Mystery snails

T

trevor30

Always more to learn.
Jul 20, 2006
172
0
16
Lawrenceville, GA
What exactly do these snails do in a tank? I see them everywhere for sale but am not quite sure what purpose they serve. Also, may seem like a wierd question, but if they get knocked on their back can they flip themselves over?
Thanks.
 
They are pretty much for show. They do clean a little but will starve if not fed properly. I have several and I love them, they are very comical. However, they do need to be fed fresh veggies, such as collard greens, cucumber, zucchini and such. Mine also love apple & potato slices. They don't eat your live plants and yes, they can right themselves if turned over. BTW these are actually apple snails, aka brigs ;)
 
i dont really feed mine, but then again, i only have one, so there are enough scaps to go around.

i havent fed mine veggies, but i do notice it does kinda clean up algae on the wall, not that they directly go after algae, but when its available i guess, they'll go for it.

my 2 cents
 
they are cool creatures... and about feeding them, i feed my algae wafers and thats pretty much it. And he is still alive and kickin' and is the funniest creature in my tank :joke:
 
I love my brigs--they are funny. They climb up the side of the tank and then catapult down to the bottom or onto some improbably light plant. Also they love to suck on the co2 diffusers--oooh they love bubbles.
 
yeah, mystery/apple/ramshorn snails are pretty much just for show... there shouldn't be any pet owned for a cold, hard purpose IMO.... I love my RRH (red ramshorn) snail, and he loves eating my java moss. I don't really mind, though... plenty of that in my tank....
 
snails will occassionally just eat the scraps and algae in a tank if its pretty well established and theres not many snails. otherwise, you'll have to feed and supplement them with algae pellets as well as fresh vegetables. they themselves are not very particular to water parameters but their shells are. pH needs to be at 7 or above to prevent eroding of their shells and a calcium supplement would be nice for them. other than that, IMO they poop more than they clean. they breed like crazy too. i had 3 mystery snails, 2 gold and 1 blue. blue one i really liked but disappeared one day and i haven't seen or found it for about a month now. after it went missing, my 2 gold ones started to breed. since then they have laid 4 egg sacs which i kept throwing but decided to leave one she recently planted on my hood. baby snails, here they come!
 
Mystery snails are the one type of apple snail that doesn't eat plants--it will eat dead or decaying leaves, but not healthy leaves. I watch mine carefully to see if they are chomping at the plants, and nothing so far!
 
I have a blue mystery,and he is a sight to watch! It's funny....when u think snail,(@ least I do...) you think slow moving....but my mystery moves pretty darn fast for a snail! I only have 5 Red Minor Tetras in my 35 gal,but he cleans up scraps pretty good.I have been experimenting with various veggies cucumbers,lettuce,carrots....all went over pretty well,but the winner has to be.....GRAPES! I put a piece in around 8 30 and he has'nt stopped eating it since. To watch them chomp on food is quite facinating!!
 
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