Gah Snail Attacks!

Alrighty... I'm a first time fish owner, but did a bunch of research, and i'm trying to do this the right way. I've got a 3 gallon tank, with two live plants, a heater, filter...the works. The temperature, is at a constant, tropial 81 degrees.

Here's the story:

Yesterday, I ventured out to rescue my precious betta [Patrick] from those little cups at Petco...
I consulted a close friend of mine, and mentioned getting a snail, and she said it would be a wonderful idea.
So, I bought Phillip. [A lovely little snail, the size of a dime..]

Once Patrick was introduced into the tank, Phillip was just beginning to climb up the walls of the tank... And Patrick does a fly by nip! Phillip shot back into his shell and fell to the floor. He lay there helpless for a couple of hours before venturing out again.

Today, Patrick's gone after him maybe twice [Phillip stayed in his shell for a couple hours afterwards!], and then he's just been swimming up next to Phillip and has just been checking him out like "Who the **** are you?" It's quite humorous, but i'm worried about Phillip's well-being.

Is Patrick just still getting used to his tank mate and will he soon accept him? Or because of his aggressivness, do you think he'll always nip at poor little Phillip? Basically, what i'm asking is... Are snails safe in a tank with Bettas?

-Oh, and Patrick says Hello! 

I'm going to be running to class soon, but I shall check back in frequently. ~Spark~

P.S. I forgot to add this -So it's just an additional little note- Yesterday, when I rescued Patrick, he had a blue-ish body, with red fins with turquoise tips. When I woke up today he had created the most adorable little bubble nest! Though, his coloration has changed. Everything that was blue before is now a deep violet, and the red seems even brighter! So, with the bubble nest, I believe that's associated with his readiness to spawn, correct? Are coloration changes also a sign of his readiness?

 

My Betta nipped his snail at first too. After he got used to him they became the best of friends. Don't worry, the snail can't be harmed. He has a suit of armour. 
The coloration change means he is feeling good and no longer stressed as he was in the cup. Bubble nests are just instinctive and usually mean that he feels comfortable. You don't need to spawn him. He may stop building them altogether and that's fine too.

 

Since i'm not even sure i'm doing a good job with Patrick, i'm definitely not going to attempt a spawning.

Though, i'm quite sure of Phillip's suit of armour, he wasn't in his suit all the way. So his little face was poking out, and he has some protruding arm type thing that he had out, I haven't seen it since Patrick first nipped at him though, but I think patrick actually nipped at him and not just the shell. So it's not like he just knocked him off the wall of the tank.

Haha
I just got home from class, and I come to find Phillip hidden away in the corner of the tank behind the heater like patrick put him in a time out, and Patrick is havng the time of his life!

I'm very glad to hear he's not stressed anymore, though. Definitely comforting.
He's getting so purdy. <33

 

Don't worry, Patrick will come to love his snail! Mine did! The nips they give them at first are more out of curiousity than aggression. They just can't figure out what this moving rock is...  ;D  My Betta and snail got to the point they would sleep side by side and my Betta would turn to him once in a while and give him gentle kisses. The snail grew to trust him so much he didn't even retract into his shell when he kissed him. It was very cute.

 

;D That is so cute.

The thought that he was just curious crossed my mind, but I thought it could have been aggression too, I just had no clue.
But Patrick just swims up to them with this attitude like "What the..? What are you??" It's kinda funny.

But yea, i'm thinking Patrick is getting used to little Phillip.
Phil actually went on one of the plants yesterday, and it's got big, long leaves and he was too heavy for it, so while he was out on a leaf, the leaf almost dropped down to the bottom of the tank. haha.

I thought it was cute but maybe, since it's just a snail, i'm just too easily amused. 

 

Yep, my Betta, Moby, did the exact same thing with Lenora the Mystery Snail, nipping at her antennae every so often. I would go right up to the tank and act angry at Moby and tell him "No! Leave her alone!". After a few times of this I moved Moby to a fish bowl as a temporary 'time-out' because I was afraid he'd hurt Lenora and bite something off (I've heard snails will grow parts back, just not as big as before). I'd let Moby sit in the fishbowl overnight and then return him to the bigger tank the next day. I only had to do this 2 - 3 times before Moby got the picture and began leaving Lenora alone. A few months later Moby became very VERY attached to the snail. Moby would sleep with his chin on Lenora's shell at night or share the cave with her. So I agree with Phloxface, it should just take time. Snails are really the clowns of the fish tanks. They'll play in the bubbles or let themselves be buffeted by the filter water or sleep in the plants like a monkey in a tree. I've found them to be a whole lot of fun. I feed Lenora every other day usually a really small piece of spinach, 1/4 of a slice of cucumber or 1/4 of an algae wafer for bottom feeders. She's really big now compared to when she was the size of a dime like Phillip.

 

Yea, Patrick's now beginning to check out his buddy, and lay next to him when he decides torest on the rocks for a few seconds. There aren't any more nips or anything, so i'm very happy about that. And Phillip doesn't even dartback into his shell when Patrick swims by, so that's comforting aswell.