Aquacultured snails: evolved glass cleaners?

sellmecorals · 01/27/2014, 08:18 PM

Would there be any available snails that have been bred for generations and have adapted to getting stubborn algae off glass?

Tangnerd · 01/29/2014, 12:15 AM

All of my snails like to eat off the glass...

sellmecorals · 01/29/2014, 12:29 AM

Lol what I'm asking is if there are a breed of snails that have been engineered or have evolved over generations of keeping them, to scrape off glass better?

Tangnerd · 01/29/2014, 04:14 PM

Oh oops. Never heard of a "super" snail.

Tzwizzle · 01/29/2014, 09:37 PM

Um I could be wrong but I think most snails, while they will breed in aquariums, are not tank bred. I think most are wild caught in tide pools.

sellmecorals · 01/29/2014, 11:51 PM

I wonder how long this adaptation would take if at all

pagojoe · 01/30/2014, 07:27 AM

You could probably selectively breed them like dairy cows, picking out the ones that clean best, and killing the rest. Over a few thousand years you could have your own breed of super-cleaner snails!

Don

Betta132 · 01/31/2014, 08:39 PM

Most saltwater snails breed by releasing eggs into the water. I don't think you can really breed them in aquariums, although there are a couple of kinds that I've heard can breed.

01/27/2014, 08:18 PM	#1
sellmecorals Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 171	Aquacultured snails: evolved glass cleaners? Would there be any available snails that have been bred for generations and have adapted to getting stubborn algae off glass?

01/29/2014, 12:15 AM	#2
Tangnerd Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 103	All of my snails like to eat off the glass...

01/29/2014, 12:29 AM	#3
sellmecorals Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 171	Lol what I'm asking is if there are a breed of snails that have been engineered or have evolved over generations of keeping them, to scrape off glass better?

01/29/2014, 04:14 PM	#4
Tangnerd Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 103	Oh oops. Never heard of a "super" snail.

01/29/2014, 09:37 PM	#5
Tzwizzle Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 283	Um I could be wrong but I think most snails, while they will breed in aquariums, are not tank bred. I think most are wild caught in tide pools.

01/29/2014, 11:51 PM	#6
sellmecorals Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 171	I wonder how long this adaptation would take if at all

01/30/2014, 07:27 AM	#7
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	You could probably selectively breed them like dairy cows, picking out the ones that clean best, and killing the rest. Over a few thousand years you could have your own breed of super-cleaner snails! Don

01/31/2014, 08:39 PM	#8
Betta132 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 2,239	Most saltwater snails breed by releasing eggs into the water. I don't think you can really breed them in aquariums, although there are a couple of kinds that I've heard can breed.