Are apple snails a intermediate host for (fish) parasites?
I don’t know if there are fish parasites who have have snails as intermediate host, but there are several non-fish parasites who have the the apple snail as intermediate host. The parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a nematode parasite, also know as the rat lung worm, has the apple snail as an intermediate host. This parasite causes eosinophilic meningonencephalitis in humans, resulting in severe neurological disorders and even death. But don’t worry if you got your snail from a pet shop. The only way the snail can be infected is by living in water were infected rats or mice live. And even then, you have to eat the snail or your waterplants (on wich the parasites attach themselves after finishing their life-cyclus in the snails and wait there for being eaten by there main-host). If you suspect your snail from being infected, just keep them away from their main host. By that way, you can break the life cyclus of the parasite, and you will get lost of them. Beware that it can take a lo
