Do I need to feed a "pest snail"?

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GallonsOfFun

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Jul 12, 2015
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Got a lovely free snail in my bag of plants the other day and decided to keep him in my planted 10g with the (photobombing) betta. Do I need to feed the snail algae wafers and whatnot or is he ok feeding off the leftover foods & algae in the tank?

Also, are snails the most effective cleanup crew for a 10g? It's between them, shrimp, and pygmy cories unless I've forgotten one?

Lastly, could someone ID this snail? I know they can become a problem in terms of breeding but I own a puffer so if it's a common pond snail that would be ideal...

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1447709767.285017.jpg


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Almost looks like a nerite to me.

Is the betta the only fish in the tank? I'd be concerned about shrimp, pygmy and habrosus cories are nice.
 
Agreed, doesn't look like your average pest snail. I don't feed anything extra for mine and they still breed like crazy. I occasionally throw some to the puffers, so if you don't like it and you have too many then the puff will definitely enjoy the snack. They do multiply fast, so mark my word, you will have lots soon :)
 
Well if it's Nerite the bad news is my little GSP won't be able to eat it, but the good news is they only breed in brackish.

Are snails effective bottom clean up crews (i.e., uneaten food) or are they only effective in algae consumption?


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I cant speak to nerite snails but my mts do pretty good work on the bottom but seem to ignore algae. For a 10 gallon with one beta i would be a bit hesitant putting shrimp in besides maybe an amano? Never had them personally but they are bigger then something like RCS so the betta might not bully. Others may be more informative on that topic.

For the corrys again i have not personally owned pygmys but people on here talk about them all the time and needing groups.
 
I have a mystery, three zebra nerites, five zebra thorn nerites (four of them are locked in pairs at the mo) and a handful of MTS. The bloody mystery just gobbled up the food I gave to the fish before the fish were really done with it. Yes. Snails are champion eaters. ;)
 
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