Snail tank

[Moby2BettaBuddy]

Hi,
I have .5 gallon cube tank that PetCo sold me when I bought my Betta. WAY TOO SMALL from my Betta, who is now enjoying a FluVal Spec III (3 gallon) tank with lots of live plants. I got a couple of black and yellow striped snails (don't know the name) My snails in my main tank are having babies and I am thinking about moving the babies to the .5 galon cube with some of my extra plants.

Questions:
1. Will the baby snails survive in the .5 gallon tank with no heater and no filtration?
2. If so, what do I need to feed them?
3. How often should I change the water?

Thank you,
Randy/Folsom, CA

 

[Aquaticfrog32]

1) Yep, they will survive. Snails are pretty durable.
2) You should feed 'em algae wafers. Mine love the Hikari stuff.
3) Once a week for a tank that small.

What brand of cube tank is it?

 

[Moby2BettaBuddy]

1) Yep, they will survive. Snails are pretty durable.
2) You should feed 'em algae wafers. Mine love the Hikari stuff.
3) Once a week for a tank that small.

What brand of cube tank is it?

Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure about the brand of cube tank as I threw away the box.
Randy/Folsom, CA

 

[sirena]

I'll "extra answer" this even though Moby already covered it, in case you may begin to have other interests with your snails, such as breeding. I'm into snails so I get excited when someone else sets up a snail tank

1. Yes.
2. Seconded on the Hikari algae wafers, although I throw one of these in a snail tank rarely, maybe once a week. I use vegetable based fish food or invert food in snail tanks. I find using too frequent algae wafers clouds snail tanks.
3. I'll go with Moby's answer.

And here's my input: I have 6 invert tanks. The small ones (5 gallon) I do water changes twice a week (20-40%). Don't forget to add calcium. If you don't add filtration or a heater (which is almost always fine as Moby says, unless your house is cold.. and perhaps then it might still be fine unless the snail is tropical - look it up online depending upon species), I like the idea of adding an airstone. Airstone may not be needed if you just have the one nerite (I'm guessing) which isn't likely to breed, but if you build a colony, you might want to get an airstone going. Also, before water changes, stir up the water a lot so the yuck from the bottom gets agitated to you can remove it better (never mind that if you vacuum). I overfeed to encourage breeding, which is why I do frequent water changes, and I don't vacuum so I don't suck up babies.

Sorry for all that detail, it's late

 

[Tifftastic]

You're going to need to change the water more often than once a week with snails in a half gallon tank. The nitrates will spike very quickly. S sirena mentioned once a week for five gallon tanks, which I would likely agree with, but we're talking about 0.5 gallons here. Its going to be difficult to keep clean as snails have a good bioload for their size.
Offer more variety than just algae wafers. Something with calcium, broccoli is a good one.
You don't need a filter, but I'd recommend an airstone for surface agitation. A filter in that size will take up too much space and a heater will be unreliable. But without a filter you will need something for good bacteria, so make sure you've got a good substrate.
The tank is going to be overrun fairly quickly with snails I think.

 

[Aquaticfrog32]

What plants are you planning in the half-gal?

 

[sirena]

Actually I said I do water changes in the five gallons twice a week, but that's ok

Following up on Aquaticfrog's post, I use java moss for plants in my five gallons and it thrives and remains very controllable. It might work well for you.

I'm curious as to what type of snails you have going? I guess I didn't read your post carefully enough last night. Is it possible to attach a pic?

 

[Tifftastic]

Actually I said I do water changes in the five gallons twice a week, but that's ok

Following up on Aquaticfrog's post, I use java moss for plants in my five gallons and it thrives and remains very controllable. It might work well for you.

I'm curious as to what type of snails you have going? I guess I didn't read your post carefully enough last night. Is it possible to attach a pic?

You did say that you do changes in your 5 gallons twice a week, but you said you agree with the suggestion of a once a week change. . .

I can see I'm outnumbered here, but I don't think it's a good idea to try to make a 0.5 gallon a snail tank.

 

[sirena]

Oh, don't give up I love the idea of snail tanks! I have several as I said! And I only change the water a couple times a week because I over feed (on purpose to encourage breeding). Give it a try, if you're up for it. Snails are very fun. I'd direct to you an encouraging website if it would allow me to post links. The guy talks about how much fun he's had with his snails, unique types of shells he's been able to get, etc. The water doesn't foul as fast if you limit the food. And you can get special invert pellets and only put in, say, a pellet a day. Keeps the water nice. Put in a plant and that will help keep the water good also. I bet a couple of dwarf shrimp in there would be great, too.

 

[Aquaticfrog32]

I agree with Tifftastic on thinking you would be better off without the snail tank. I have tried a half gallon nano, and problems like algae control, water changing, trying to find supplies for it showed up.That's just my opinion. Maybe you'll be better at it than me. Half gals I think, are too small to be permanent homes.