jnb1984

I've found out from you guys, in another post, that snail reproduction is a sign of overfeeding. But is it also a sign of good water? Snails wouldn't reproduce so easily if they were being poisoned with ammonia or something, right? I test my water every week and it's in good condition. But even with that I always worry a little. I'm still pretty new and I don't want anything to go wrong. And I can't help but over feed a little sometimes. They look like they're so hungry sometimes the way they act.

I know this part's a little off topic, but what's a healthy portion of food for my guys? I usually feed my male beta a pinch everyday (mixed with bettamin flakes - he actually eats these!, bloodworms, and brineshrimp - instead of alternating the food each day) and my pleco an algae disc every day. I feed them both at the same time(so my beta isn't curious about the disc and scare pleco away). Every Sunday I fast them.

meg1220

As long as you're using a good quality test kit, and are using it correctly, you can relax if you're water parameters are good. A couple of snails are fine; if there are more than you'd like, you can pick them out. An easy way is to put a piece of lettuce in and wait a couple hours for them to mass onto it. Then take out the lettuce. If there are way too many, then yes, you probably are overfeeding. I got some red cherry shrimp to clean up the leftover food in my tank, which worked great and did help keep the snail population under control.

aquarist48

Hello JNB. Here is a couple of link on snails you may find interesting:
Mystery Snails
Apple Snail Care Sheet @ petfish.net

I wouldn't suggest that you consider snails breading as a sign of good water conditions. Some snails can live in stagnant water, with no filtration and the worst of conditions.

When it comes to feeding remember that most tropical fish for home aquariums only have a stomach the size of one of their eyes. This may not be true for all of the species but for most it is.

Keep up with your regular water changes and water chemistry tests. As you get more aquarium and fish keeping experience, you'll learn what needs to be done and when to do it. It will become routine.

Best of luck!
Ken