Melanoide sp?

[inverted]

Managed to get a couple of cool snails recently. I believe they are a Melanoide sp but that's all I know?

Any snail experts out there?

[GotCrabs]

@fishmosy or @Baccus???

[fishmosy]

Stenomelania cf. aspirans

The "cf." means they haven't been formally identified but are similiar to, and likely to be, aspirans which is found throughout the Pacific, e.g. Solomon Islands

If you picked them up in a shop, firstly congrats because they are a rare find, and some shop owners refuse to sell them, and secondly its highly likely they were originally collected by Northboy aka Bob, which is where I got mine. 

Do not keep them in acidic conditions, they will fade away and die. Neutral to around pH 8 seems to work well. 

These guys dont produce live young like MTS, Stenomelania denisoniensis and some of the other native snails, so they cant get out of control in your tanks. Instead they release pelagic larvae that float downstream (assuming to brackish or marine water) and may or may not feed on microscopic algae. Unfortunately this means they are basically impossible to breed for the average hobbyist. I keep a half dozen or so in with my Bloody Mary cherrys. They seem to do well under those conditions but I've yet to see mine spawn. I wish they would because i have lots of experience growing marine larvae. I need to convince Bob to show me the habitat where they are found so I can get a better idea of what may trigger spawning ect. 

[inverted]

Stenomelania cf. aspirans

The "cf." means they haven't been formally identified but are similiar to, and likely to be, aspirans which is found throughout the Pacific, e.g. Solomon Islands

If you picked them up in a shop, firstly congrats because they are a rare find, and some shop owners refuse to sell them, and secondly its highly likely they were originally collected by Northboy aka Bob, which is where I got mine. 

Do not keep them in acidic conditions, they will fade away and die. Neutral to around pH 8 seems to work well. 

These guys dont produce live young like MTS, Stenomelania denisoniensis and some of the other native snails, so they cant get out of control in your tanks. Instead they release pelagic larvae that float downstream (assuming to brackish or marine water) and may or may not feed on microscopic algae. Unfortunately this means they are basically impossible to breed for the average hobbyist. I keep a half dozen or so in with my Bloody Mary cherrys. They seem to do well under those conditions but I've yet to see mine spawn. I wish they would because i have lots of experience growing marine larvae. I need to convince Bob to show me the habitat where they are found so I can get a better idea of what may trigger spawning ect. 

Wow that's great info @fishmosy. So glad that we have people like you and Bob that actually know about and collect these species. They were simple named as 'giant cone snails'. I was pretty excited when I saw them and the shop owner was definitely a little anxious to let them go. How long have you had yours? I wonder what their lifespan might be?

Edited October 15, 2015 by inverted

[fishmosy]

I've had some for more than two years, the survivors of my mistake keeping them in acidic tank. The rest I got in May when I last saw Bob in Cairns. These are my favorite snail, although I wish we could get the sulawesi snails. 

I'll check the paper regarding lifespan. 

[fishmosy]

Unfortunately no info on life span, but this is not surprising given this is an under-studied species. 

That said they seem relatively slow growing so I imagin they are quite long lived. 

[inverted]

I've had some for more than two years, the survivors of my mistake keeping them in acidic tank. The rest I got in May when I last saw Bob in Cairns. These are my favorite snail, although I wish we could get the sulawesi snails. 

I'll check the paper regarding lifespan. 

Love The tylomelanias. No doubt they are already here! 

I noted in the shop one was in a low ph (caridina) tank buried and never moved

The other 4 I got were in and gravel , tap water tank all moving about foraging!