# Trapdoor snails, numbers & shells



## dazydaizee (Sep 28, 2010)

I ordered 4 trapdoor snails and received 6, all large and I presume full grown. I figured 6 wouldn't be so bad split between my 10 gallon & 20 gallon long, especially considering that they arrived with pretty bad shells. Well, all are alive, yet VERY slow at coming around since I added them to the tanks a few hours ago. 
In that time, one decided to add 6 babies (thus far) to the mix. So now I have 12 trapdoor snails and I'm really concerned about how many I can have in each tank. I don't want to overcrowd them, and I thought I was being cautious by going for a livebearing snail that produces few offspring each year. I also wasn't even sure I'd end up having opposite sexes in each tank. Yet here we are... I don't know if it's a good sign that my fish who I also did not expect to come to me pregnant had at least 5 babies today... So I'm a bit overwhelmed and hoping these guys will all be alright.

Here's a few shots to show what their shells look like:


















And this is momma snail with several of her babies emerging...


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## we4wieners (Oct 27, 2010)

wow...very cool. Are trapdoor's harmful to planted tanks? Pardon the newb question.


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## dazydaizee (Sep 28, 2010)

From what I've read, they don't tend to harm plants. So far I haven't seen any snail damage to my plants. I have a good amount of easy plants and the trapdoor snails, ramshorns, apple snails, trumpet snails, and pond snails. 

I also have about 16 babies now since momma #1 had more that night and another had at least 6 or so.
I'd love to find a local pet store (or more ideally, a good owner with a tank nearby) that I could trust to take some off my hands. No luck so far, just a few stores I don't like and one that didn't want them...


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