Betta: 1 Algae Wafer: 0

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sarah5775

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
May 3, 2006
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NJ
Leo (my betta) did the cutest thing today. Recently, I got a snail for his five gallon tank. He attacked an otto I put in with him so I figured another fish was out, and I wanted something else for the 5 gallon with just him in it, so I figured a smail would be the pefect thing. And snails are kind of cool anyway. So I got a black apple snail and Leo ignores it, treating it kind of like a moving rock.

Well, I read somewhere that snails cannot live just on algae alone, they need to be fed. Not sure what to feed it, but an algae wafer seemed like a good idea. So I dropped one in.

The betta slowly swam up to it and circled it, wondering, almost audibly, "What is this strange thing in my home?" Cautiously, he crept forward. Then he lunged, grabbing the algae wafer. It must have startled him when it tumbled over, because he did a physical 'freak out' and swam away. But he was soon back. He circled again, then attacked. This time, to his considerable satisfaction, the algae pellet broke. He shook it for a minute, then swam away, apparently content.

I have no idea why an algae pellet would atttact his attention when the snail (who is many times bigger) did not. Go figure. The snail seemed to ignore the algae pellet completely, but later when I checked the tank it was gone. Don't know whether it dissoved or the snail finally found it.

What should I be feeding the snail?
 
If those are the same wafers I used to feed my pleco (about 1/2" across) they take days to dissolve. After about 3 days they get pretty nasty looking. If you checked in the same day I would assume it was eaten. Snails generally love stuff like algae wafers, but I've never kept apple snails so I'm not 100% sure that their diet is the same.

Crazy betta :)
 
Cute!
The snails will eat anything that hits the bottom of the tank, which is pretty good since bettas seem to ignore food once it settles (mine do anyways). But they do have a huge appetite, so algae and the occasional missed pellet won't be enough. Supplement their diet with any food that sinks. And they really love veggies.

My Alestes tetras go crazy for the algae wafers. They slam into any food that drifts in front of them, but the wafers are too big to swallow, so they carry them around in their mouths and chew on them as they swim.
 
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