# question about snails



## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

I've been thinking of getting a snail for Bushi's tank. He's in a heated 5gal tank with lots of silk plants, and I'm about to get some live plants here soon. I have been reading up on snails, and I just think they are so cute! I know about the bio load, so that means more water changes, but I'm ok with that. 

How do you go about adding a snail into the tank? Would I add the snail first (meaning take Bu out)? Or just plop him in? Do you need to acclimate them like you do with fish? Do they actually need food, or can they survive on random stuff in the tank? 

Also, Bu is pretty feisty. When we first brought him home, he flared at my finger when holding the cup he was in. And every time I place a mirror in front of him, he flares non-stop. Is a snail "snack" harmful for bettas? If I notice he doesn't like his new friend, I'll take the snail out... but if I place the snail in a critter keeper or anything of the sort, it probably needs the lid on it, right? 

Sorry for all the questions! Just want to make sure I have all the knowledge I can get! Thanks!


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

I would add the snail first and then your betta so then he doesn't attack the snail, but if you just randomly plop the snail in then the betta might attack him.Yes you need to acclimate the snail. Yes they eat food like algae wafers, but they also need greenies in their diet (Lettuce, cucumber, and zucchini are what i can think of right now). Feed them greens only one each week and you can give them algae wafers every other day. Be careful if you have live plants and add snails some species of snails make snacks of the plants. 

If a betta eats a snail it won't harm the betta. Yes snails need lids or they will try to get out.


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## NorthernLights (Mar 2, 2012)

There are a number of different types of snails that are commonly kept with bettas. You may wish to research them a bit before picking which kind is best for your setup. 

Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) for example, are small cone-shaped burrowing snails and probably need a sand or soil-bottom tank to be happy. As a plus, they will aerate your substrate for you. Also, they are able to reproduce completely on their own (mine just did a week ago), so that is something to consider in a 5 gallon tank. 

Nerite Snails are pretty hardy, and very little of their body is outside their shell, which many people find to be an advantage when living with a betta, as they are "armored". They are algae eaters and will keep your tank very clean of algae, but can starve if there is no algae in the tank (some folks have had luck feeding them algae wafers, but others have found they refuse anything but real algae). Nerites can only lay fertile eggs in brackish water, so that is helpful in managing your population. 

Mystery Snails are a variety of Apple Snail that come in many colors and can move extremely quickly! They eat dead (not live) plants, although mine have always preferred fish food. Unlike some snails, they have specific genders and need to mate with a snail of the opposite gender to reproduce. They are bigger than most other snails and have very long, wavy antennae. While this makes them very interesting to watch, some fish can't resist biting those long antennae. My betta is very aggressive to his reflection but is not interested in nipping the snails, so it can be very hard to predict nipping behavior. 

There are other types of snails, but those are the more common three offered for sale.


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## Aeon (Jul 15, 2014)

About a month ago i got a nitrate snail cuz i have live plants sat him in the tank like a fish n then for nitrates put him on the gravel cuz its harder for them to turn over(like a turtle) n both r fine kai doesnt bother him


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks for all your responses! I am looking at either an Apple Snail or Nerite snail. My only thing is I'm going to try to grow plants again, so I will be so upset if those cute things start to eat my plants! 

Also, I've read that Nerites will still lay eggs, but won't be fertilized. Will Bettas eat the eggs? And if they do, is that harmful in any way? I don't mind cleaning the tank more often, but some people have said there is always TONS of eggs all over the tank. Bu is always "starving" so he will literally try to eat anything in the tank, so if there are eggs everywhere, I know he will eat them.

Should I start out with 1 or 2 snails? If I go with a Mystery, I know only to get one because you don't know the sex... but if I want Nerites, should I get 2? Do they get lonely?


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

I own one Apple snail male and he's happy by himself. I believe that they don't care whether they are alone or not. You can sex an apple snail by looking inside it's shell and seeing if there is a testicle(male) or not(female), Females will have nothing inside the shell. You can hold them upside down and wait to see inside the shell or you can put them in the tank and wait for them to go on the glass until the inside of the shell is visible. I don't know anything about Nitrite snails though.


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## Aeon (Jul 15, 2014)

Nitrates u cant sex they will lay eggs i doubt betta will eat but wont eat plants apples will


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

Actually there are several different species of apple. It depends on what type of apple snail you get that varies if they eat your plants or not.


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## selah (Oct 14, 2014)

Apple snails grow very large, I have seen one recently that was hardball sized.. very big bioload, I would go for the Nerite if I were you.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Don't forget Ramshorns! They can come in a variety of beautiful colors. They do breed a lot if there is excess food in the tank, and can sometimes chow down on live plants if there's no other food available, though. I didn't believe that last part, until I caught a hungry fella in the act. I'd just vacuumed out all the food


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## Aeon (Jul 15, 2014)

SiameseFightingArt said:


> Actually there are several different species of apple. It depends on what type of apple snail you get that varies if they eat your plants or not.


Didnt know that can u tell us what types dont eat plants?


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

I thought ramshorns were a pest snail? Anywho, I took a trip to petsmart and since they were out of nerite snails, I got an apple snail! Say hello to Thomas Edison!  He's got a cute little swirl shell, and his anntenae are so cute! I also picked up a marimo moss ball! My hubby named him an inappropriate name, so I will refrain from saying it... :-/ 

But anyway, after acclimated Edison to his new home, I placed Bushi back in the tank. He checked out the moss ball, then went right up to Edison and gave a rude hello to his new tankmate (he nipped at his shell). Luckily, Edison didn't seem bothered by this... but I really hope Bu will get along with him. 

Any tips or advice on how to care for an apple snail??


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

These sites helped me out a lot 
http://applesnail.net/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RQFZ7MYLmE

If your betta is still being a bully after a while I suggest you take your snail out or you might end up with a dead one.


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## selah (Oct 14, 2014)

the Petsmarts where I live sell mystery snails that are also called apple snails but a true mystery snail grows to be ping-pong sized.. true apple snails grow very large with a bio-load to match.. but they are personable and hard to resist.


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks Siamese! Those sites ARE super helpful... I watched the video last night, she's so funny! 

Yeah, I'm not quite sure what species I have... they were labeled Mystery Snails at petsmart, and they had a few black ones and gold ones. I didn't want the black ones, since they all looked so tiny, so I just had a petsmart employee pick one out for me. I'm starting to think Edison might be a female, due to the black swirls on her shell? Can anyone shed some light on this? 

This morning I got up to check on them, and Edison was wedged in a corner sealed shut, and Bu was doing his normal patrolling of the glass... I really hope Bushi isn't stressing Edison out. :-/


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

Watch him like a hawk. Lol. Also I'm glad you found these sites helpful!


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

Edison finally "woke up" and was crawling on the glass (he's SO CUTE!) and I kept watching Bu swim up to him, then swim away super fast. So, luckily he isn't nipping him, but he's definitely super curious about his new friend.

I blanched some lettuce and cucumber for Edison, but it looks like he's not eating it? I placed some on the glass where he was crawling, and I watched him crawl over it to take some bites of out it, but he couldn't eat it. He gave up, and crawled away. Is there a certain way food needs to be presented or certain sizes? I try to sink some pellets and brine shrimp, but Bu is such a brat and finds all the sunk food! :-(


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

Did you soak the cucumber and lettuce? They prefer soft food. Since your betta is loving eating his friends food you should get algae wafers then maybe your betta wouldn't see it as food.


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

can you upload a photo of the snail shell from above? I can try and identify what type of apple snail it is.


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

Yeah, it seemed soft... I just re-blanched it and put it at the bottom of the tank. I guess I'll just leave it over night and see if any is gone in the morning. I included a blanched pea... is this a bad idea if Bu decides to eat it? Right now Edison is sitting on it. Here's another picture I took earlier.


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

I would keep an eye on Bu it can damage him if he eats the pea. Sorry, but I have to see the shell so I can determine what type he is


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

Ahh oops! I took a couple... is this what you mean?? Also, I saw he took a pretty large chunk out of his cucumber! Yay!


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

^^ That's good to hear that it's eating! It is Pomacea diffusa (Does not eat healthy plants only dying ones). Pomacea diffusa is the most common snail sold in pet stores.


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks!  Can you tell by its shell if he's a he or a she? I know you can look inside, but I feel that's invading their privacy!


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

Nope you have to look inside. Lol sorry, but you can also wait to see if it lays eggs then it's a girl (They can still lay infertile eggs)


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## laur3namb3r (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks for all your help Siamese!


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

NP


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