# Zebra Nerite Snail with Betta



## pudgethefish321 (Dec 15, 2018)

Hi everyone, 
I recently bought a new Betta named Kevin after my last fish jumped out of the tank (rip Pudge :crying 
I've had him for a few days and he's adjusted quite well to his new home. I have a 3.7 gallon filtered and heated aquarium, and I was wondering if a single zebra nerite snail would be a good addition. The tank is by a window, so there is plenty of algae. As for keeping Kevin in the water where he belongs, I've placed one of my practice coasters I made when I was learning to crochet over the hole in the lid, and a rock is holding that down in place.
Anyway, I was mostly just wondering if a snail would be a good idea for my tank. Any feedback is appreciated


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Should be fine if there is enough algae. If the Nerite cleans it all up you can put some rocks in a bowl and set in a sunny window. Rotate rocks between the tank and the bowls. But, since the tank is in a sunny window you might to do so.

BTW, have you thought about Horned Nerite Snails? They stay fairly small at less than .50". You could have two or three in your aquarium. 

I love all of my Nerites.


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## pudgethefish321 (Dec 15, 2018)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Should be fine if there is enough algae. If the Nerite cleans it all up you can put some rocks in a bowl and set in a sunny window. Rotate rocks between the tank and the bowls. But, since the tank is in a sunny window you might to do so.
> 
> BTW, have you thought about Horned Nerite Snails? They stay fairly small at less than .50". You could have two or three in your aquarium.
> 
> I love all of my Nerites.


I will look into Horned Snails before I decide anything, thanks. I have one other question, I was just reading more about the Zebra Snails and one site said they were sensitive to copper, and my fish food should not contain any copper. The betta pellets I use contain copper sulfate, so I was looking online for food that does not contain copper, but every food I looked at has copper sulfate. Is there any specific food brand that I could buy that does not contain copper? Is it really necessary for the food to be copper-free?


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## blubird101 (Jan 25, 2019)

I've had both horned, zebra, and black racer nerite snails and they've all done awesome in my tank  I love watching them motor around cleaning the tank, they are surprisingly fast and agile! haha. They did wonders back when my tank had an algae problem.
The only thing is that my current betta likes to nip at their antenna so they are always short (they do grow back). I feel bad, but the overall health of the snails seems fine.

I haven't heard of the copper issue before, but I currently have omega one betta buffet flakes and it doesn't say copper anywhere in the ingredients so you could switch to that food if you're worried?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

NorthFin Betta Bits do not have copper sulfate and neither does, as far as I can see, New Life Spectrum.

Copper is more of an issue with shrimp and concerns copper in the water; especially from old pipes and medicines.


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