat bin. Gonna play around with them for a bit, if I get a prob you guys will be the first to know.
As a strange side point, in the fish world it is usually preferable to feed freshwater fish saltwater feeders and saltwater fish get freshwater feeders. This is still working off the treat rules, not as a staple but anyway the reason is that it reduces the chance of a parasite in the feeder finding the new host suitable.
Anyway Jean, cheers for the convo. Has helped me plan out a few things that I had not really thought through. I may be writing like I got all the answers but here on the ground it's a different story! Personly I thought I had the feeder idea down with a breeding school of pacific blue eyes but octopuses can eat a lot more than I expected when they get large.
best pet ever
I'm not a scientist here, just an advanced aquarist. For me I can see the benefit of a healthy diet for an (pet) octopus that resulted in a smaller animal in the long run.
Myself I have a 6X2X2 foot tank and that lets me go for maximum size possible. That means red crabs from my personal observations... kinda hard to weigh them every day to be sure...
If I could find a species of marine snail that would breed well a shallow salt pond is easy enuf, and I have plenty of experience turning them green. heh heh
Not sure why I am locked onto snails at the moment. Maybe because they are sensetive to many of the same toxins as octopus. If they are contaminated they are dead anyway in most cases.
All things in consideration though, your prob right about banishing them to the treat bin. Gonna play around with them for a bit, if I get a prob you guys will be the first to know.
As a strange side point, in the fish world it is usually preferable to feed freshwater fish saltwater feeders and saltwater fish get freshwater feeders. This is still working off the treat rules, not as a staple but anyway the reason is that it reduces the chance of a parasite in the feeder finding the new host suitable.
Anyway Jean, cheers for the convo. Has helped me plan out a few things that I had not really thought through. I may be writing like I got all the answers but here on the ground it's a different story! Personly I thought I had the feeder idea down with a breeding school of pacific blue eyes but octopuses can eat a lot more than I expected when they get large.
best pet ever
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2006
- Messages
- 167
i wouldent do it. you never know what those snails could have been in contact with..
btw: im new here. i dont have an octo i just have a general intrest in sea creatures (especially jellyfish and octos..) you can find me at www.aximsite.com and www.ipaqhq.com...
chris
btw: im new here. i dont have an octo i just have a general intrest in sea creatures (especially jellyfish and octos..) you can find me at www.aximsite.com and www.ipaqhq.com...
chris
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2002
- Messages
- 4,217
The problem with freshwater feeders to marine critters is the protein and lipid are not quite right and in an animal like an octopus which cannot make or store fat you're asking for trouble!
As far as marine snails are concerned have you tried Turbo Snails (Turbinidae) or Bucculinium Whelks we can't stop the things breeding in our holding tanks and touch tanks!!
J
As far as marine snails are concerned have you tried Turbo Snails (Turbinidae) or Bucculinium Whelks we can't stop the things breeding in our holding tanks and touch tanks!!
J
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2005
- Messages
- 403
have you tried glass shrimp? i know they are fresh water but should be close to same nutrition value as salt water crustaceans
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2005
- Messages
- 56
I have tried pretty much everything.
My puffers only ever get freshwater snails and they are over 3 years old now.
Have the garden snails down to about 5 a week which weight wise makes up maybe 5% of the weekly feeding. He also gets live prawns/crabs/fish and a new frozen blend that I have been making up in.... snail shells.
Gutloading snails with spectrum marine pellets/flakes I imagine would go a bit of the way to making them a more complete food for marine creatures.
Group average says 'do not do it' so yea at your own risk.
Will post here at first sign of a problem.
My puffers only ever get freshwater snails and they are over 3 years old now.
Have the garden snails down to about 5 a week which weight wise makes up maybe 5% of the weekly feeding. He also gets live prawns/crabs/fish and a new frozen blend that I have been making up in.... snail shells.
Gutloading snails with spectrum marine pellets/flakes I imagine would go a bit of the way to making them a more complete food for marine creatures.
Group average says 'do not do it' so yea at your own risk.
Will post here at first sign of a problem.
