mystery snail

[fish 'n' fries]

Hi all,

I just bought a blue mystery snail (pseudo-impulse buy...I'd been reading a bit about them but had never seen them and then they had them at PetSmart today--the blue was too nice to pass up).

My understanding is that it'll eat pretty much what the bottom feeders do (I've corys and a pleco...they get tabs and spirulina discs plus fresh veggies/fruit for the pleco). What else will he eat?

Also, do I need to do anything special for a healthy shell? My water is soft but I have CC in the filter to buffer.

Thanks.

[joannde]

Hi - I LOVE mystery snails and you probably will also. They're interesting.
Your understanding on their feeding habits is correct - they'll eat the sinking pellets that you feed to your cories and pleco. They also appreciate fresh veggies - I give mine slices of zucchini or yellow squash which I've microwaved for 1 minute to soften. Just be sure to remove the veggies within 12 to 24 hrs so that you don't pollute your tank.
You can add a small piece of cuttlebone (sold in the bird dept) for some extra calcium for his/her shell. Just break off a piece about the size of a dime and put it into the tank.
And make sure that the top of your tank is enclosed - I've lost many mystery snails via skydiving without a parachute (they climb out of the tank, hit the tile floor underneath and shatter their shells). That reminds me - I need to put some towels behind the tank where they generally escape to stop them from breaking themselves !
Enjoy your snail

[hc8719]

if your water is pretty soft, (i dunno how well cc works) you may want to supplement some 7 or 14 day feeders (calcium blocks). i had a nice blue mystery snail from petsmart, and while the black mystery snail did fine, the blue's shell started to flake off, leaving this green under shell (which looks very ugly).

he's an ugly snail now, but the calcium blocks seems to have haulted further flaking.

i should note, flaking cannot be reversed, from what i understand

EDIT: joande, i take it you restocked your snail population? last i heard, some didnt make it?

[shayfish]

So do they prefer harder water then?

I picked up 3 mystery snails yesterday (one black, one blue, one gold). They are the neatest little critters and they move a lot faster than I expected! I really enjoy watching them. But they didn't give a hoot about the zucchini that I put in there. In fact, the black one cruised right over top of it without stopping!

They've done a pretty good job on some of my algae spots though...

Enjoy your new addition. They are cool.

[joannde]

yes, they do better in harder water which has more calcium, but its easy to supplement calcium so no worries.
They DO move fast, don't they !?
And they'll eat the zucchini in time - did you nuke it a bit first ? they seem to like it better if its soft. I make 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and put it in a cup of water for 60 seconds on high then attach it to the tank with one of those suction cup clips. Usually the entire slice is covered with mystery snails (I had 12 at one point !) within 30 minutes.

[fish 'n' fries]

Thanks all. So if I supplement with the feeders...I would assume I'd be in danger of getting into trouble with overfeeding? Would the cuttlebone perhaps be better from that standpoint? And do you just leave the cuttlebone in until it dissolves? Does it matter how much depending on how big the tank is? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks.

[hc8719]

actually the snails wont eat the feeder blocks

its really hard to over feed tropical fish, let alone snails

[joannde]

I'd go with the cuttlebone - just leave the small piece in there - the snail will find it and munch on it. They only need a very small piece.

hc - haven't restocked the snail population yet. I really need to figure out a way to encase the entire top before I get more. I'm a bit weary from the jumpers LOL. I saw a post somewhere where someone used window screening to close in all the small openings in the back of their tank - I need to look into that. I can't believe I've gone from 12 snails down to 2 I was hoping that some of the babies might survive but it seems that none of them made it (but it was my first attempt). I do have two other eggsacks that may hatch so who knows.

[scalesojustice]

i don't feed my snails anything special. some sinking pellets and i've been overfeeding my tank because i'm trying to cycle a second filter as well. i've only had them a couple (2 - 3) weeks, but i already notice a great deal of growth. my gold mystery snail is huge.

on a side note, the corner of my gold snail's shell was chipped when i got him. now that he is growing, he's growing out of that part of his shell. will he be ok?

[onah]

Originally Posted by hc8719

actually the snails wont eat the feeder blocks

i dont know what kinda blocks u have been putting in but mine will literally sit there till the thing is gone! all of them, i like to watch them when it starts to get small they have fun knocking each other off the little peice that is left.