Potential Snail Tank

I hope this is the right spot. Sorry, mods, if it belongs somewhere else.

My 5 year old son has a betta, and his tank cracked irreparably. He has shown quite the interest in my assassin snail, my MTS, and he plucked a pond snail he had grown attached to from my tank prior to putting in my assassin snail. He named it Flash, and stuck it in his tank.

as I am considering a new tank for him, I think he would really dig a snail tank with his betta. But, I’ve never kept snails as like...the purpose of a tank with the betta as the sideline.

what kind of set up do I need to be looking at, here? I’d like to keep a variety of colorful snails for him.

He loves science, and he has been beside me the whole time I built my tank, helping me test water, learning about the nitrogen cycle, names of plants, etc. I would love to customize a tank for him to deepen his interest in the hobby and peak his interest for learning further.

Thanks.

Kat

 

I hope this is the right spot. Sorry, mods, if it belongs somewhere else.

My 5 year old son has a betta, and his tank cracked irreparably. He has shown quite the interest in my assassin snail, my MTS, and he plucked a pond snail he had grown attached to from my tank prior to putting in my assassin snail. He named it Flash, and stuck it in his tank.

as I am considering a new tank for him, I think he would really dig a snail tank with his betta. But, I’ve never kept snails as like...the purpose of a tank with the betta as the sideline.

what kind of set up do I need to be looking at, here? I’d like to keep a variety of colorful snails for him.

He loves science, and he has been beside me the whole time I built my tank, helping me test water, learning about the nitrogen cycle, names of plants, etc. I would love to customize a tank for him to deepen his interest in the hobby and peak his interest for learning further.

Thanks.

Kat

Just wanted to say I love everything about this post! You have a wonderful son and you sound like a wonderful parent. Keep it up

The only thing snails really need to do well (that isn't already required for the betta) is appropriate hardness, but most people already have that in their source water. If the pond snails are reproducing and growing in your own tank, then you are good to go.
Generally snails care more about surface than volume, since they don't swim around, so look for a shallow model that has a large footprint (i.e. is very long and quite wide, but not too high since the betta would have a hard time swimming to the surface). Snails tend to have a significant bioload so don't add too many large, adult, fancy snails at once.
Most importantly though, snails really appreciate plants. Get a well planted tank - the betta will appreciate it too. You could explore with your son the things needed to make the plants grow well - light, CO2, nutrients - and how the plant in turn provides food and oxygen for the livestock I recommend a combination of easy, fast-propagating, fast-growing plants like hornwort, anarcharis, bacopa, vallisneria, hydrocolyte) and some very low-maintenance, low-light slow growers with interesting shapes and colours like anubias, cryptocoryne, bucephalandra, java fern, java moss.

 

So. Theoretically. I’m thinking for rooms sake a ten gallon tank. For a single betta, is there like...a number of snails that you would recommend? Or a type that produces less than another type? Or is there a resource that you could recommend to read up on?

eta: will a sponge filter be fine?

 

So. Theoretically. I’m thinking for rooms sake a ten gallon tank. For a single betta, is there like...a number of snails that you would recommend? Or a type that produces less than another type? Or is there a resource that you could recommend to read up on?

eta: will a sponge filter be fine?

A sponge filter will be perfect, the betta prefers as little flow as possible and the snails don't care. The number of snails doesn't really have anything to do with the betta, only with the bioload that the tank can handle.
You might want to look into the different types of ornamental snails, off the top of my head some common ones are trapdoor snails, mystery snails, inca snails, apple snails, nerites, rabbit snails. Pond and malaysian trumpet snails reproduce like nuts whereas ornamentals often either do not reproduce very quickly or at all in freshwater tanks. Ramhorn snails are somewhere in the middle, reproducing at a decent rate but nothing like pond snails.
The smaller snails don't really have a limit, as far as I know if you vacuum the substrate regularly the cycle of the tank will just grow to accommodate them. For the larger ornamentals people usually recommend 1-2 snails for every 5 gallons, I believe. Maybe settle for 4-5 in a 10 gallon, and get a different one of each?
You can also get an assassin snail, which will eat your pest snails and juvenile ornamentals (if they are larger than the assassin, they should be safe). Alternatively you could put the assassin in a different tank and perform population control on the pest snails by just scooping them out and putting them in the tank with the assassin once a week or so. They eat 1-3 snails a day, on average. They will eat whatever fish food remains on the substrate if they don't get enough snails to eat.

 

This is helpful. Thank you.

Yes, I have many MTS in my nano tank to help turn the substrate, and also have an assassin to help with the population. They are numerous.

I showed him a picture of a blue ramshorn snail a few days ago and he nearly flipped his lid, as well as a few cool looking nerite snails.

Looks like I’ll need a 10 gallon. I was hoping for a 5.5, but I think to do what I want, a 10 will be better suited. You have been exceedingly helpful. Thanks for taking the time to respond to the thread. I appreciate it.

 

If you feel like going the extra mile for the snails' health and well being, I'd recommend feeding them snail jello. Ones like mystery snails usually need more that algae and betta scraps to stay healthy, and most snello recipes pack them with veggies and calcium that they need to keep a strong shell. Here's a recipe I like to use for my own snails: For The Aquatic Snail Keeper, SNELLO RECIPE! — Steemit

Nerites probably won't eat it but every other species will probably be all over it. Of course, feeding them more will cause the kinds of snails that can reproduce to multiply more vigorously, so that's something to keep in mind.

 

If you feel like going the extra mile for the snails' health and well being, I'd recommend feeding them snail jello. Ones like mystery snails usually need more that algae and betta scraps to stay healthy, and most snello recipes pack them with veggies and calcium that they need to keep a strong shell. Here's a recipe I like to use for my own snails: For The Aquatic Snail Keeper, SNELLO RECIPE! — Steemit

Nerites probably won't eat it but every other species will probably be all over it. Of course, feeding them more will cause the kinds of snails that can reproduce to multiply more vigorously, so that's something to keep in mind.

oh my. My son would absolutely love to make this for his snails. He helps me in the kitchen a fair deal and would be ELATED to make custom snail food.

 

oh my. My son would absolutely love to make this for his snails. He helps me in the kitchen a fair deal and would be ELATED to make custom snail food.

That's awesome! Let us know how this snail project goes.

 

That's awesome! Let us know how this snail project goes.

I will, absolutely. I’ll start a thread for the build and post it here for you guys to follow.

 

Betta/snail 10 Gallon

Here’s the link to the snail tank (and guest) process!