# Mystery snail in a 4.5g? Questions?



## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

I set my 4.5 gallon tank up a week ago and it has a male halfmoon betta in it. Originally I was thinking I could put ~5 harlequin rasboras in with him once it was cycled, but upon further research it seems these fish need more space than that (as well as heavy planting and low lighting), so I'm looking into other tankmates..

I've seen conflicting information on whether you can keep a mystery snail in a five gallon (...4.5 is close enough right? ) and am looking for opinions. Mystery snails are the only kind of snail that PetSmart in Canada sells.. haven't checked the other LPS (Pets Unlimited) but their selection is rarely much different. Can you feed them exclusively on algae wafers and vegetables? My tank doesn't have algae, though obviously it's only been set up a week so that could change by the time it's cycled.

Also, I've read that snails are really sensitive to aquarium salt, and my tank has some salt in it now (the aquarium kit came with a packet and instructions to pour the whole thing in, but I thought that seemed like a lot so I only put 1/3 of it in. The last betta I bought came with fin rot and I didn't notice until his fins were half gone and they never grew back properly, so I was happy to put salt in as a precaution for my new guy). I can remove this through regular water changes, right?

The tank is heated at 79F. The pH straight out of the tap is oddly high (like ~8.4) but the tank itself is measuring at 7.4, although I'm not sure why exactly... I have silk plants but no live plants and I have gravel substrate. The betta himself ("Tempo") seems pretty mellow? He almost never flares... I persuaded him to flare for a second at a pen _once _(he seems interested when I tease him with it now, but doesn't flare lol) and he doesn't react to his reflection which is, uh, kind of strange... I'm wondering if he just can't see it properly. I did just look over and notice him starting to build a bubble nest, so there's that at least. He doesn't poke at new things like my other bettas did, but just stares at them / hangs around them. Still, I know that something living and moving might provoke a more aggressive response.

If anybody could offer advice and information it would be much appreciated.


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

I personally wouldnt do it. they are very big waste producers.

I own a mystery/apple (whatever) snail, and its easily larger then a golf ball. I've only had him/her for a few months, who know how big itll be in a year! 

all I have in a 9 gallon tank is one betta and that snail, and it gets dirty relatively fast for being a whole 9 gallons.

you could alyways try a nitrate snail.
or maybe some mts (Malaysian trumpet snails) (the snail in my profile picture) they are alot smaller, but still add a neat extra something to your tank.
I personally like having ramshorn snails in my tank, although theese types will reproduce readily (just dont feed the snails and the population wont be able to grow to massive quantities) only feed your betta fish.

you might have to purchase what youre looking for from a fellow hobbyist in Canada. most of the time I find that you find the best product/aquatics you can find, are usually coming from a hobbyist similar to yourself


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

I think I read that only apple snails get to be that large, mystery snails should stay smaller than a golf ball or around the same size?

I will check the other pet store to see if they have other kinds of snails... there is one 20 mins away with a larger fish department. I've never met an aquarium hobbyist in Nova Scotia nor know of any but I could check local listings on Kijiji etc...

EDIT: After a bit of searching I did find somebody advertising small malaysian trumpet snails for a dollar a piece. They live an hour and a half away but I'll be in that area next weekend... would that be too soon to grab one for my tank considering it isn't cycled, though?


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

so is your tank filtered? sorry if you already said that...I swear I looked lol

if it is filtered, and just isnt done cycling yet then I dont really see the problem with it as long as you closely monitor your water parameters.

im not sure if you can find Seachem Prime water conditioner, if so then you should get some because it binds ammnoia, Nitrates, and nitrites, making them harmless to your aquarium critters for up to 48 hours, so you can dose it daily at about 2 drops per gal while your tank is cycling.


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Yes it is filtered. I didn't think you could cycle a freshwater tank without one so I didn't bother mentioning it. And yes I am dosing with prime!


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Pom. canaliculata get softball size, but the ones at petsmart are pom. bridgeseii. They only get GOLF ball size. If you have one that is golfball, it's old and probably won't live more than a year more. I have some that are several months old and maybe a nickel size. If you ever get a cana apple snail, you need to tell petsmart cuz it's illegal to sell them in some states. They are very invasive and cause a huge problem with the ecosystem if you just dump them. 

Yes you can have an apple snail in there...just not in a bowl or a 1 gallon. The rule is a mystery snail (the name petsmart uses) takes up 2.5 gallons (cana take up 5). Canas eat live plants so they are not planted tank friendly. They need warmish water...can survive a pretty good range but are slower and longer lived in the lower ranges and more active/short lived in warmer ones.

They do make a lot of poop, but not more than a lot of fish. They also clean up leftovers so it helps a little. Don't ever get them thinking you won't have to clean again or that they just eat fish poop. They like veggies, algae wafers, crab food, leftovers, and a cuttle bone or some calcium source.

They can tolerate a LITTLE aquarium salt, but I won't use any. You can always quarantine one or the other if salt is needed. They cannot tolerate any copper. If you have soft water, it will be hard to get a nice shell.


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

be warned a lot of people regret a lot of snails! that's because some can reproduce all by their lonesome. Mystery snails require a little effort to get to breed, and even if they do lay eggs, just scrape them off and squish,freeze, or drown the clutch and you won't have to worry about it. If you do have a bigger setup, you can even raise partial clutches. Even when you do everything right, sometimes the clutches are a dud...so it's definitely not a snail you ever have to worry about taking over.


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Thank you for the information. From what I've read, mystery snails reproduce sexually, so you'd need two (one male one female) to get fertile eggs. Apparently malaysian trumpet snails reproduce asexually and are livebearers. .-. So probably not the snail for me. lol. I definitely don't want to have a tank overrun with them (trust me, I've heard many a horror story), but if I just get one mystery snail and get rid of any eggs I'm assuming there shouldn't be any problems.


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Yeah exactly what I like- you can actually control the population very humanely and easily.

The yellow ones are a lot of fun and a bit of
Color. I don't know if it's just in my head but the white and yellow ones are a bit more playful seeming. My kids cried when my big yellow female died!


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Ps they might already be pregnant - they store sperm 6 mos. but if they are small snails they will make pitiful excuses for egg clutches LOL


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Yeah, I like the gold and white ones too! And that's okay if they're already pregnant, so long as they come out as eggs.  Thanks.


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Another question...

I went to the pet store yesterday and they only had four mystery snails, three of which looked full grown and two of which were upside down. Er.. I'm assuming that's not Normal behaviour? Were they dead? The little one was moving but I'm sort of wary about buying an unhealthy snail. I was going to ask but the person was busy, so I got distracted and bought a moss ball and betta log and figured that was enough for now anyways. xD

Regardless, should I QT a snail? My old betta finally died so I have an empty 1.5 I could use, unless that's too small for a single snail?


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

It depends. If the snail is like that In. Good tank I would be worried. At my petco and petsmart they keep them in a weird dark place to
Keep them from dying of copper poisoning w their filtration.

I'd get the small one if there was no shell damage. The big ones
Will
Be breeding age so you may want to avoid that a little
Longer.


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Thanks for the quick response. They had them in with some sort of tetra. I'm wondering now if they had some in the back, though it wasn't a large petsmart so I doubt it.. Shells didn't look as good as the pictures I've seen online, though it was my first time seeing a mystery snail in person so I may not be a good judge.


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## Overprotective Fish Lover (Apr 11, 2015)

Hi!

Nerite snails can be found in pet stores. They are smaller than mysteries and are algae-eating machines. Another plus is that they can only reproduce in brackish water (although the girls still lay hard little eggs everywhere that are a pain in the butt to scrape off). They come in many really neat patterns, although have a reputation of being escape artists. Also, many have had luck feeding them algae wafers, but some say they refuse anything but natural algae. Mystery snails are also good choices; however I've heard some horror stories about large snails eating small fish, so I don't think I'll ever get one. 0_0


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Hiya, PetSmart here definitely doesn't sell anything but mystery snails (they're the only snails listed on their Canadian website too). The two LFS's near me closed down, they would've been the only place that might've sold them, though I haven't checked the other LPS (they DID stock cherry shrimp when PetSmart didn't, so hey you never know!). I've heard they don't eat anything but algae besides, though I suppose I could try to grow some outside of the tank near a window. They are pretty little things the nerites.  I wouldn't want to deal with the eggs though; mystery snail eggs sound a lot easier to manage.

I think mystery snails will only eat dead fish. I really doubt they're fast enough to catch something that can move.


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

My nerite will happily chow down on kale or cucumber^^ He's not picky, although I hear many are.


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

ok - the tetras might be nipping the antennae. The shell can change based on what you feed it,so the smaller ones would be better b/c you would control that growth.

Ask if they use copper in filtration, too. A lot of pet stores don't realize why the inverts don't live long. That's why my petco gave up carrying snails. petsmart figured it out and moved them to a different tank away from filtration.


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Alright, thank you! I definitely want to go as small as I can because I'm assuming that means they're younger and have longer to live. I'll try again this weekend and maybe I'll be lucky and they'll have a new shipment in. If not I'll check out the other LPS and see what they've got to offer.


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## Fishgirl9 (Jan 4, 2015)

My Boyfriend is still so upset about our last Mystry snail's death. He was a Petsmart blue one. Still don't know what killed him but we are now adding cuttle bone for the new one, a black one, along with boiling some lettuce every other day.

I love my Mystery snail "Ghasty" and the one before him "Fib".


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Do you just feed him the lettuce? I was thinking of algae wafers but then I saw that post in diseases & emergencies where their betta died after eating waaay too much of one left in the tank. .-. So definitely looking for alternatives now... and no I still haven't bought one lol


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Shrimp pellets might work.

I'm about to have my 2nd generation of snails. Not sure who laid the eggs because I'm crossing white with Wild and clear stripe purple


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

I went to PetSmart today and they had a much better looking selection. Only one big one on its side this time... lol. There were maybe ten little gold ones all huddled up in the corner and a bigger purple one climbing the wall. They had them in with "black neon tetras". So I got one of the little gold ones... I'm floating him in the 1.5g for quarantine, figured since I have the extra tank I may as well use it. I also bought some cuttle bone and I'm not totally sure how much you're supposed to put in, but there were some little broken pieces so I threw those in and saved the rest for later. I also put in one of the large stones from my bettas tank - they haven't been cleaned in a while so there's some brown algae on it. They can eat that, right? If I soak some betta pellets so that they sink will that be good for now? (there's no gravel so it wouldn't get lost). I feel like if my betta went after an algae wafer, he'd probably go after a shrimp pellet. :/


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

you can always raid the fridge too...zucchini, peppers (sweet!), carrots, cucumber...those are definitely safe. and usually I have at least one on hand. he will get what your betta misses as long as you do miss


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Alright, thanks! Raiding the fridge is an easy solution. After I put the new snail in the 1.5g he tried to climb the tank but fell onto his side. I watched him and he withdrew into his shell then "popped" back out and eventually he used the momentum to right himself. That was pretty interesting to watch!

This morning I checked on him and he was upside down between the heater and the rock. I left him for a few hours and he was still upside down, so I picked him up and put him on the rock. Few hours later still no movement, so I put him in the middle of the tank since I saw him move from that spot yesterday as that's where he ended up when he was released. I know I probably shouldn't be moving him so much, but I just want to see him move to be sure he's alive...  Is it normal for them to be so inactive?


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Mine are really active but keep in mind if it's not heated they will be slower and if its a bare tank that will make them close up bc it doesn't feel secure. I am a bad aquarium keeper- I don't quarantine


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

It's heated but there isn't much (...none except for the rock) decor. 

I wasn't planning on QTing for the full two weeks but I just wanted to keep an eye on him for a couple of days. ^^;;

EDIT: He just moved!! He went back behind the rock and the heater where I found him this morning. Phew.


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Snail isn't doing well. :/ He was floating yesterday so I kept trying to attach him to the heater so he could sit somewhere. Eventually he clung on and crawled on the wall for a bit. This morning he was sort of on the ground but still floating a little so he couldn't attach to the ground properly. I put a bit of gravel in and a fake plant for decor and blanched a small piece of broccoli and put it beside him, but he's just lying on his side. :/ He sort of responds to touch and doesn't smell but I'll be surprised if he makes the night. He also has a lot of slime on him which apparently is a sign of stress? Water parameters are all reading perfect 0s across the board. pH is 7.2ish. Temperature is 78F.

Dunno what I did wrong, unless being in a bare small tank stressed him out or he starved because he didn't show interest in the rock or betta pellets...


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Try some other food if he is still alive. Won't hurt if he is in quarantine. He is gonna prefer plant matter to animal...and the betta pellets are animal mostly I think.

Do you have copper pipes?


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

GOOD NEWS the snail is on the broccoli. I noticed the broccoli moved and upon closer inspection he had dragged it toward him and is out of his shell but is still on his side. I think you're right that he just prefers vegetables. x_X I don't think we have copper pipes although I have no idea how to tell. They aren't copper coloured. Crossing fingers that he'll do better after he eats, not going to name him or anything until he seems healthy. PetSmart said they'd refund if he died within two weeks. 

edit: he is now on the rock (the first time he's gone there himself) and is looking like a totally normal happy snail. ... this is quite the turnaround. Snails are weird is what I've concluded.


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

I think you just provided him some comfort food! If you can add some decor
Even if its just a coffee cup cave you don't want it would help. They love to explore. I have seen one climb to the top leaf of a silk plant the. Another will go climb on him then they will tip over like yertle the tURTLE lol!

I found one cracked in my trash and after 3 days of being closed up he healed a ton and moved around. They are resilient!


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## Tangeh (Sep 19, 2010)

Ah that's true, I didn't think of a cave for him. My betta has a betta log and I arranged the rocks in his tank so he can swim under them, but I'd have to get creative for a snail to fit. A cup would be fine for QT but I wouldn't want to look at that in the actual tank haha, I'll figure something out. Thank you for your replies, you've helped a lot.


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