Mystery Snail Care?

I can't find a good caresheet for Black Mystery Snails.

Do you know of a good one, or could you at least give me some pointers or a quick care list of your own? x

 

HI Dean! Welcome to FishLore!

I have a gold mystery snail & my husband and I are completely smitten with him.

I'm gonna start you off with this site:

Here's a list of things I've read & discovered with our little guy.

1.They eat just about anything that's decaying in your tank - algae, dying plants, forgotten fish flakes, freeze dried brine shrimp, & even dead fish/inverts (not that you would leave those floating in your tank). They will NOT eat your healthy plants.
2. They are NOT asexual, which means you can have one snail without worries of a population explosion (unlike pond snails).
3. Their shells need calcium supplement to stay healthy. The easiest and cheapest way to do this seems to be to add broken egg shells in a fish net bag (hide in a corner or something) & as they dissolve they will release the calcium into the water. Another way, is - just before lights out - slice a chunk of zucchnI & stick that on a chopstick or skewer (to help wedge it under decor/rock so it doesn't float off). When you wake up, you'll find your snail devouring the zucchini, which is high in calcium and vitamins that are good for the body and the shell!
4. If they suck their body into their shell and close their little trapdoor at the opening of the shell, then you need to check your water params asap.
5. The most important thing to know is that mystery snails are awesome. They have their own little attitudes and personalities that make them surprisingly endearing.

Have fun & keep asking whatever questions or concerns come to mind! Also, we'd love pictures of your tank! ;D

 

Thanks a lot. I'm planning on getting my Grandmother one because she had them before and loved them, and her algae has just been horrible since they died. They mated a LOT, and as I understand it (from the link you sent me! Great site! Thanks so much!) an abundance of mating can lead to a shorter lifespan.

As I've been reading through that site though I've had a great temptation to set up a small tank for one of the smaller species, just to see what they'd be like on their own/without fish. I agree their awesome. I loved watching the two my grandmother had grab hold of the vegetables I'd set in for them. =]

 

Swilkins is one of our members and raises mystery snails I have some of them and they are just so pretty. She also makes snail food for here the recipe is found at the site linked above.
Carol

 

Cool. Thanks for the tip.

 

Your best information will come from applesnail.net I have learned so much from there. Most people think that mystery snails are just cleaners for their tanks and that is far from the truth. When they are babies they do love to eat the algae from your tank but when they are adults from what I have read and seen they do eat a little algae but they really only put a little dent in it IMO. If you have an adult and you actually look when they are going up the side of the tank you can see them munching on whatever is there but after they pass that area you will see that they only give it a quick once over. I make sure mine get their fresh veggies (zucchini, spinach, kale) the ones high in calcium. They also love algae tablets/disks and other types of fish food. Mine in particular like Kens catfish pellets. These guys need lots of calcium for their shells especially when growing up. I use a recipe from the above website for a recipe for a calcium supplement. The fish and shrimp love these also and I keep at least one in my snail tanks at all times. I also drop in an adult calcium supplement (yep the capsule like we are supposed to take) just set it on a shell or saucer. It will dissolve but once they go over it one time the snail slime will hold it in place. It will not cloud your tank and won't hurt anything in there. If they do not eat it it will be in the water for them to get that way but trust me once they find it they will eat it. I believe mine think it is snail candy. You are right about needing more than one snail to reproduce unless they were exposed to another snail of the opposite sex before you got them, they can carry eggs to lay at a later time. These will be laid above the water line and you can just remove them. Breeding also does shorten their lifespan as does a higher temperature. They will be your first warning sign to a bad water condition usually if your snails are at the top of the tank and don't go back down you had better do some checking and I would also check if they stay closed up for long periods of time.

Oops!!! Sorry for the letter here. Really any info you want you will most definitely find at the snail website mentioned earlier and if there is any way I can help you I would be glad to!

 

Thanks so much. I can see why you've all sent me to that site, it's just fantastic.

 

I meant to tell you welcome to Fishlore but I think I got a bit carried away there about the snails...hee hee. Can you tell I kinda like them? I will be glad to help you any way that I can but to be honest I have gotten my info from applesnail. I learned a lot over there. The recipes they have for snail food are really easy and my snails love them everyone I have tried. I keep the calcium pucks on hand and snail jello and the cookies that just grossed me out when making them. Thank goodness those cookies last a long long time!!!

 

Oh. One important question I just remembered. Should I cycle the tank before adding them?

Thank you all for the welcome as well.

And I can most certainly tell you like them! I must admit I went through some of your old threads and posts and took a look at some things you shared about your snails, SWilkens.

 

Oh please cycle before adding them. They are very sensitive to your water conditions and they would probably not make it through a cycle IMO. Like I said earlier they will be your first clue that something is not right with your water.

 

Thanks. Just making sure 'cause if I know for sure I won't be tempted to procrastinate and put it off. It could be a few days to a few months before I get back into the place that sells them, anyways, so if I start it now with some of my gourami's filter material the water should be nicely set-up by the time I buy them.

 

"Apple snails that are found in the aquarium trade don't make high demands when it comes to water quality: they can live very well in clear, streaming, oxygen-rich water as well in still water, with rotting organic waste, containing almost no oxygen." by applesnail.net

So is it depending on the species that are sensitive to water condition? Just curious, I've never had one before, now I want to try to breed them

Edit: And also what is the perfect temp for them? Can they survive in my 86F discus tank?

 

"Apple snails that are found in the aquarium trade don't make high demands when it comes to water quality: they can live very well in clear, streaming, oxygen-rich water as well in still water, with rotting organic waste, containing almost no oxygen." by applesnail.net

They might live in those conditions but they won't thrive or grow as fast

So is it depending on the species that are sensitive to water condition? Just curious, I've never had one before, now I want to try to breed them

Edit: And also what is the perfect temp for them? Can they survive in my 86F discus tank?

an uncycled tank will have ammonia spikes that will kill snails as fast as it will fish.
Mine I got from Swilkins are really cool and thriving everywhere I've put them. You will really enjoy Mystery snails.
I'm not sure about that temp though.
Carol

 

Would be interesting to find out their highest temperature possibility. My tanks get up to 86 in the summer. Off to google I go! =o

 

"Apple snails that are found in the aquarium trade don't make high demands when it comes to water quality: they can live very well in clear, streaming, oxygen-rich water as well in still water, with rotting organic waste, containing almost no oxygen." by applesnail.net

So is it depending on the species that are sensitive to water condition? Just curious, I've never had one before, now I want to try to breed them

Edit: And also what is the perfect temp for them? Can they survive in my 86F discus tank?

I would say 75o- 80o works fine. Yes, the increase in temp will boost reproduction and activity, but can shorten the lifespan of the snails due to a higher metabolism.

PS (Japanese or Chinese mystery snails as they have been called, are not considered Tropical snails, and will slowly die, in temps above 75o.)

 

PS (Japanese or Chinese mystery snails as they have been called, are not considered Tropical snails, and will slowly die, in temps above 75o.)

Ooh, thanks for that. Yet another thing to research, just in case.

 

I don't have any of my mysteries in with my cichlids. They tend to think their antenna are some type of food and not only will they eat the antenna they will stress the snail to death. I do have some in with guppies and they do fine. I don't have them in with my mollies because they torture them. I am testing the water so to speak with my angels by putting baby mysteries in to see how they do if they grow up in there since adults were had to be removed ASAP when they were put in. So far they are about pea-sized and are doing fine and the angels are not bothering them at all. We shall see.

 

Are there any good articles I can read about mystery snail care? As soon as I acclimate my betta to his new 10 gallon tank I'm getting him a mystery snail to hang out with. I want to take good care of it!

 

I don't know of any really good articles but Junne and I could probably answer most questions you have. What kind of info are you looking for?

This should give you a start

 

Also check out the snail section in the Fresh Water Inverts area. There are a ton of good questions and answers on there.

 

Ok I'll read through everything. My top two questions are how and what to feed it and if I need to leave some space above the water line.

Do they have gills or do they breathe air?

Thanks guys!

 

I feed mine a mix of fresh veggies (they like no salt added canned or thawed frozen green beans, zucchini/yellow squash, and spinach best), algae wafers, shrimp pellets, flake or pellet fish food, and snail jello.

You'll need to leave a tiny bit of space so they can get air, but make sure you have a tight fitting lid with no gaps because if you happen to get a mature female she can crawl out looking for a spot to lay her clutch.

They have both gills for underwater breathing and a siphon for breathing air, they'll do both so as stated, they'll need a "crawlspace" above the water line (not much if you're not breeding, maybe 1/2-1") to access air.

 

That seems easy enough. Thanks for the info!

 

I think Bijou88 covered it nicely


Mystery snails are a wonderful addition to a tank but like any other creatures, be careful and have another option if your betta doesn't like it for some reason. I had one that lived in a betta tank for about 6 months and then all of a sudden, when the Betta started blowing his bubbles for a bubble nest, decided that anything else in the tank was a threat and started attacking it! I had to move the snail to another tank.
Just so you know...................

 

Hi! I recently purchased an albino mystery snail for my betta tank to help with algae, but my betta would not leave the poor thing alone, so I moved him to my goldfish tank and he's been very active and cruising around.

My question is on the use of cuttlebone to supplement his calcium. My ph right now is about 7.4, and I'm concerned the bone might shoot the ph above 8. I have pretty hard water as well.

What's a safe way to get him the calcium he needs while considering the other tank inhabitants?

Thanks!

 

Put some egg shells in some type of mesh bag and hide in the tank. Leave it for 2-3 weeks and replace. ZUccinI (sp) is also very good for mystery snails.

 

Cuttlebone will do basically nothing to your pH, at least it never has for me (and that's in 5 and 10 gallon tanks) especially if you have one piece in a tank big enough for goldies. By nothing, I mean it did not alter the pH at all. Egg shells, as mentioned, are also an option, but I find the cuttlebone to be much easier.

And yes, please feed the little guy. Fresh veggies that are high in calcium are a great option. Zucchini, green beans, spinach, etc. I would also suggest supplementing with something meat based as well so that he/she is getting enough protein for the door.

 

Sounds good, thanks guys!