# Betta fish nipping at mystery snail



## jlizaso (Jan 31, 2015)

Hey guys i have a *5 gallon* tank that contains a male betta, ADF, and a mystery snail. Its the snails *first day* in tank and it has been in its shell all day. Once it finally comes out of its shell the betta fish would eventually *nip* at it and than it would hide in its shell again. How *long *should i keep them together in the tank until i have to separate them? Is it possible for a betta fish to nip a snail to death? Will the betta fish ever get used to the snail?


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

a 5 gallon is a bit small for a mystery snail. They can grow to the size of a golfball. 

If your fish is nipping at him then I would remove him now and try to add him after you turn the lights off in the tank. Meaning turn the lights off, wait a few hours and then add the snail.


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## Cey (Jan 15, 2015)

I agree, five gallon is too small in the long run. The snail is going to grow bigger than the betta. Also, I've witnessed bettas that feel like they don't have enough space start attacking everything that gets added to their tank in an effort to preserve what little space they've been given. If your betta sees the snail as offensive and doesn't want anymore companions, he'll find a way to kill it (and any critter he takes offense to). A betta "community" tank is better suited to at least 10 gallons or more.

Also, fish of all species commonly nip at snails, they see snails as a free meal, and while the snail is capable of growing their feelers back, it is generally a bad idea to leave a poor snail in with tankmates that keep attacking him / giving him no peace. So it's better that both the fish and the snail have plenty of space to stay AWAY from each other.

As cute as it might be to have them all in the tank together, Iiiii'd say it was probably a bad idea, to be honest. Also, I wanted to note that the african dwarf frogs are social and require a minimum of three to feel secure and display normal ADF behaviors. If you keep that one guy by himself he'll be really insecure and hide a lot more in best case and may show signs of depression and live a short life, at worst case scenario. You would probably do better getting another frog than keeping the snail.

Good luck sorting it all out!


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