Hi!

A have two apple snails and a question...
One has yellow shall, and the other has brown shell. I couldn't find any other difference between them ...
The yellow is pomacea bridgesi (from the shape of the shall), but I haven't seen any with brown shall from this species. Are they different kind of apple snails?
I would really like to have baby snails :rolleyes: Is there any chance for that?

keszi
from Hungary

P. bridgesii comes in both normal (brown) and albino (orange/yellow) varieties so you might have one of both. See http://www.applesnail.net for how to determine the species and sex of the snails. That's the best web page on apple snails.

If you have a male and female both of that same species, you should be able to get babies. Females will lay eggs even if they don't have a mate but they will not be fertile. Unlike most snails, apple snails require one of each sex to get young.

Thank you for the answer!

To tell you the truth, I didn't know that I need to have a male and a female... :huh:
I knew that they are not hermaphrodites, like some other snails, but I thought they can change sexes, if necessary :rolleyes: I think a read that once.

I read that too, it hasn't been proofed, that females lay eggs "on their own".
Because they can keep their eggs inside waiting for the right conditions for a long period, it may seem, that they didn't needed a male.

And if my brown and yellow apple snail have babies, what colour will they have? :blink:
Just brown or yellow, or something between the two.

keszi
from Hungary

I have not heard of apple snails being able to change their sex.

I have heard from multiple aquarists who had a single female apple snail that the snail laid eggs, and they did not hatch.

If your two snails are the same species and produce young, they will probably be 75% brown and 25% yellow. The natural brown color is dominant genetically.

I see...
And how am I suppose to decide whether they are female or not?
My two big one has a shell-lenght of 3cm (I don't know if you know this unit), the smaller ones are 1-1.5 cm long (I have three of them).

Thank you

By the way, are they eating living animals, for example smaller snails?


keszi

The web site http://www.applesnail.net explains how to sex them but it's not easy. The easiest way to find out is to wait and see how does and doesn't lay eggs. Only the female apple snails lay eggs.

Of course I know what centimeters are. I'm a chemist so I use the metric system daily. Your snails are still very small/young and won't be breeding yet.

Apple snails do not normally eat smaller snails unless by accident. They live on plants and algae but will also eat decaying and dead animals which is basically what fish food is (it's mostly dead fish). If something sits still long enough for the snail to suck on it and eat it, it will probably try to do so.

Hi,

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean :unsure: (you write these words the same way, don't you?) I thought you usually use different kind of units, so I wasn't sure about it.

So you are a chemist? That's a nice job. I'm still studying at a university. I will be an electrical engineer.

I thought my apple snails are adult now :unsure: .I have visited the website, and it seemed to be very difficult for me :). Anyway I will wait patiently to find out, if there is a female among them...

keszi