Comparison of Channeled Apple Snail & Florida Apple Snail

Have you ever noticed clusters of pearl-sized eggs attached to aquatic vegetation or dock pilings and wondered what they were?
Chances are, they belong to one of the numerous species of applesnails that inhabit Florida’s many lakes, pond, marshes and drainage ditches. If they are light pink or white in color, and arranged in groupings of 50 or less, they probably belong to the Florida applesnail (Pomacea paludosa), the largest of all freshwater snails native toNorth America.With a length of two inches and a maximum diameter of two and one-half inches, the Florida applesnail is distinguished from other applesnails by its pattern of dark brown bands on a lighterbrown background. Its striped pattern also provides camouflage from predators.

Applesnails are important constituents of aquatic ecosystems; they are the preferred food of limpkins and white ibis, and contribute to the diets of fish, alligators, turtles, wading birds, and river otters. They also serve as the primary food source for the endangered Florida snail kite which suggests that conditions adversely impacting snail populations may also indirectly impact Snail Kite populations.

For the most part, applesnails feed upon soft plant material, preferring algae, grasses, and duckweed. However, in the absence of a preferred food source, they have been observed preying upon other snail eggs or even smaller snails, including members of their own species. Their unique respiratory system, which includes both gills and a primitive lung, allows them to breathe in water during the wet season and also from the air, during the dry season. This is an important survival tactic for an animal that lives in subtropical and/or tropical marshes, ponds, and lakes —environments that typically experience prolonged periods of wet and/or dry conditions.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
At least two species of non-indigenous or “exotic” applesnails have established reproducing populations in the wild in Florida. The channeled applesnail and the spike-topped applesnail are native to South America and it’s suspected that both species were introduced to Florida by the aquarium trade: Florida Applesnail hobbyists who were cleaning or discarding animals from their aquariums. Note: State biologists recommend that when cleaning or emptying an aquarium, one should flood the tank’s contents with a bleach solution prior to emptying. The contents should then be emptied, in a dry, safe location — away from any waterbodies.

The channeled applesnail (Pomacea canaliculata) is marketed as the golden applesnail in pet and aquarium shops. The spike-topped applesnail (Pomacea bridgesi) is marketed as the golden mystery snail or the ivory snail.

The channeled apple snail has become particularly prolific in south Florida canals and in lakes and ponds in the Tallahassee area. The proliferation of these species in the wild has caused concern among biologists who speculate that the larger non-native species may displace the native Florida applesnails from their habitats, disrupting the natural function of aquatic ecosystems. Because these snails are very similar in appearance to the native species, identifying them in the wild has been a challenge for biologists.