Mystery Snail Care

[puppyrjjkm]

I have a blue mystery snail in a 3 gal with a male betta. I was wondering what I should be feeding him and how often. I have algae wafers and sinking shrimp pellets... Then I know they can eat romaine lettuce and spinach leaves. But how often should I feed him?

Also he has had like white, filmy, "sprouts" growing off his shell since I've had him. Does anyone know what this is, and if its bad for him?

Do mystery snails like company? Like do they prefer to be in pairs, or groups? I would really prefer not to have tons of snail eggs and babies...

Thanks!

[prettylittlefishy]

I feed my 2 (in the same tank) snails one algae wafer. I don't give them much lettuce, but if I do it's just a little piece.

My betta eats any baby snails. :)

[1fish2fish]

You should feed him once a day (at night is probably best). Make sure the food you are giving him has a lot of calcium in it so he can properly grow his shell. Supplementing 2-3 times a week with calcium rich foods like spinach will help in addition to the algae wafers.

[puppyrjjkm]

So should he get an algae wafer everyday? It kind of seems like a lot for one snail...

[prettylittlefishy]

They'll eat it overnight if you give it to them at bedtime.

[dukie1346]

or you can break the algae wafer in half, and give him that everynight.

[Chicklet]

The thing with applesnails is the smaller the tank the more frequent the water changes,
And Applesnails don't like alot of water changes, especially large ones, done to frequently., Took me along time and alot of unexplained deaths to figure that one out, Once I figured out the only common denominator & lots of experiments No more deaths occurred, I'm not talking about the odd snail here and there, I'm talking about big tanks full of them, Snails can be very touchy when it comes to too much water change.... If theirs anything wrong with the water your snail will usually be one of your first to tell you so,, When a snail is put into a tank it should be up and moving around within 15 mins, If not then theirs a good chance somethings not right in that tanks water, If the (applesnails) all congregate to the top of the tank and they had Not just fed, then that should send of possible warnings too. Also if they are possible being pecked at everytime they attempt to come out of their shell they will most likely eventually die,

in that small of a tank depending on your cleaning routine, He could experience algae growth on his back, Another snails would probably clean that off him... although I'm not sure I'd add a second one.
As for feeding him, thats easy, Drop a wafer in and when you see it all devoured, add another, usually every 3 days, depending if your betta eats from it as well...

If you do add another snails, If they lay clutches it will be above the waterline and they take about 2 weeks or so to hatch, So all you'd have to do is simple remove the clutch when you see one appear.

[puppyrjjkm]

Okay thanks guys. He is always pretty active especially after I clean it. He's not a fan of spinach though haha. Thanks everyone!