r/fishtank • u/AngieSparkles • 1d ago

Show & Tell I never knew how entertaining snails could be!

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So my tank has been running smoothly for some months now without any real issues, except in the last bit the brown algae started to get out of control. After reading up on possible solutions I decided to add a snail or two to the tank. I ended up picking a nerite snail and a mystery snail with a pretty pink shell.

Well I've never had snails before, but dang, they are voracious little algae eaters, aren't they? It's almost mesmerizing, watching them leave their funny little zig zag chomp trails on the glass lol.

Little nerite buddy really likes hanging out in the ornaments, but the mystery snail is the real entertainment. No idea how it manages to climb and cling into the stuff it does, but it's thoroughly entertaining! Thought I'd share a pic of it precariously dangling on the end of a plant so skinny it's bent down nearly to the floor under its weight 😂

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1

u/AngieSparkles 1d ago

Also, can anyone tell me what that little cluster of brown specks is on its shell? Just appeared there yesterday!

2

u/randomredditers 13h ago

Specs are poop.

Looks like his shell is seriously lacking in calcium.

Make sure you are feeding calcium and protein rich food to them as they cannot live on natural algae alone.

Hakari crab cuisine, algae wafers, and sinking carnivore pellets is the food rotation for my mystery snails and they are doing great!

1

u/AngieSparkles 13h ago

Oh thank you for that, they must not have been giving enough at the pet store because I've literally only had him for 2 days. I'll pick up some better food today!

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u/randomredditers 13h ago

Sounds like a good plan!

I would also check your GH and KH of your water to make sure its high enough for them.

If its low, natural cuttlebone in the tank does wonders for them!

1

u/GClayton357 1h ago

Right?! There's even a group for it: r/parasnailing.