I saw at someones house that they had a snail in the tank. I want one because I think they are sweet. But I don't know what kind of snail would be good for my aquarium and with my fish. Also, what do you feed them?
Want a snail but don't know much about them.
- Thread starter Tetras_Rule33
- Start date
Read this article
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50705
It explains a lot. Please read it and come back with specific questions to ask, or else people might jump down your throat for being "lazy". Seriously, not doing a search beforehand is grounds for getting banned on some forums (petshrimp.com has a very tightly run discussion forum). On Aquaria Central, it just makes people abuse you verbally.
for your 10 gal in your signature, i think any snails will work fine. Malaysian trumpet, common pond, ramshorn, apple, mystery (apple snails are just a golden variety of mystery snail, I think). I would only worry if I had fish that would eat snails (and I do) and they might try to crunch on a really hard shell and hurt themselves. your betta may or may not try to eat a snail. Maybe put something too big for him to get the whole thing in his mouth, a large mystery or apple would be great.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50705
It explains a lot. Please read it and come back with specific questions to ask, or else people might jump down your throat for being "lazy". Seriously, not doing a search beforehand is grounds for getting banned on some forums (petshrimp.com has a very tightly run discussion forum). On Aquaria Central, it just makes people abuse you verbally.
for your 10 gal in your signature, i think any snails will work fine. Malaysian trumpet, common pond, ramshorn, apple, mystery (apple snails are just a golden variety of mystery snail, I think). I would only worry if I had fish that would eat snails (and I do) and they might try to crunch on a really hard shell and hurt themselves. your betta may or may not try to eat a snail. Maybe put something too big for him to get the whole thing in his mouth, a large mystery or apple would be great.
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bleach_freak said:
Not all snails eat live plants. In fact there are some snails that will starve to death in a healthy planted tank because they will not touch live plants.
Feeding snails should consist of food high in calcium as well as lots of veggies some algae pellets.
Okay i read most of that article and I was thinking more of a ramshorn, something smaller. I would put it in my 10g so it wouldn't be with the betta, just the tetras. And I don't have live plants. But if I got one, how would my fish react to it, do you think they'd be scared or vicious to it, or the other way around.
good, I'm glad you read the article. I don't think your fishies will react badly to it. In my experience, snails move so slowly and mind their own business that fish don't even know they're there. (Unless they're snail-eaters and then they notice quickly!)
One ramshorn will work just fine, especially since they are hermaphrodites, so any two snails you put together will breed (e.g. everybody is the "opposite" sex, since they all have both sets of organs). Ramshorns (and most freshwater snails I think) are peaceful. While there are some marine snails that will harpoon and eat fishes, those available for FW aquaria will not.
Just keep in mind, though, that if the ramshorn you purchase happens to be "pregnant", it may lay eggs when it's in your tank. In which case, you may end up with tons of baby snails. The article gives ways to control their population, though, like not overfeeding and keeping up with tank cleaning/water changes.
Sorry if I scared you earlier. Lately there has been a lot of verbal abuse, to the point of name-calling, on this forum. We got 2 new moderators today, so I think it will get better.
Thanks for taking my advice! Let us know if you have any other questions
One ramshorn will work just fine, especially since they are hermaphrodites, so any two snails you put together will breed (e.g. everybody is the "opposite" sex, since they all have both sets of organs). Ramshorns (and most freshwater snails I think) are peaceful. While there are some marine snails that will harpoon and eat fishes, those available for FW aquaria will not.
Just keep in mind, though, that if the ramshorn you purchase happens to be "pregnant", it may lay eggs when it's in your tank. In which case, you may end up with tons of baby snails. The article gives ways to control their population, though, like not overfeeding and keeping up with tank cleaning/water changes.
Sorry if I scared you earlier. Lately there has been a lot of verbal abuse, to the point of name-calling, on this forum. We got 2 new moderators today, so I think it will get better.
Thanks for taking my advice! Let us know if you have any other questions
I just read up on ramshorn snails on wikipedia, lol. They seem great but the only think i'm worried about is getting a pregnant one, because that would be a pain. Here is a quote from wikipedia...
"Good fish roommates for snails include, but are not limited to, danios, guppies, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, neon tetras, and cory catfish. All of these are non-aggressive fish that cohabitate easily with snails."
So it seems they would be fine with neons, but i'm wondering with my white skirted tetras. They fight with each other once in a while but leave the neons alone and barely even interact with them. I'm wondering if they would nip at the snail.
"Good fish roommates for snails include, but are not limited to, danios, guppies, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, neon tetras, and cory catfish. All of these are non-aggressive fish that cohabitate easily with snails."
So it seems they would be fine with neons, but i'm wondering with my white skirted tetras. They fight with each other once in a while but leave the neons alone and barely even interact with them. I'm wondering if they would nip at the snail.
I read part of that article and have a question. It says that mystery snails grow large "by snail standards". I know true apple snails can get really big, but I've always seen max size for a MS as 2". Is that "big" for snails, or will a mystery snail get to 4 or 5"? Also, I saw on the Drs. Foster and Smith site that you should keep your water level a couple inches below the top of the tank so the snails can get out and breath. Is that necessary? I have an HOB heater that requires a high water level. Can I still keep a snail or two in there to take care of algae on the sides?
i've seen pictures of mystery snails (dont' remember if it was apple or not) where they're literally as big as your palm.
my ramshorns go to the surface to breathe, but they're really small and i do have 2 inches free at the top of their container (plus a lid with air holes). maybe an inquisitive big snail would find itself up there, get curious, and just continue out of the tank.
my ramshorns go to the surface to breathe, but they're really small and i do have 2 inches free at the top of their container (plus a lid with air holes). maybe an inquisitive big snail would find itself up there, get curious, and just continue out of the tank.
I've had my apple snail, Gary, for a couple of years now and he's huge! I adore him, though. He came in with an order of fish at wal-mart where my friend worked. They weren't allowed to sell him so he put him into a bag and marked it damaged goods so I could take it out of the store no-charge. 
At this time he was about the size of my pinky nail and now he sprawls out the entire size of my palm. When I do water changes I'll take him out of the tank and he slimes around on my hand or shuts his shell and I use an old toothbrush to brush the little bit of algae off of his shell that the bristlenose missed. They're such fun to watch! He definitely has a personality and loves veggies, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, flakes, tubifex worms...pretty much anything he can get his radula on. You should check out www.applesnail.net They have great information on pet snails!!! Here's some pictures of Gary in my 75G tank:
At this time he was about the size of my pinky nail and now he sprawls out the entire size of my palm. When I do water changes I'll take him out of the tank and he slimes around on my hand or shuts his shell and I use an old toothbrush to brush the little bit of algae off of his shell that the bristlenose missed. They're such fun to watch! He definitely has a personality and loves veggies, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, flakes, tubifex worms...pretty much anything he can get his radula on. You should check out www.applesnail.net They have great information on pet snails!!! Here's some pictures of Gary in my 75G tank: