# On snails



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

You hate snails. You hate them so much that you are deathly afraid of plant purchases, and scrutinize every millimeter of your newly bagged fish, lest those demons hid themselves in the gills.

We've all heard the horror stories, stories of those hitchhikers that multiplied and took over the world. they bear demonic horns and have impenetrable shells which house their slimed innards...

The truth is, the above perspective on snails is extremely skewed, as many do not understand the benefits of these invertebrate creatures. 

Snails come hand in hand with plants. In fact, they aid in keeping your planted tanks healthier by noming on the dead and dying. This breaks matter down via digestion rather than leaving the work to some nasty bacteria or fungi.

Many species, with the exception of the rabbit snails (well named, well named...) do no harm to aquatic flora. In fact their mouths are not made to chew through live plants. They prefer the softer items on the menu, such as algae, rotting plants and surface film. All of which are common headaches to the aquarist. Especially an aquarist with snail phobia.

Speaking of surface film, how many of you have that nasty stuff canopying your betta's lovely planted domain? You be arming yourselves with paper towels and doing the manual removal thing, frantically trying to skim off the rest with a spoon or sucking it up with the turkey baster.








The most efficient clean up crew for protein films, believe it or not, are pond snails. they glide on the water tension like a ballerina on ice. You can be sure that 3 or 4 of these guys will keep that surface polished and looking spanking new. 









Ramshorn snails are another type of fascinating hitchhikers.
They are so named after the shape of their shells - a tight coil resembling a ram's horn. These fellows come in a broad variety of coloration and patterns. Red, brown, leopard spot and russian blue to name a few. The babies are definitely a favorite betta snack due to their relatively thin shells. 

The above mentioned snails are hermaphrodites. This essentially means that any two snails can mate and lay eggs.

Malaysian trumpet snails on the other hand are live bearers, these do not need another snail to mate with, and the offspring are essentially miniature clones of the parent. Malaysian trumpet snails are useful in working the substrate. Much like how the earthworm is beneficial in working land soil. 

If you only feed your betta in the tank, you shouldn't have a snail population explosion. A baby population of snails in a betta tank can take up to 6 months to become breeding adults, due to lack of excess food. This is especially so in a planted tank. In a planted tank, plants absorb nutrition and make it unavailable for algae aka snail food.










Those who wants to play it safe will find that assassin snails and nerites snails are the way to go. 
Nerites are not hermaphrodites and nerite eggs only hatch in brackish water. This is possibly due to the fact that certain essential minerals are not available in the freshwater aquaria for shell development. 
The only flip side to these guys are their size, making them a tad too heavy to maintain anything that cannothold their weight. They are however, perfect for the non planted tank.

Assassin snails are slow breeders. offspring will take up to 6 months to mature and will live exclusively in the substrate. Also due to their popularity and high demand, you can always sell extras for a hefty sum. Another bonus? They will snack on other snails and possibly keepthe population in check. But, don't depend on it if you feed them...

So you still want to get rid of these lovely creatures? Then potassium permanganate is your best friend. 
(usually purchasable from ebay)
a tiny bit of this stuff goes a long way. mix just enough for the water to go light pink to make a plant quarantine solution. This compound will kill micro organisms, snails, snail eggs, protozoans and bacteria

Change out water after 4 hours and quarantine for another week to be doubly sure. Plant quarantine should be done with tank water and plants placed in a bright area of the house. 

Your plants should now be snail free!

(you snail murderer)

(just kidding)


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## starrlamia (May 3, 2012)

love it! should be a sticky 
i love my nomming snails!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Thanks, I wrote it a while ago for the betta fish weekly. unfortunately there ins no longer enough manpower to keep the paper in production D:


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## JackisLost (Feb 26, 2011)

my tank is enclosed and very humid, maybe that's why i don't have surface film


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Love this article!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I love my snails - just not when they knock over everything in the tank as some are quite large.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Tikibirds said:


> I love my snails - just not when they knock over everything in the tank as some are quite large.



XD that reminds me, I've left out mystery snails.  oops
not a big fan of any snail that gets as big as my betta though


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I fugured the article was about "pest" snails which people hate anyway. Nerites eat algae, mystery snails don't eat algae as much (do they?)


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

mine never did  so I gave him away XD they're wayy too big for me


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## ItsKourtneyYoC8 (Sep 13, 2012)

I looove my apple snail Mac!

Even though they aren't pest you should add them to the list :3


Also, I was wondering, I've been feeding him celery and lettuce and he has been nomming on dead plant matter [could this harm anyone/thing in the tank if I leave it?]

well, I've heard you can feed them algea wafers...would they cause algea to grow in the tank? I wouldn't mind a LITTLE aglea for mac to nom on.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

XD algae wafers wont cause algae directly. but if it is uneaten and left in there too long, you may get an ammonia spike, and THAT might give you algae 

its usually fine to leave veggies in a cycled tank. If uncycled... I would take it out.... Try spinach for the snails, it is much healthier than celery


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## Polishdiva1 (Oct 22, 2012)

1.5 gallon is too small for a snail with the bioload, correct?


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## ItsKourtneyYoC8 (Sep 13, 2012)

Polishdiva1 said:


> 1.5 gallon is too small for a snail with the bioload, correct?


I believe so. 
I think the minimum is 2.5, correct if I'm wrong anyone..lol


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Technically yes. 1.5gallons is too small.

This rule can be overidden if you have enough floaters and stem plants which will keep water parameters in check. So in other words, if a large snail is to be kept in a small tank, the tank will need to be heavily planted and water uality monitored initially. That has been my personal experience.


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## Polishdiva1 (Oct 22, 2012)

What types of plants would you recommend for that?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Low stem plants are pretty fail proof. these include brazilian penny wort, Anacharis, Naja grass, water wisteria, water sprite.....

Floaters like salvinia and duckweed also do not require high levels of light  Dwarf Water lettuce can keep the water clean by mechanically filtering the water with their long bushy roots.

I have many many snails in my 2.5 gallon tank


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## ItsKourtneyYoC8 (Sep 13, 2012)

aokashi said:


> Low stem plants are pretty fail proof. these include brazilian penny wort, Anacharis, Naja grass, water wisteria, water sprite.....
> 
> Floaters like salvinia and duckweed also do not require high levels of light  Dwarf Water lettuce can keep the water clean by mechanically filtering the water with their long bushy roots.
> 
> I have many many snails in my 2.5 gallon tank


Would water lettuce be okay in high light?


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## Fae (Oct 25, 2012)

Love this thread, and your shrimp one too! I have been contemplating getting a nerite snail and a possibly a couple ghost shrimp for my 5G tank, so this came at a great time. 

Do you have any suggestions for brand of algae wafers? I'm thinking there are probably ones that are better than others, just like betta food. And how much do you recommend feeding them?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I never feed my snails or my betta. If i do, I scrape off the algae from my filter and feed that to the snails >.>

the shrimps enjoy picking at things you can't see. The occassional blanched vegetable works great for both snails and shrimps. especially spinach 

My amano scavanged off my fish, they eat just about all types off fish food. you don neccessarily need to feed algae wafers, just supplement with blanched veggies

I need to make a thread on that XD but dont really have time right now. I wrote these two way back for the betta fish weekly, which we dont have enough ppl to do anymore


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## sandrac8388 (Sep 4, 2012)

Great thread Aokashi! I don't know the "hassel" of keeping snails yet but will be getting a nerite snail soon to add to my planted tank. Can you safely keep snails and shrimp together? along with a betta?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

ofcourse you can  Nerites are no hassle at all. if you dont have much alage in the tank, Feeding the occassional blanched spinach will help keep it fed


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## sandrac8388 (Sep 4, 2012)

But nerites will eat dead plant matter right? I'm so uneducated lol.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

sandrac8388 said:


> But nerites will eat dead plant matter right? I'm so uneducated lol.


I've never seen mine do it so I cant say for sure  but theoretically if they eat blanched spinach, they should also eat dying plant matter


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## Maddybelle (Sep 29, 2012)

Aokashi, I love this thread! Shame you forgot apple snails, though. Ah, well::lol:

*Apple snails in general:*
All apple snails (genus _Pomacea_) have both a lung and a gill. They breath from the surface using a muscular flap that they roll into a tube called a siphon. Apple snails have distinct genders: males have the standard male "equipment", females obviously don't. Females lay eggs above the waterline in hard clumps, which can easily be removed if you don't want hundreds of tiny snail babies. Eggs hatch in 2-4 weeks, depending on the air temperature, and must be kept damp, but not wet. Adults do not eat algae unless cruelly starved, but babies and juveniles will snack on it. Algea wafers, blanched/boiled veggies, and sinking fish food provide a balanced and varied diet.

*Cana complex snails: Pomacea canliculata, P. haustrum, P. maculata P. paludosa, P. insularum
*









These guys get BIG! There really is no getting around the 2.5 gal rule here: honestly these guys need about 5 gal each, minimum. The different species of the _Cana_ complex look very similar, and can be nearly indistinguishable except by looking at the shape, size, and color of their eggs. These gentle giants will see your prized plants as an all you can eat salad bar, so don't put them in a tank with live plants. All members of the _Cana _complex are currently illegal to transport across state lines. (USA)

_*Pomacea diffusa (bridgesii):
*_









Nowhere near as big as snails of the _Cana_ complex, _P. diffusa_ (previously _P. bridgesii_) grow to around the size of a golfball. These charming little snails come in many colors: gold, ivory, wild, chestnut, blue, jade, and several shades of purple. They are the most common species of apple snail seen in pet stores across the US, and most will not eat live plants, but will "prune" bits that are dead or dying.
_*Pomacea diffusa egg clutch
*_


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I stick 2 algae waffers in the tank every few days but I think the bettas are the ones that eat it. I have omega one algae pellets and wardly. I would think the omega one is a better brand. I know wardly betta food is supposed to be pretty bad, I'm thinking its the same with pellets. There are also these things called tank nibbles that I find at walmart. I'm guessing they are pretty bad nutrition wise but fish seem to love them. They stick on the tank wall and pick at it. I think its made by Tetra.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

speaking of apple snails, if anyone owns spixis please be aware that these are legal to own, but illegal to transport over state lines or sell...

it's a pity since they are pretty cool snails. they eat just about eerything including other snails 

I did originally write this to talk about it in terms of hitch hikers XD someone should write a snail article for the compatibility forum...

and and I got a free horned nerite from petco yesterday. it was so tiny they didnt know what it was  

meet nerite and nerite jr!


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Great article ! I have pond snails that came on plants and I put them in their own little half gallon tank and they are so cute and fun to watch, the little one will hitch a ride on the bigger ones...lol They will also whack each other with their shell if they dont want to be bothered also funny to see. Oh and I love how they glide on top of the water.


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## BettaQi (Jul 26, 2012)

Another great thread!

My ivory mystery snail is huge! And he eats like a pig!


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## RandyTheBettaFish (Jul 11, 2012)

How big do zebra nerite snails get?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

RandyTheBettaFish said:


> How big do zebra nerite snails get?


I've never seen one larger than an inch....

The ones I have are pretty small, one is 1/2 in and the other is less than 1/4in XD


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## RandyTheBettaFish (Jul 11, 2012)

Okay thanks! I just got one and I dont want it to end up huge lol


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## ItsKourtneyYoC8 (Sep 13, 2012)

Maddybelle said:


> Aokashi, I love this thread! Shame you forgot apple snails, though. Ah, well::lol:
> 
> *Apple snails in general:*
> All apple snails (genus _Pomacea_) have both a lung and a gill. They breath from the surface using a muscular flap that they roll into a tube called a siphon. Apple snails have distinct genders: males have the standard male "equipment", females obviously don't. Females lay eggs above the waterline in hard clumps, which can easily be removed if you don't want hundreds of tiny snail babies. Eggs hatch in 2-4 weeks, depending on the air temperature, and must be kept damp, but not wet. Adults do not eat algae unless cruelly starved, but babies and juveniles will snack on it. Algea wafers, blanched/boiled veggies, and sinking fish food provide a balanced and varied diet.
> ...



How long does.it take them to get that big? I have one and Ithink he.is.so.cool!
I'm glad I have good sized aquarium!


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## MellC (Nov 9, 2012)

I use Omega One Algae disk/rounds, I have not gotten a algae bloom. Check the ingredients. Some disks have no algae in them....


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

most "algae wafers" do not have algae. The better one have a higher amount of spirulina.
either way the algae is dry and dead XD


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## Maddybelle (Sep 29, 2012)

Yay for dead algae!!! Sorry, I hate algae even more than pest snails.

Kourtney - I'm not sure how long it takes snails in the _Cana_ complex to get full grown - I got my first two as adults. I now have around 12 babies, which are growing amazingly fast. I really depends on the temperature in their tank/enviroment and the availability of food.


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## MellC (Nov 9, 2012)

I just bought two snails, I had been rolling it around and then read this and got two. I love them! They are so cute, and sneaky... Figures I'd buy sneaky snails. They wait for me to turn my back before they move, I turn around and they are quite a distance from where they were, and for the first day and a half they played dead....


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## Kevron56 (Oct 11, 2012)

Ok, I want to adopt a few now! Gotta find a snail forum to join now.... Lol!


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## sandrac8388 (Sep 4, 2012)

Mine sit on my anubias to sun bathe and when they get off they leave tons of poop everywhere!! Grrr!!! Aokashi, now i know how annoying they can be lol.


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## Catie79 (Jan 22, 2012)

I was a member of the snail avoiding brigade for a long time. Plant quarantine and dips and everything to avoid them. Then I started maintaining a little planted shrimp bowl and couldn't get control of the algae situation. Such a small system. So I went to the store and bought a little bitty gold snail to go in there. He was so little, he would surely do fine in a 1g bowl. Oops.

Now I have two of these gold apple snails (trap door kind, the ones that get golfball sized) and they've been moved to my planted forty gallon to be the heart of my clean up crew. They are always in motion, cleaning up dead plants, missed food, and even algae. They're surprisingly pretty. 










They love the days when they get bits of blanched sweet potatoes (discovered this when feeding a BN pleco and found the snails on either side of the slice just going to town). I must have lucked out and gotten two males as I haven't seen any egg clutches in the many months I've had my mighty golden duo. They're about golfball sized now, but still manage to climb up my vals. Of course the vals bend when they get near the top and the snails just ride the plant down.

When shopping for apple/mystery snails, I specifically look for the trap door so I know I'm not getting anything that will reproduce on it's own or that will get massive. I don't trust the people selling the snails to have a clue that they even come in different species.

One word of warning to the betta owners: Bettas like snail antenna. They must look like little worms or something. When I first introduced my betta imbellis to my big tank, they immediately nipped those lovely antenna off of my snails. Since then, my snails have learned to duck and cover when the bettas come snooping around. I still won't put my nerites in there since they're so much smaller. I keep them in my shrimp/Endlers tank. They're much safer in there. I also don't keep a snail with my very active, hunting veiltail male. He goes through ghost shrimp like candy and I don't want to think about what he'd do to a snail. He's learned to leave the otos alone (they're faster than him), so they serve as algae control for that tank and the ghost shrimp do clean up until their luck runs out.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

XD love your snail story 
I keep my nerites with the betta. my fish is too spoilt to care about snail antennae  he did eat a few when he was a baby


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