Very helpful video for those who have algae problems. I keep many mystery snails for prevention and it works, but sometimes they accidentally miss a tiny spot, then I clean that spot with a normal toothbrush and algae goes away. 🙂
I am always concerned about snails in a betta tank, as snails like high pH water and bettas prefer it no better than 7, maybe even a little lower, so slightly acidic. Bettas definitely do not like high pH water! I once had a betta jump out of her tank (fortunately I found her before she died and got her back into the tank and she lived for another entire year after that!) and it took me a while to realize the water in the tank had a very high pH, which took me a while to realize it was coming out of the tap unusually high. Sometimes your water provider may mess with your water in various ways, so you may want to do at least a pH check on your tap water before doing a water change... In theory you could offset lower pH water for snails by making sure it was high in calcium, but that also isn't great for betta fish, who prefer softer water rather than harder. In my case, I am perpetually overrun with ramshorns, so tossing some ramshorns into my betta tank knowing the low pH isn't great for them doesn't bother me overly much as I have such an extreme number of them. They do an amazing job keeping the tank clean! And while they lay absurd numbers of eggsacks, those eggs never hatch, so it's not a problem. Whenever a ramshorns expires, I just add more. And some of them even do manage to live to get to a large size, say the size of a quarter, although their shells are always badly eroded, but at least some of them can manage a long life despite the low pH. But I wouldn't specifically buy snails to go into a low pH tank, I would only toss in pest snails from other tanks that have an infestation problem. But that's just me. Apparently I'm in a tiny minority, as almost everybody recommends snails for betta tanks. I don't know why, but it's a super common recommendation. Not from me though.
The biggest relief for me was watching seasoned/pro aquarists on FishTube have algae problems in their tanks. If THEY have algae problems, I can relax, calm down and get over having algae in my tanks! 😂
Honestly, I just let them do their own thing; they are very low maintenance. My snails have always done well, and I don't do anything different for them than I would usually do for my betta. :)
Very helpful video for those who have algae problems. I keep many mystery snails for prevention and it works, but sometimes they accidentally miss a tiny spot, then I clean that spot with a normal toothbrush and algae goes away. 🙂
I am always concerned about snails in a betta tank, as snails like high pH water and bettas prefer it no better than 7, maybe even a little lower, so slightly acidic. Bettas definitely do not like high pH water! I once had a betta jump out of her tank (fortunately I found her before she died and got her back into the tank and she lived for another entire year after that!) and it took me a while to realize the water in the tank had a very high pH, which took me a while to realize it was coming out of the tap unusually high. Sometimes your water provider may mess with your water in various ways, so you may want to do at least a pH check on your tap water before doing a water change...
In theory you could offset lower pH water for snails by making sure it was high in calcium, but that also isn't great for betta fish, who prefer softer water rather than harder.
In my case, I am perpetually overrun with ramshorns, so tossing some ramshorns into my betta tank knowing the low pH isn't great for them doesn't bother me overly much as I have such an extreme number of them. They do an amazing job keeping the tank clean! And while they lay absurd numbers of eggsacks, those eggs never hatch, so it's not a problem. Whenever a ramshorns expires, I just add more. And some of them even do manage to live to get to a large size, say the size of a quarter, although their shells are always badly eroded, but at least some of them can manage a long life despite the low pH. But I wouldn't specifically buy snails to go into a low pH tank, I would only toss in pest snails from other tanks that have an infestation problem. But that's just me. Apparently I'm in a tiny minority, as almost everybody recommends snails for betta tanks. I don't know why, but it's a super common recommendation. Not from me though.
The biggest relief for me was watching seasoned/pro aquarists on FishTube have algae problems in their tanks. If THEY have algae problems, I can relax, calm down and get over having algae in my tanks! 😂
I literally felt the same way!! I was such a perfectionist for such a long time. 🤣
Thank you for these tips! I'm considering getting a snail. Do you have any tips on how to care for one?
Honestly, I just let them do their own thing; they are very low maintenance. My snails have always done well, and I don't do anything different for them than I would usually do for my betta. :)