Tropical Fish Forum

Tropical Fish Keeping => Invertebrates - Shrimps and Snails => Topic started by: TopCookie on March 17, 2018, 10:19:39 PM

Title: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 17, 2018, 10:19:39 PM
Anybody have any experience with the Faunus group of snails...?

(https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/3807-large_default/cappuccino-faunus-snail.jpg)
(https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/3802-large_default/black-devil-lava-snail-faunus-arta.jpg)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Sue on March 18, 2018, 09:35:25 AM
I've never kept those but they are lovely looking snails.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on March 18, 2018, 09:53:46 AM
They are lovely - I keep eyeing up the cappuccino one on the website you've got the pics from. Unfortunately, I only have experience of keeping one nerite snail, so unfortunately I can't help.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Littlefish on March 18, 2018, 11:00:21 AM
No experience with these snails..sorry.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 18, 2018, 11:16:56 AM
That "Cappuccino" one is a real beauty, eh...  :)   There's surprisingly little information about these snails out there but I do believe they are egg layers...  That's the main thing which puts me off Nerite snails and so makes me cautious about getting one of these just in case they sesame seed the gaff...!!!  They're supposed to be fantastic as clean up crew members though and are on the large side, so just a single one could be a fantastic addition, potentially - and they do look wikkid...   :D
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on March 18, 2018, 01:06:39 PM
I had a quick look on Planet Inverts which is a good website specialising in invertebrates - it looks as though these seem to be the tylomelania snails http://www.planetinverts.com/sulawesi_snails.html, so you might have better luck googling for snails with that name to get further info, if you haven't already. There's quite a lot of info on German websites too (eg https://www.garnelen-tom.de/zwerggarnelen-shop/Cappuccino-Turmdeckelschnecke-Faunus-sp and https://www.garnelio.de/cappuccinoschnecke-faunus-sp.) - happy to translate if you're unfamiliar with German (and it'll help dust off my extremely rusty language skills which never actually covered such a specialist topic area).

Edited to add: just found this thread on a plant forum - https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/could-you-recommend-me-a-snail-requirements-in-thread-text.35736/
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 18, 2018, 11:50:20 PM
They look a lot like the Sulawesi (Rabbit) snails, eh...  Look more closely though and you'll see the ridges on the Sulawesi snail shells whereas the Faunus snails are close to smooth...  Overall shape and sizes are similar to be fair, but they are a different species to the best of my knowledge...

What is interesting is that they are definitely popular in Germany, eh...  I find it a little odd that they're distinctly not popular or commonly kept here in the UK...   :o
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 22, 2018, 10:39:39 AM
I'm about to find out more about the Cappuccino Faunus, as I've just ordered one...   ;D   As daft as it sounds, I'm really excited about this... :D
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 22, 2018, 10:44:25 AM
This isn't him - hasn't arrived yet - just excited to pop a photo of a Cappuccino up...  :)

(http://i46.servimg.com/u/f46/15/16/31/15/img_7510.jpg)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Littlefish on March 22, 2018, 11:05:19 AM
Lovely colouring.  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 22, 2018, 04:29:12 PM
They are nice, eh Donna...  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 23, 2018, 11:22:13 AM
One juvenile (about 15mm to 18mm) Cappuccino has gone in the tank today...   :D  Being a mere pup, he's not as magnificently coloured as the big 'un in the photo, but I'm sure he'll get there soon enough...  But for now, he has joined the ranks of The Cookie Clean Up Crew   ;D
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Littlefish on March 23, 2018, 04:03:32 PM
Congratulations on your new arrival. I hope that he settles in with the rest of the crew in his new home.  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 23, 2018, 04:44:37 PM
Depending on how well he settles, I could easily be tempted by another one so he/she has a buddy...  :) 

At the moment though, he's climbed up on the front glass a little and just perched himself there for now...  Hopefully, once he settles a little more, he'll be bombing around merrily munching away etc...  :)

(https://imagez.to/i/M8HDe9xm.jpg)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on March 23, 2018, 06:25:55 PM
He looks lovely. I can see some of the tetras keeping a watchful eye on the new inhabitant (or maybe just on you taking the pic). Don't be perturbed if he sleeps for days at a time; although I'm not at all familiar with the habits of non-nerites, my nerite spent about 8 months of being out and about for a day or two followed by up to five days disappearing (hugged to the far side of the filter or probably under the substrate) although that seems to have changed in the past month or two when he's been out daily and being very active.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Helen on March 23, 2018, 10:36:26 PM
Off topic, sorry. But @TopCookie , what is the plant on the right-hand "third" line that has large heart shaped leaves? It looks like a green version of my Nymphaea Lotus.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 23, 2018, 10:40:31 PM
@Helen

Here ya go:  http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Nymphoideshydrophylla'Taiwan'(041BTC)/4463

:)

It's a favourite snack for the Amano shrimp at times...  They don't all munch on it and those that do don't do so all the time, but the little blighters will eat the leaves...!!!
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 23, 2018, 10:43:56 PM
I should add to that, that I have four Corydoras Ornatus and there's something about the roots of that plant which appeals to those boys too, as they're often grubbing around in the substrate where the stems go through...  I suspect it must be all manner of micro-critters and that the Corys are eating them...  However, they don't appear to damage the plant itself...  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 23, 2018, 10:46:02 PM
@fcmf

He's moved off now and is pottering around - but slowly...  When introducing Rabbit snails, they always seem to embark on missions immediately, where as this Cappuccino seems to be taking his time adjusting to his new surroundings...  Hope the little soldier is gonna be ok...
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 25, 2018, 09:47:47 AM
Well, the Cappuccino Faunus seems to have settled in nicely now and is pottering around more like you'd expect...  Really pleased with him...  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Littlefish on March 25, 2018, 10:28:41 AM
Great to hear that he is making himself comfortable in your tank.  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 25, 2018, 10:35:37 AM
I'll report back on him when he's been in the tank a bit longer...  For the record, he's been dubbed: the "Cornetto Snail"...  lolol, not by me, but I kinda like that handle...   :D
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Littlefish on March 25, 2018, 11:07:03 AM
I like it too.  ;D
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on March 25, 2018, 11:10:27 AM
Well, the Cappuccino Faunus seems to have settled in nicely now and is pottering around more like you'd expect...  Really pleased with him...  :)
:cheers:
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 28, 2018, 04:22:50 PM
Here he is, on a mission, algae munching on the rear glass...   :D

(https://imagez.to/i/rSsgKdia.jpg)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Littlefish on March 28, 2018, 06:01:11 PM
Good to see him settled in.  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 28, 2018, 06:30:35 PM
I couldn't resist it and have today ordered a buddy for him...   ::)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Littlefish on March 28, 2018, 07:21:46 PM
Your "Cornetto" is getting a buddy  :cheers:

Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 28, 2018, 11:13:52 PM
I won't be able to sing the song after that...  "Just one Cornetto..."   8)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Matt on March 29, 2018, 12:58:11 PM
Ok well maybe you should "give it to me" instead...
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 29, 2018, 01:29:34 PM
lolol Matt...   :rotfl:

Cornetto #2 is in the house...!!!   ;D   

Just acclimating him a little and then he can join Cornetto #1 for an invertebrate party...  ::)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 29, 2018, 03:44:09 PM
Think I've also spotted a second baby Black Spotted Rabbit snail today...  My largest of the Rabbit snails is a BSP and she arrived with child, unbeknown to me at the time...  A couple of weeks after adding her, she "gave birth" to one young 'un and I discovered that the females can carry sperm and store it etc...  Now she has had a second wee bairn...  Lolol...  free Rabbit snails deffo works for me...   :D
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on March 29, 2018, 07:38:31 PM
Looking forward to seeing pics of Cornetto #2 (and the baby rabbit snails).
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on March 29, 2018, 10:07:18 PM
The baby Rabbit snails are so cute...  like perfect miniatures of the adults, but really diddy...  When I initially saw the first baby, I wasn't sure if it might be a hitch-hiking pest snail and consequently took him out of the tank but popped him in a fish bag with some tank water...  Took a while, but after some searching on the web and popping a photo on another forum I was told that it wasn't an MTS or Assassin baby plus eventually got to see some photos of baby Rabbit snails, and so a few days later, back in the tank it went...  :)

There's quite conflicting information about Rabbit snail breeding habits...  Most on-line info tells you they have one offspring at a time, which is true, but that they are usually several months apart...  Asking about them at my LFS, they told me they can reproduce a bit faster, maybe one offspring per month...  Either way, they don't/won't get out of control in the way most snails do and I figure that even if I do get another baby at one monthly intervals, I should be able to take some to the LFS...  Great snails though, and fun to watch pottering around... 

Starting to like the Cornetto snails just as much too...  :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on April 03, 2018, 10:35:06 PM
The two "Cornetto" snails...   ;D   (Faunus Cappuccino)

(https://imagez.to/i/n0wZjx7r.jpg)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Matt on April 04, 2018, 01:46:55 PM
I don't know why but I have got it stuck in my head that they are cappuccino snails... sort of fits actually!
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on April 04, 2018, 02:29:09 PM
They are Cappuccino snails Matt...  the "Cornetto" moniker is a somewhat cheeky tongue-in-cheek unofficial nickname...   ;)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on July 15, 2018, 04:56:55 PM
Glad you got your faunus snails when you did, @TopCookie, because I see that they're no longer sold - only nerites these days.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on July 15, 2018, 11:43:22 PM
Ditto that @fcmf  :) 

I dunno why they've stopped listing them but it is a great pity...  I'd happily have more of them...  Hopefully they will reappear at some point down the line...  Oddly, Pro Shrimp no longer offer the Rabbit snails either... 

I would happily add more of the Red Nerites (Vittina Waigiensis), but boy you have to be quick when they come in stock as they sell out very swiftly...!!!

Edit:  Wharf have the "Batman" Nerites, very similar to the Black Helmet Nerites, but a slightly different shell shape...  Could be tempted by one of those boys in the future... 
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on July 19, 2018, 09:29:43 PM
I would happily add more of the Red Nerites (Vittina Waigiensis), but boy you have to be quick when they come in stock as they sell out very swiftly...!!!
Ahem - hope you've read my tip-off PM from yesterday (or maybe you've not logged in to see). Get moving now if you want more!!! I've one en route myself.  ;D

Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on July 20, 2018, 11:07:51 PM
@fcmf

It's done...!!!  Thank you for the heads up fcmf...  Two more Red Nerites en route to Cookie Towers as we speak...!!!   ;D   Genuinely pretty ornamental snails, for sure...!!!

PS:  Yes, I was away from home for a couple of days...  Was, sadly, at the funeral of my best man from my original wedding, many moons ago...    :'(
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on July 24, 2018, 12:12:20 PM
Postie has delivered...   :D   Pro-Shrimp sent me three Red Nerites, instead of two...  Very happy bunny now...!!!  One in particular is a real beauty...  the other two are fairly dark but still gorgeous...  all three are fairly small'ish   :D
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on July 24, 2018, 09:02:16 PM
Excellent news, @TopCookie - maybe your real beauty one is the same as / similar to my little one. (We should compare pics, although the quality of mine at the mo are bad as it's so bright outside and I keep getting reflections of myself.)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Sue on July 24, 2018, 09:11:15 PM
I lost another snail last week, the red with black markings that I bought in December 2014. So I'm on the lookout for more and since I got most of mine from the MA that no longer exists thanks to the fire, I'll be looking on-line for some interesting replacements.

What is the place you are all getting your gorgeous snails from?
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on July 24, 2018, 10:26:47 PM
Here ya go Sue...  although, they're out of stock of the Reds again now...  You've gotta be quick...!!! 

https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/211-snails  (Reds at bottom of page)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Sue on July 25, 2018, 04:13:00 PM
Thank you for the link. It never occurred to me that ProShrimp sold snails as well  :-[
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: fcmf on July 25, 2018, 06:19:55 PM
I may be wrong but I have a feeling they only started doing so shortly before I bought my beautiful orange one from there in May last year.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Sue on July 25, 2018, 06:44:03 PM
Of course the ones I like - mixed Clithon sowerbyana and Vittina waigiensis - are out of stock so I must keep an eye out for when they are available again.
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on July 26, 2018, 05:18:17 PM
Nice, those Clithon Sowerbyana Sue... 
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: Matt on July 26, 2018, 07:34:43 PM
They come both plain and patterned. Make sure you get ones you like... mine are disappointingly 'merky green' colour. They arw nice an active though so you get to see more of them :)
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on July 26, 2018, 10:26:09 PM
Really chuffed with my now five Red Nerites from that "active" and visible point of view...  :)   The one Nerite that is difficult to see is the solitary Black Helmet Nerite, although to be fair his roll was always about being an essential part of the clean up crew as opposed to being pleasant on the eye... 
Title: Re: Faunus Snails
Post by: TopCookie on July 27, 2018, 11:14:45 PM
Low & behold, the very day after I moan about the Black Helmet Nerite being almost invisible, I catch him doing a full length of the tank's front glass today and in broad daylight too...!!!  Blimey, he's fast though...!!!  I would certainly recommend the Black Helmet Nerites to anybody wanting a really good clean up crew member...  :)