# Mystery snail keeping?



## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

While waiting for Ruby Gus' 10 gallon tank to cycle properly (which I think it has; doing a round of testing tonight to confirm) I was researching Assassin Snails, to maybe fill up some of the empty space without overfilling the bio-capacity too much.

However, my sister is looking for a home for one of her two Mystery snails, due to her 10 gallon community being a bit too crowded for both of them.

I'd love to take one off her hands, but I know nothing about them. I've been googling them a bit, but I've found little info on mystery snail/betta compatibility.

So, are mystery snails and bettas generally friendly? (I know all bettas are different, but in general) and what do they eat? I can't reliably expect it to eat algae or detritus, because my tank is just too clean; I have no algae, and I vacuum up missed food and betta waste with a Baster whenever I see it.


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

Mystery Snails and Bettas _can_ get along, but some Bettas will find their feelers appetizing and bite them off. You can give it a try and see, but if you notice him trying to nip feelers, you have to remove the snail before he kills it. Only two of the five males I've tried them with didn't try to murder them. 

I feed my Mystery Snails blanched cucumber, lettuce, spinach, and carrot. Their favorite seems to be the duckweed in my tank, however. They may eat live plants, like mine do, so they're not recommended in planted tanks. They prefer my plants to vegetables.. 

Oh, and they're poop monsters. Be prepared to vacuum _a ton_. I think they're worth it, they have quite a bit of personality, and are very interesting to watch. I've trained mine to come up for some pellets as a treat at a specific time.


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

Thanks for the info, Tourmaline  I'll keep a careful eye on them. I have NO idea how Ruby will handle tank mates, as he's never had any. It'll be a good experiment. My sisters betta apparently lives in peace with snails, shrimp, and frogs. Lucky her for ending up with a laid-back fishie lol.

Have you ever fed your mystery snails algae wafers? That's what has been suggested to me, and I don't generally keep many fresh veggies around (the life of a workaholic, they go bad before I even touch them lol) the only plants in my tank are some Marimo balls and two Anubias. I'm also getting a clipping of water wisteria to add soon.


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

I used to feed them algae wafers, but I noticed they were more active when I fed them veggies so I stuck with that. My family likes lettuce with everything so we always at least have that on hand. They can definitely eat algae wafers though, and if you can train it to come up for pellets, you can feed them some pellets too. Or bloodworms, if you feed those, they're not picky eaters but they do prefer certain things over others. 

Another thing, if your water isn't hard enough, you'll need to supplement calcium for them. It keeps their shells healthy, and without the enough calcium their shells will deteriorate. An easy way to do that is to put a piece cuttlebone in your filter, or get the powder and mix it in. Some people use eggshells in the filter too. Some people even feed them fruit flavored Tums, or so I've read, but I'm not too sure about that. 

Sorry for the super long lesson, I love Mystery Snails. If I didn't have murderous Bettas and I could put one in every 5g I have, I would.


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

No need to be sorry! It's very much appreciated information  the last thing I want is to commit to a new critter and fail to care for it properly! Do you have a suggestion for minimum water hardness? The water in my town is famously hard (that's what makes it so tasty!) but ive never actually tested it for that.


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

What I've seen recommended is around 120, that's GH, not KH. API has a liquid test kit for that if you're interested, or maybe a pet store can test it for you if you want to be sure. Mine is around 230-260, so I've never had to worry about supplements.


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

Great, I'll look into getting that tested  I think I'll go ahead and tell my sister I'll adopt her snail. I really appreciate your help, Tourmaline!


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

One last thing; if Ruby turns out to be aggressive, and I have to quickly remove the snail, what should I have in the isolation bowl (1 gallon) to keep the snail comfortable while I figure out a more permanent solution. Is a 1 gallon, with prime-treated tap water and a couple silk plants enough for a temporary home?


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

That should be fine temporarily, but it would need to be changed daily since they produce so much waste. Make sure you cover it with something too, I've heard of Mystery Snails climbing straight out of tanks without a lid and drying out. As long as the water temperature doesn't drop below 72°, it should survive without a heater. It would be better with a small heater, though.


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

Thanks Tourmaline, you're the best  I can get a small heater to keep handy, though since its July there's not much danger of the temperature dropping any time soon here XP


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

So I went to grab a heater, gravel, and a silk plant to have on hand for the iso tank (I live for emergency preparedness *scout salute*).

I ended up buying a 2.5 minibow and a 7.5 watt heater. XD 

Sooo worst case scenario this snails gonna have a 2.5 filtered all to himself!


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

Heres a great article about Mystery/Apple snails. Apple snail FAQ

Pomecea Bridgesii (sp) will not eat healthy plant matter.


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

Thanks NickAu! That article is great!


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## AnakinBetta (Feb 3, 2016)

I have two little mystery snails in a 10 gallon with my betta and the betta leaves them alone completely. When I first put them in he would swim by them all slow and creepy and lay on top of the algae wafer, but it's been 2 weeks and he doesn't care about them anymore. Mine love zucchini. I keep a piece of cuttlebone in the water because my water is soft. Algae wafers really throw off my parameters fast so I've stopped using those. Also the snails grow really fast.


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

My little sister brought her blue mystery snail, Bloo, over tonight, right before we had to be at a family dinner. So I floated his cup in Ruby's tank and added a pipette full of water to it before leaving. Ruby bumped his nose into the cup a couple times but otherwise ignored it. When I got home I poured a little water out of the cup and added a couple more pipettes full of water. Then I watched game of thrones. After that I opened the cup, retrieved Bloo, and carefully dropped him into the tank.

After sitting in his closed shell for a minute or so, he unfolded himself and started scooting around. I dropped 1/4 of an algae wafer in front of him, and he's been snacking on it for about five minutes now.

Ruby has so far ignored him, except for a cursory nose-bump when I dropped him in.

I have Ruby an extra pellet at feeding time, in hopes it will keep him from seeking out a tentacle-snack.

Frankly, I'm scared to leave the tank alone XD it would be my luck that I deem them friendly, and then Ruby would immediately turn hostile when I turn my back.


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

Ruby has now noticed that Bloo is not just an oddly shaped rock. After one attempted nip (which Bloo reacted to by retracting quickly) Ruby swam off. He keeps returning to do tight circles around Bloo, obviously looking at him very closely, but has not nipped again.

Bloo just retracts when Ruby gets close, then returns to his wafer.

Hopefully Ruby will tire out soon, I have to go to bed


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## FishyBets (Jan 4, 2016)

If this behavior continues (hostile-ish, but not harmful), some more ground/tank side cover may help. Out of sight, out of mind, and whatnot. 
Disclaimer: I know nothing about snails, and have found this thread informative to the extreme. Wish someone would do something like it with ADF and nerite snails.

Sent from my LG-VS450PP using Tapatalk


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

Thanks for the tip, FishyBets  I've already tried to keep as much cover in the tank as possible, as Ruby seems to prefer it that way. Depending in how he behaves though I may do a little redecorating.

I observed them for about an hour together, and when no further attacks were attempted, I decided to darken the tank and get some sleep. When I checked on them this morning, Bloo was scooting around on the walls (with all his appendages intact, as far as I could see) and Ruby was playing in his leaves and begging for pellets, as per his usual morning routine. I'm taking that as a good sign


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## FishyBets (Jan 4, 2016)

Sounds like they're adjusting, then. Thats good! 

Bettas love lots of cover, which is why they need lots of plants AND a little cave or something to hide in. Tsuki loves to nap in his tiki cave~ Just take note that if Ruby starts to redecorate himself, then hes marking territory. Id keep a good eye on things for the next week or two, then call them compatible. That can change, of course, especially with changes (addition of new tank mates, etc.), but now its mostly watching them.

Sent from my LG-VS450PP using Tapatalk


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## NiceCrocs (May 14, 2016)

Thought I'd post a little update about Ruby and Bloo 

Bloo's been Ruby's roomate for not-quite two weeks now and they get along just fine. After about three days of hovering around Bloo (I think he was trying to figure him out, lol) Ruby apparently decided to just ignore him, and they largely stay out of each other's way.

Ruby has the run of the tank during the day, and Bloo reigns over the nighttime. Man! I thought he was active during the day! But at night he's like a little snail athlete, he moves so quickly!

Funnily enough, they've both chosen the same leaf to sleep on! When I wake up Ruby for his breakfast, he vacates the leaf, and Bloo climbs right up and curls up for his day-long nap.

I've taken to simply dropping 1/2 a wafer into the tank before I go to bed, and vacuuming up the remains the next morning. It's always somewhat scattered around, so I can only assume Bloo is eating enough. Last night I left a few blood worms next to it, and they were gone this morning. So either he ate them or Ruby found them, lol.

I'm going to try some zucchini and spinach for him later this week, and I have a recipe for 'snello' that I want to try  eating the same old wafers day in and out has to be boring.


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