# Apple snails with betta?



## puplove52 (Jan 9, 2013)

Hi everyone, I want a little friend for my betta. He is in a one gallon bowl but if I put a lid on it would an Apple snail be a good fit? If so, how do you care for an Apple snail? Thanks!:-D


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Not in a one gallon. A one gallon is barly big enough for one betta, let alone a tank the.


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## puplove52 (Jan 9, 2013)

My betta is doing great in 1 gallon. Are Apple snails good with betta though?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

If you want an apple snail, I would suggest upgrading to a 5G and cycled tank. Reason being - apple snails produce alot of poop and can get quite large. I think the standard is 2.5 gallons for one apple snail. 



> Scientific Name: Pomacea Bridgesii
> Ease of Care: Easy
> Approximate Arrival Size: .5 to 1.5 inches
> Approximate Full Size: 2.5 inches
> ...


Nerites are smaller but I am not sure if that means they have a smaller bioload or not. They are prety neat and cme in various shell designs


> Scientific Name: Nerita natalensis
> Ease of Care: Easy
> Approximate Arrival Size: .5 to 1.5 inches
> Approximate Full Size: 2 inches
> ...


Maybe shrimp? Not sure what they require to be happy as I do not have any. However I do now they may become a snac for the betta.

my bettas hardly pay attention to the snails, although I have heard that some will bite off antennas


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Yes, but add an apple snail to a 1g and you will kill them both.


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## puplove52 (Jan 9, 2013)

That is not true.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Actually, it is. Do you really think something this big could live in 1g of water with a fish?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

These guys were this big when I got them --> O and now:









That blue thing in the background is a sponge filter for an 8o gallon tank for comparison - even though its in a 20G tank. These guys poop SO MUCH. The ammonia level for one snail *AND* one betta in a 1 gallon will reach dangerous ammonia levels very quickly. The snail grew to about 3 inches and is still growing, in less then 3 months.


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## Corsica (Apr 1, 2013)

Those snails are huge! I would definitely not put it in a 1gallon with a Betta.


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## puplove52 (Jan 9, 2013)

Okay, a one gallon bowl is two small for both. But it is not too small for one betta.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Maybe one ramshorn snail would be OK in a 1G? They stay pretty small. just dont get more then 1 as they breed like rabbits


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

I agree that that is drastic. You could keep your betta with an apple snail for a few weeks-months in a 2.5 but param readings would get high fast and considering that (on rare occasion if the snail lives long enough) apples can get to the size of baseballs, a 5 or even 10 gal would be in your future. A nerite would do very well in a 2.5 gal as they stay small.

Ramshorns are asexual, a single one can reproduce at will. They are bred by at home aquarists for feeders for puffers sometimes as they are very easy to propagate. You would quickly have a lot of snails and a lot of bioload.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

A betta will survive in 1g, but would certainly do better in a larger tank. As long as your one gallon is heated and gets two 50% and one 100% water change a week he will be fine.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> Okay, a one gallon bowl is two small for both. But it is not too small for one betta.


1 gallon tanks are contraversial. Alot of people are dead set aganist them and alot of people have them. In my opinion, they are OK provided enough water changes are being done to keep the ammonia level down. I, personally like them to have at least 2.5ish gallons each or more. I like to decorate the tanks and you can't really do that with a 1 gallon. If I could give all my guys 5 gallons each, I would but since I have 11 males - that's not gonna happen. Most are in 10 gallon tanks that are divided 3 ways with heater and filter. sone are in 2-3 gallon unfiltered Kritter Keepers and the ladies are in a 20G tank with live plants. 

Only sluggles gets his very own 5 gallon tank and one nerite snail. He has been through alot so I feel he deserves his own 5G tank :-D (basically he was a rescue from walmart in Alaska in very poor shape, drove him out of alaska to NY and he almost froze to death in the yukon (most of the others did) and now he is thriving). These pics tell his story for the most part (minus the alaska--canada---NY journey).
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151397974972861.1073741829.505322860&type=1


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## puplove52 (Jan 9, 2013)

he gets 100% water change weekly.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

I see no harm in 1 gal for a betta as long as water changes are given, gravel rinsed, heater, etc.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

They dont clone themselves - you still need 2 for them to mate.


> Pulmonate snails, including ramshorns, are hermaphroditic, meaning that each individual functions as both female and male, and a* pair of mating snails typically fertilize each other, with both individuals laying eggs afterward. *Pulmonate snails typically lay gelatinous masses of eggs underwater on the surfaces of plants or rocks.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Apples are not hermaphrodic- you need a male and a female.


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## Laurenie (Aug 5, 2010)

MattsBettas said:


> A betta will survive in 1g, but would certainly do better in a larger tank. As long as your one gallon is heated and gets two 50% and one 100% water change a week he will be fine.


I agree with this, but *safely* heating a 1g bowl is pretty tricky. Finding appropriate heaters for my two 2.5g filtered tanks was hard enough, and I'm still extra careful about monitoring the glass thermometers in both of them. Just like with cycling/maintaining water quality, heating a tank gets easier once you have at least 5+ gallons. They do sell "mini" heaters--usually specifically marketed towards bettas--like the Marina one: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12315584 or Hydor: http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-7-5w-Heater-Bettas-Bowls/dp/B006JVQ67K/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top but the problem is that they're all pre-set as opposed to having an adjustable thermostat. Typically they're *supposed* to work by raising the water temperature 5-10* above ambient room temp. I really don't know how the heater is even able to know what the room temperature is once its submersed underwater in the tank/bowl, plugged in and producing heat, and considering how frequently they've been reported to overheat the water and kill the resident fish, I suspect that they probably can't. Problems with overheating also seem to get more common the smaller the volume of water is, which makes sense of course. I also noticed that for the second heater I linked above, it actually says on the packaging that its for "2-5 gallons", although everywhere else it just says something to the effect of "up to 5 gallons". I know that they've been used by plenty of people without any major issues, but having an accurate water thermometer (and actually being sure to monitor it) should be an absolute necessity with any of these types of heaters.


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## BeautifulBetta123 (Aug 27, 2012)

Yes you do at that. Mae and female and they are hard not impossible to sex.
If you are dead set on getting a snail then get a Ramshorns, they are small easy to care for. 1 gal is okay but you should do more smaller water changes during the week. Snails make a lot of waste! Apple snails can not be in a 1 gal. They can get very large! And will hardly be able to move. They would make so much waste a water change everyday would be needed! You should have a heater in you tank because bettas are tropical and need warm water, as do many kinds of snails.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Snails like ramshorns will mate if two are present. If there is only one, it can and will lay eggs by itself.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

ramshorns are not asexual. they are hermaphrodites. meaning that they can change gender at will... one ramshorn which has never came in contact with another cannot fertilize itself and reproduce...

That said, I wouldn't look into a tank mate for a 1 gallon at all.... it's simply too small.
Sure you can get something like a ghost shrimp but most likely they will die in a day or two... which indicates the instability of water parameters in such a small, unfoiltered tank


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Agree on the ghost shrimp 100% It is likely that the shrimp would die quickly and pollute the tank within hours.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Ramshorns do not change gender, they are both male and female at the same time. When they mate both lay eggs.


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