Slugs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

[captainf]

Spiders scare me

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Snail, I have questions for you oh great mighty snail knowledgy person.

Nerite snails would NOT breed in normal water would they? Could they live in a cold water tank? How long do they live for?

[snail]

Apart from a few species which have a different method of reproduction and which are not normally sold in the aquatic trade, nerites cannot be bred in captivity at all (although they will still lay eggs like salt grains on everything). They are another tropical species, so would be alright if your tank never drops below about 18C, although higher is better. You would need to keep an eye on the goldfish to check they don't harass the snails or pull at their feelers.

It's difficult to say how long they live for, but the common striped ones seem to live about 4 years.

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I very much doubt my tank ever drops below 18 degrees. We've got the pleco in so I make sure to add some warm water when I do water changes so it doesn't get too cold.

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Ok, one more question for Snail (or anyone else if they know to be honest).

Apple snails; would they survive in a "cold water" (room temperature) tank? My newt tank generally hovers around 20degrees (I've never checked the goldfish tank). I'm thinking of getting two; one for the fish tank, and one for the newt tank (I can get them in purple and pink )

Edit: After reading around on the internet...can I mix apple snails and goldfish?

[snail]

I only know the basics about apples so have a look here, Dips, this is a great site, everything you need to know:
http://www.applesnail.net/

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Thank you, I'll have a look

[Bel Bel]

I have just got 3 West African Side Neck Turtles
They are the cutest things ever. I will post pics later

[Bel Bel]

Here are my little cuties

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh12 ... C01142.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh12 ... C01144.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh12 ... C01145.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh12 ... C01146.jpg

The shop said they were the three amigos

[snail]

You're getting quite a turtle collection, Bel. Do they have names? What sex are they?

[Bel Bel]

I have no idea what sex and the shop said he didn't know either so I could get babies If you know how to tell let me know and I will ahve a study.

We have named them really stupid names so promise not to laugh

Zippy - because I have a sad nostalgic obsession with him
Valentino - becasue my hubby loves valentino rossi
Nana - it's a pet name my daughter gave my husband when she was little and it just stuck. I always joke hubby has a cute turtle face so it made sense to us.

Stop laughing please

[captainf]

Very nice photos of them They are cute.

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I like the second last photo

Can't you sex them by the shape of their tails like a tortoise?

[Bel Bel]

I can't find anyting about sexing them. However two have slightly fatter tails but not enough to be convinced. Two of them do seem to get together quite alot too and that is one with a fatter tail and one with the slimmer tail.

They sold my soft shell turtle at the shop but he came back within a few hours as the guy forgot to tell the shop he had fish and then wondred why the turtle was stalking them with a view to eating them I went to visit him yesterday. There was no recognition that he knew who I was which made me feel a bit better about him going back.

[captainf]

Got a question for those who know about birds.
When I was at my dads last week I kept seeing a bird that was exactly like a black bird, however its head + neck were white, and the rest of the body/wings were black with white bits.
Any ideas? I mentioned it to dad and he eventually saw it too and had no idea what it was.