# Petsmart Mystery Snails



## WendyRob (Feb 9, 2012)

Hi, does anyone know if the 'Mystery' snails sold at Petsmart are the kind of apple snails that will eat live plants?


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## TheNailman (Feb 3, 2011)

not sure about your local petsmart, however my apple snail came from a petsmart here in boston.


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## joon (Jul 17, 2004)

Yes, i think Mystery snails petsmart selling are apple snails
but do they eat live plants???

i bought about 20 of them when petsmart sold them for $1 each
but they never ate my Java fern, sword or anubias yet...


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

The Golden and Black mystery snails do not eat live plants.


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## joon (Jul 17, 2004)

aha!


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## WendyRob (Feb 9, 2012)

joon said:


> aha!


 Huh?


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Mystery snails are a type of apple snail, but mystery snail diet consists of decaying or dead plants. 

The "larger" type of apple snail grows baseball sized and eats living plants.


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## tinkerpuppet (Feb 13, 2010)

I bought a 'mystery' snail from my LFS with my very first tank. He was great! Until he destroyed my first attempt at plants. He noshed down my java ferns in no time. Everyone kept saying he was an apple snail and apple snails don't eat plants, so I took pictures. Turns out he looks just like an apple snail, but was something else, and yes, eats plants. Apparently it was a total fluke, I guess they're not that common. He went to live in my mother's guppy tank (with plastic plants). I loved how big he was (he quickly tripled in size) and was fun to watch him meander around and send out that long antennae thing. But I'm just too worried about replacing him and being 'lucky' enough to get another that eats plants!


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## slowgrower (Feb 7, 2012)

I bought mystery snails at Petsmart and they were _Pomacea diffusa (bridgesii)) _which do not eat live plants. However, I suggest you try and identify them yourself. Petsmart doesn't tell you much more than mystery snail. Check out

http://www.applesnail.net/

For the _diffusa_, the 90˚ sutures are pretty easy to identify if you now what you're looking for.

Good luck!


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## azjenny (Dec 2, 2011)

slowgrower said:


> I bought mystery snails at Petsmart and they were _Pomacea diffusa (bridgesii)) _which do not eat live plants. However, I suggest you try and identify them yourself. Petsmart doesn't tell you much more than mystery snail. Check out
> 
> http://www.applesnail.net/
> 
> ...


/\ This!


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## Alaizabelle (Apr 7, 2011)

I bought one of the mystery snails at petsmart before, who overnight ate a huge crypt and took a big dent in my large sword plant. 

I would say if you aren't sure, put the snail in a holding tank with test plants and see how it goes. Don't just drop him into a pretty planted tank!


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

I keep all of my apple snails (diffusa) in planted tanks and they do not eat the plants. However, I bought most of them on line only 2 of them came from Petsmart, but those 2 will not eat the live plants either. They will not even touch the zucchini until it gets mushy, so I put it in the microwave for a few seconds to break down the cell structure and then they are all over it.


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