Trapdoor Snails

[Cinnebuns]

A post on Facebook got me interested in Japanese trapdoor snails. There isn't nearly as much info online about them as nerites or mysteries. I wanna hear from some people with personal experience. 

1.  Do they have any special care requirements that a nerite or mystery snail does not have?

2.  Are they as interesting to watch as a mystery? 

3.  How good are they at cleaning algae?

4.  I know they are livebearers and have a gestation around 9 months. I also read you don't have to do anything for them to breed. Is this your experience?

5.  What do you think the chances are of selling babies?  Is there much of a market?

[Guppysnail]

@BuzzDaddy21 has gotten me thinking about them as my mystery snails are aging. I’m following along with this topic. So far the info I gathered is their care is the same as mystery snails but they apparently live longer. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Guppysnail

[ShySnail]

I've had two of them for a few months now, and I've really enjoyed them. They're very pretty snails, and both of my have some bright blue-green coloration on their shells (similar to patinaed copper). I haven't had them long enough to have any experience with breeding, but here are my thoughts on your other questions:

1. I have not found their care to be any different than other snails. They're currently sharing a tank with a big, pushy fantail goldfish, so it has been very challenging to do any supplemental feeding for them, though. 
2. While beautiful, I do not find them as interesting to watch as my mystery snails. They pretty much just cruise around eating algae.  Their behavior is much more similar to ramshorn snails than to mystery snails. Since mine are still pretty young, I'm curious to see if they develop more of a personality as they age or if this is it. 
3. They do a great job eating algae. Not as good as nerites, maybe, but still quite respectable. 

[Cinnebuns]

@ShySnail do you happen to know what causes the green coloring or if they are just born with it?  I'm seeing a lack of info online on that. Some people are saying they are all born brown. I've seen a few things suggested to give them a green coloring like algae and diet, which come to think of it could be the same answer. Any insight?

[Odd Duck]

On 2/21/2022 at 11:02 PM, Cinnebuns said:

A post on Facebook got me interested in Japanese trapdoor snails. There isn't nearly as much info online about them as nerites or mysteries. I wanna hear from some people with personal experience. 

1.  Do they have any special care requirements that a nerite or mystery snail does not have?

2.  Are they as interesting to watch as a mystery? 

3.  How good are they at cleaning algae?

4.  I know they are livebearers and have a gestation around 9 months. I also read you don't have to do anything for them to breed. Is this your experience?

5.  What do you think the chances are of selling babies?  Is there much of a market?

Mine have pretty much disappeared into my 100 gallon, heavy planted.  I have a few babies, enough to perpetuate the population.  They do seem to be fairly slow growers.  They don’t parasnail at all that I’ve seen.  They seem to be far more sensible than goofy, clownish mysteries.  It is pretty impossible for me to assess how individual types of snails are doing in my tank since I have MANY varieties.  I see the trapdoors on sides, wood, and substrate, and see the smaller ones on plants.  I don’t see plant munching when I’ve seen the youngsters on plants, but somebody has recently knocked all the leaves off one of my ‘Red Flame’ swords, but it’s behind some driftwood so I don’t know who.

I suspect it’s actually my bristlenoses as I’ve ended up with all males.  🤷🏻‍♀️ I bought them too young to tell and you’d think with 5 I would have had one female, well, unless I’ve got one of those extra bristly females.  🤦🏻‍♀️  I’ve got a couple more growing up, but they’re tiny right now and still in QT.

On 2/22/2022 at 6:59 AM, ShySnail said:

I've had two of them for a few months now, and I've really enjoyed them. They're very pretty snails, and both of my have some bright blue-green coloration on their shells (similar to patinaed copper). I haven't had them long enough to have any experience with breeding, but here are my thoughts on your other questions:

1. I have not found their care to be any different than other snails. They're currently sharing a tank with a big, pushy fantail goldfish, so it has been very challenging to do any supplemental feeding for them, though. 
2. While beautiful, I do not find them as interesting to watch as my mystery snails. They pretty much just cruise around eating algae.  Their behavior is much more similar to ramshorn snails than to mystery snails. Since mine are still pretty young, I'm curious to see if they develop more of a personality as they age or if this is it. 
3. They do a great job eating algae. Not as good as nerites, maybe, but still quite respectable. 

Agree with this assessment except I can’t assess their cleaning ability.

On 2/22/2022 at 10:06 AM, Cinnebuns said:

@ShySnail do you happen to know what causes the green coloring or if they are just born with it?  I'm seeing a lack of info online on that. Some people are saying they are all born brown. I've seen a few things suggested to give them a green coloring like algae and diet, which come to think of it could be the same answer. Any insight?

The greenish/turquoise color is apparently from the inner layers of shell as the brown wears away.  I’ve also read that some sellers will deliberately sand away layers to expose the color. I can’t imaging that’s the best thing for the snail, but they seem to survive it anyway.  Mine arrived brown from Aqua Huna.

Edited February 23, 2022 by Odd Duck

[modified lung]

Japanese trapdoors are one of my favorite snails. They definitely aren't as entertaining as mystery snails; you won't see a JTS body slam your loach. But they're good at eating algae, won't mess with your plants, won't over populate, and they can handle close the freezing temperatures.

The brown is a protein layer that for some reason doesn't develop well in captivity. The green is algal growth. I really like the shell patterns that this can develop when they're fully grown.

[Cinnebuns]

@modified lungah so are they born brown and it comes off naturally exposing the green?  That would make sense of the various answers I've gotten. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Cinnebuns

[ShySnail]

On 2/22/2022 at 10:57 AM, Odd Duck said:

The greenish/turquoise color is apparently from the inner layers of shell as the brown wears away.  I’ve also read that some sellers will deliberately sand way layers to expose the color. I can’t imaging that’s the best thing for the snail, but they seem to survive it anyway.  Mine arrived brown from Aqua Huna.

That’s really interesting about the shell color! I wasn’t sure what caused it. Both of mine came green from Aqua Huna.

[Cinnebuns]

Literally a week or 2 ago I was saying "I don't want snails" and the I got a mystery snail now I'm looking to breed a diff snail!!  This is the issue with this hobby!  It's too much different things to enjoy that once you try something you love it!!  I LOVE ALL THE THINGS!!

Edited February 22, 2022 by Cinnebuns

[modified lung]

Yep, they're born brown which can ware away as they get older. Here's some pics of algae growth on some juveniles.

Here's some older snails. I think Odd Duck might be right about the brighter green/turquoise being from deeper ware on the shell.

[Torrey]

I just found the snail I didn't know I needed!!!

[laritheloud]

I have trapdoor snails and find them to be less interesting pets than mysteries, rabbits, or nerites. They are very slow-moving, stay busy eating algae/biofilm in the tank, and will burrow in the sand for a week at a time just for funsies. You'll think they're dead, but nope, just a brief hibernation.

I think they're best suited to cooler water to get the most out of their longer lifespans. It's fun to watch them have babies, because they're livebearing snails and the babies roll out fully formed. Most of my babies, unfortunately, don't seem to be making it very long, and I'm not sure why...

[AndEEss]

I ordered a dozen about 18 months ago. 10 survived the trip. Of those 10, 1 is still with me. However, they've reproduced enough that I'm now at 20-25+ juveniles/sub-adults. I have them in my 75g and quarantine tank. They seem to like eating the BBA that grows on the large rock in my hardscape. 

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by AndEEss