How to feed my snail before the platies eat his algae wafer?

I got a black mystery snail a few days ago and so far I've tried to feed him an algae wafer twice by dropping it near him in the tank, but both times the platies just gorge themselves on it, end up with huge bloated bellies, and then pass huge poops. I've tried distracting the platies by feeding them their flakes in one corner, but since they are fast and the snail just sits there you can guess who gets the wafer. Any suggestions?

 

Snails are noctural so try feeding the snail right before you sleep.

 

Yea.. you could drop the wafer in after the lights are out at night.. maybe break it up into pieces to put in different spots around the tank to increase his chances of getting some before the platies. How big is your snail & what will his full size be?

 

Ahh, thanks for the answers. I'll drop it in tonight and hope that I don't see 3 preggo-looking male platies in the morning!

My snail is probably about 3/4" in diameter, or the size of your average mystery snail that Petsmart sells. I have read online that apple snails get huge (up to baseball size) while mystery snails stay smaller, but that some people erroneously use the terms interchangeably. So I hope that Petsmart snails are truly mystery snails and not "apple" because I don't want it to get big.

 

Ahh, thanks for the answers. I'll drop it in tonight and hope that I don't see 3 preggo-looking male platies in the morning!

My snail is probably about 3/4" in diameter, or the size of your average mystery snail that Petsmart sells. I have read online that apple snails get huge (up to baseball size) while mystery snails stay smaller, but that some people erroneously use the terms interchangeably. So I hope that Petsmart snails are truly mystery snails and not "apple" because I don't want it to get big.

A pet store in a city next to us was selling them and they were that big for sure. We were thinking of getting 1, but changed our minds seeing the full size snails. Good luck with getting the snail his wafer.

Another idea I just thought of is - would it be possible to slip the wafer partly or mostly underneath the snail after coaxing the platies to another part of the tank?

 

Another idea I just thought of is - would it be possible to slip the wafer partly or mostly underneath the snail after coaxing the platies to another part of the tank?

Thanks for the idea. I'll try that if the feeding at night thing doesn't work out. Hopefully I won't need to because I keep my water level high (I'm picky about avoiding visible water levels) so me sticking my arm in = flood!

 

Another idea I just thought of is - would it be possible to slip the wafer partly or mostly underneath the snail after coaxing the platies to another part of the tank?

Thanks for the idea. I'll try that if the feeding at night thing doesn't work out. Hopefully I won't need to because I keep my water level high (I'm picking about avoiding visible water levels) so me sticking my arm in = flood!

You're welcome. Maybe some long wooden tongs might do the trick - if you need to try that idea.