Hello! I'm working on my first community tank, and there was a snail outbreak. I also have a betta in a 2.5g, just a particularly aggressive lone female. She had a little bit of algea on the wall of her tank, so I took one of the snails that I thought was big enough she couldn't hurt (about 1/4th an inch; She's pretty small herself, just a little over an inch.) and I found him dead at the bottom the next day - shell in tact, but kind of half-torn out of his shell. So, I added a bigger snail - one I was SURE she couldn't hurt. This one was a little under a half inch. This morning, he was dead at the bottom too. I've tested the water perimeters and do frequent water changes, and nothing out of line - I'm curious - Could this little girl really get to a snail that big, or do I have something more sinister going on that I should be worried about?
I don't know what 'kind' of snail they are: They are the kind that are completely round with vertical shells, not the point ones. I was thinking of buying a Nerite snail, the ones that are about 3/4ths an inch and aren't supposed to breed in fresh water. I don't want to if she's just gonna chow down on it. I keep her tank by a window, so if that's not an option, I guess I'll just be doing a lot of manual algae removal! (her ammonia is in check, and I don't get the big globs of algae - just the stuff that starts to form a firm layer on the glass thats a pain to scrub off.)
At least I know that, once my empty community tank is cycled, I could loan the tank to her and she'd have it snail-free in hours! (kidding. I think if she's that determined to destroy snails, I can't even IMAGINE what she'd try to do to little half-inch fish...)
I don't know what 'kind' of snail they are: They are the kind that are completely round with vertical shells, not the point ones. I was thinking of buying a Nerite snail, the ones that are about 3/4ths an inch and aren't supposed to breed in fresh water. I don't want to if she's just gonna chow down on it. I keep her tank by a window, so if that's not an option, I guess I'll just be doing a lot of manual algae removal! (her ammonia is in check, and I don't get the big globs of algae - just the stuff that starts to form a firm layer on the glass thats a pain to scrub off.)
At least I know that, once my empty community tank is cycled, I could loan the tank to her and she'd have it snail-free in hours! (kidding. I think if she's that determined to destroy snails, I can't even IMAGINE what she'd try to do to little half-inch fish...)
