Snail Care?

[argoma]

Hi everybody,
 
So i'm probably getting a snail this week for my betta tank just to clean some of the algae and i have some questions.
I dont know which species the snail will be yet but i'm concerned about water changes.
Since the snail will eat the algae, when i change the water (it's not a filtered tank at the moment), will it have what to eat?
I do 100% water changes once a week, take everything out and dip all in hot water and then scrub with toothbrush, so the algae is all gone. With a snail, the algae would be partially gone because it would eat it but what when i change the water?
And i have a marimo moss ball, will the snail eat it?
Also is it okay to keep a snail with a betta? Any special care that i should give the snail?

 

[Gizaroo2]

Water changes won't harm the snail-just make sure to use your dechlorinater. Yes, scrubbing everything and dunking it in water would get rid of the algae. Unless you have algae growing on the moss ball, I'm not sure that it would eat that. You can purchase a container of algae wafers, and stick one in for your snail that way it won't starve to death.

Just watch your betta. Mine likes to eat the wafers too...

 
It all depends on the betta as to whether or not he'll accept a snail. Most will in time.
 
Also, what size tank do you have? Snails can be pretty messy...if under a 5 gallon tank, I'm not sure I'd recommend having one in there. 

 

[KirkyArcher]

Some snails will only eat a specific type of algae, some snails will eat your plants, so get some research done on the type of snail you intend to purchase, also you'll need to keep a close eye on your snails as often they will fall off stuff and invariably fall upside down and not many have the ability to right themselves afterwards  

 

[argoma]

Water changes won't harm the snail-just make sure to use your dechlorinater. Yes, scrubbing everything and dunking it in water would get rid of the algae. Unless you have algae growing on the moss ball, I'm not sure that it would eat that. You can purchase a container of algae wafers, and stick one in for your snail that way it won't starve to death.

Just watch your betta. Mine likes to eat the wafers too...

 
It all depends on the betta as to whether or not he'll accept a snail. Most will in time.
 
Also, what size tank do you have? Snails can be pretty messy...if under a 5 gallon tank, I'm not sure I'd recommend having one in there. 

 
It's a 2,5 gal

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

I wouldnt. And you need to be doing 100% water changes at least every other day, even better, everyday. You are letting the ammonia get very far up by changing it once a week.

 

[argoma]

I wouldnt. And you need to be doing 100% water changes at least every other day, even better, everyday. You are letting the ammonia get very far up by changing it once a week.

 
I do 50% water changes every other day and i have a marimo, i know it's not enough but it's a little help. The fish is fine, or at least he appears to be.

 

[Donya]

Don't add any other ornamental animals to an unfiltered tank like this, and particularly don't add animals that would need supplemental feeding since it would contribute to waste buildup. In tanks like this, basically no inverts are suitable except for some of the incredibly hardy non-ornamental species that also are frequently considered pests for population contorl reasons, namely Physids and Planorbids. Both of those would eat algae (although you'd have to quit scrubbing to leave a food source) and likely leave the moss ball alone. Both are also able to maintain small populations in pretty adverse conditions, but the flip-side is that you'd end up with a population and have little snails everywhere if they thrived, and many people would consider as much of a nuisance as the algae. However, aside from those types of very bomb proof snails, other inverts shouldn't be subjected to the types of param swings that are common to these sorts of unfiltered tanks. 
 

Also is it okay to keep a snail with a betta?

 
Bettas are notorious nippers for snails with feelers. It varies from one individual to another, but in general it's a bad combination since a nippy fish will result in a stressed snail. Smaller snails like Physids and Planorbids are harder to nip at and are more likely to be ignored. Larger ornamental species are more likely to be assaulted every time the feelers grow back.