Is It Ok For Mystery Snails To Eat Dead Fish?

[Rawrnard]

So I've had a tank for a while now and we first had buenos arias tetras, lamp eyed tetras, a black mystery snail, an ivory mystery snail, and two golden algae eaters. Two weeks ago, I got a mix of about 10 cardinal and neon tetras from a couple stores along with 3 guppies (one tuxedo). The tetras have all died off within the first two weeks except for one and the guppies have as well except for one (the tuxedo one). So when I got home today, the tuxedo one was dead and the ivory mystery snail was eating the body of the tuxedo guppy. Does the tank have any diseases in it like Neon Tetra disease? Is it ok for the snail to have eaten some of the body or do I have to take the snail out? The rest of my fish are doing fine though.

 

[ncguppy830]

it wouldnt hurt the snail at all i dont think but you should take it out anyway.

 

[DRB]

G'day mate a poll might be a bit misleading for you, could get some people voting on health grounds and others on moral and you would have no way of knowing.

 

[Donya]

It is a good idea to remove dead animals from any tank as soon as the body is found unless you know for certain that it is going to be consumed quite quickly (such as no more than a few hours), since the resulting pollution and decline in water quality can be substantial in some systems. I will also toss out a small warning that with Ampullariid snails specifically, it is not a great idea to encourage them to eat raw fish or other animal meat in an aquarium. Although somewhat rare, I'm aware of a few of cases of snails in this group, including a couple of Pomacea diffusa/bridgesii, that got used to fresh, raw meats as a staple part of their diet and then later attempted to chew on living tankmates (sleeping fish, other snails, etc.). One accidental dead fish snack is no reason to remove the snails though, and there are no disease issues to worry about, but if other fish die it would be best to remove them immediately primarily for the reason of water quality (and also just as a precaution not to encourage the snails). Regarding the diseases, if there is a disease then it will already be in the water - the snails will have no impact on that, although if you treat the tank with medications at any point you may need to remove the snails to avoid killing them depending on the active ingredients involved.

 

[xXLeafeonXx]

I think it will be fine I had a mystery snail eating a dead fish still alive now.