should i add a snail?

[copper08]

i have a 10g tank with 4 females, do you think a snail would be ok with this setup?

[MattD]

1 or 2 mystery snails will be fine.

Good luck.

[copper08]

what do you feed a snail? and i heard that they can breed like crazy! still interested in a couple though.. thanx :)

[Lindsey88]

Mystery snails can't breed unless you let them. They lay pink egg clutches above the water line that are easy to just throw away if you don't want anymore snails. I have 2 mystery snails they are neat little additions to any tank. Oh and you could feed them algae wafers or any kind of flake fish food. They are good at getting extra food off the bottom of the tank.

[copper08]

i just saw some inca snails at petco that are a pretty yellow color! does it matter what kind of snail you put in with the bettas?

[Lindsey88]

You could put inca snails in there. I like mystery snails just because of the variety of colors they come in (Black, golden, ivory, and blue)

[copper08]

is it ok to feed them lettuce, and do they need filtration or can they breathe from the surface? thanks!

[Falina]

Originally Posted by copper08

is it ok to feed them lettuce, and do they need filtration or can they breathe from the surface? thanks!

Definitely feed a variety of dark leafy greens. The snails need them for the calcium. Also consider adding a calcium supplement to the tank for their shells. You can either buy a version of this for snails and crustatians (expensive) or go to Boots or whatever your local equivalent is and simply buy calcium tablets that are intended for humans (not expensive). As long as it's just calcium that's in them you're alright.

7.5 is a good ph to maintain for the snails, much lower and their shells would start to deteriorate. The bettas will certainly cope with this increase in ph (just do it gradually) which you can do by adding crushed coral to the subtrate of filter. Maybe you don't need to bother, my water is very soft so it's a must for me, but I find many folk here have much harder water.

[Lindsey88]

They breath from the waterline. Lettuce is fine to feed them. You can also feed them cucumber slices.

[Falina]

I meant to add about the filter as well, sorry.

Lindsey is right, they do breathe from the waterline, however snails are very messy so a filter and frequent water changes are adviseable.