Aquatic snails need a healthy and stable environment and sufficient food to survive. Additional space and alternative feed sources may be required, depending on the size and type of snail you choose. Since there are so many different types of snails that you can keep, you need to consider the options available and adapt them to the needs of your aquarium.
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Part 1 of 3: Keeping Snails
Step 1. Prepare the feed
One of the biggest needs of snails is adequate feed. If the feed is lacking, the snails will starve. However, excessive feed makes water quality decline drastically.
- Most snails like to browse. Snails also eat algae, either growing on the tank walls or supplied in the form of bars, which are purchased at the store.
- Some snails require alternative feed sources, such as fish feed or feed tablets for the tank floor.
- Feeding rules depend on the type of snail you keep. Some need to be fed daily, some only a few times per week.
- Some experts recommend feeding as much as an aquatic snail can eat within three minutes, twice per day. You have to do your own test to find the right dose.
- The rule, if supplemental feed is ignored for two days, maybe you are giving too much/frequent feed or the feed is not liked. So, try a different type of feed and watch your snail respond.
- Consult a trusted aquarium specialist at your local pet store or university/college to make sure your snails are well cared for and catered for.
Step 2. Do not use tap water directly
Generally, municipal water supplies use chemicals such as chlorine to prepare tap water. These chemicals are very dangerous for snails (although it is safe for humans to drink). Bottled water is a safe and snail-neutral water source, but can be very expensive. Therefore, snail keepers who have access to natural freshwater sources outside the home use pond water.
- Snails need water with a stable and neutral pH. You can buy a pH test kit at a pet store or order one online.
- If it is not possible to use bottled water or pool water, you can store tap water in an open container for 24 hours. After 24 hours the chemical residue in the water should have evaporated so that the water is safe for use in the aquarium.
Step 3. Prepare water for sea slugs
If you want to keep sea slugs, you need to prepare a suitable environment. Preparing sea water for sea slugs is the same as preparing sea water for other marine biota aquariums, such as marine fish or coral reefs. What you need most is a special salt mix because household salt cannot be used to create a marine environment.
- Test for nitrate levels in tap water. You can buy a water test kit at a pet store or online.
- Use purified water if your tap water's nitrate level is high. Water with high nitrate levels is not safe for aquatic invertebrates. The methods commonly used for purification of tap water are reverse osmosis, deionization, and ion exchange.
- Purchase an aquarium salt mix at a pet store or online.
- Add about 35 grams of salt mixture to each liter of water to make it look like real seawater.
- Consider purchasing a salinity meter, to ensure a stable salt-water ratio. Most aquarium owners measure salinity with the cheapest hydrometer, which is a refractometer or digital salinity meter.
Step 4. Make sure your slug is still alive
Some of the common behaviors of snails often make owners confused whether the snail is alive or dead. The best way to keep snails is to check them periodically, especially if you notice any odd behavior.
- Snails often float on the surface of the aquarium, making the owner think the snail is dead. Though the cause is air bubbles trapped in the shell. After a while, the problem will resolve itself.
- Some snails hide in their shells so they are often considered dead by their owners. This is a wrong assumption.
- Dead snails will droop outside their shells, while those that are still alive may hide inside their shells.
- You can check this by gently nudging the shell shutoff valve. If the shell remains closed and there is resistance, the snail is still alive.
Part 2 of 3: Setting Up a Snail Habitat
Step 1. Choose the right tank size
The right size is largely determined by the dimensions and number of snails to be kept and whether these snails tend to reproduce quickly and on a large scale or not.
- Do not keep more than 20 snails in a 4 liter tank.
- If you don't have an aquarium, you can use a large clean, transparent-walled gallon or jerrycan. The important thing is that you can see the snails inside, to check their health. So, choose a glass or clear container.
- If using a smaller container, do not keep more than 3-6 snails per liter of water, depending on the size of the snails you want to keep.
- Make sure the tank has a tight-fitting lid (ideally a gauze lid to allow air circulation). Some snails are known to be good at escaping from tanks.
Step 2. Maintain the temperature of the aquarium
The ideal water temperature for freshwater snails is 22-28˚ Celsius. Many sea slugs require the same temperature range. For example, for the Bumblebee snail, the most suitable temperature is 22-25˚ Celsius. Sometimes you will need to adjust the temperature of the aquarium water, depending on certain environmental factors such as the temperature of your home and the climate in which you live, so that it is within the right range. You can also move the aquarium to an area of the house where the room temperature is more stable, which is around 18-25˚ Celsius.
- Keep the aquarium out of direct sunlight so the water doesn't get too warm during the day.
- Purchase an aquarium heater if you live in a cold climate, where insulation is poor or the heating system is inadequate, or if your home is cold at night.
- You can buy an aquarium heater at a pet store or online.
Step 3. Provide the substrate on the tank floor
The floor is an important component in the health of the tank. Most snails require a certain type of aquatic plant. That is, you need to plant the roots in the substrate. Most snails also scavenge for substrate while foraging for food. So make sure the slugs have a stable environment on the tank floor.
- Sand is best suited for most varieties of sea slug, although some species enjoy digging for small rocks.
- In general, 3-5 centimeters of substrate will suffice.
- Ask a trusted aquarium expert at the pet store for ideal conditions for the type of snail you are interested in.
Step 4. Keep the tank clean
All aquatic creatures need a clean habitat, but snails are very sensitive to their environment. Snails do eat algae and decaying plant matter, but they also need clean and fresh water. If the tank is not cared for, your snails won't last long.
- Check the water regularly to make sure that no snails (or other aquatic organisms in the tank) have died.
- Use fishing nets to remove dead organisms from the tank, before they decompose.
- As soon as the water is cloudy/dark or starts to smell bad, replace it with a new one.
Part 3 of 3: Choosing the Right Snails for Your Aquarium
Step 1. Find out about the different types of freshwater snails
There are many varieties of aquatic snails, although the common ones encountered are gold snails, mystery snails, turbo snails, lake snails, ramshorn snails, and trumpet snails. Each is recognized by its distinctive features. The choice of snail depends on your aesthetic preferences, the needs of your aquarium, or both.
- The golden snail is known for its bright yellow shell color. Gold snails are considered good freshwater aquarium cleaners because they tend to consume algae and detritus.
- The Ivory Snail is recognized by its creamy shell. Ivory snails are also considered good freshwater aquarium cleaners and “scavengers.”
- Mystery Snails have a shell that tends to vary in appearance, but tends to be dark in color (though some have an ivory-colored shell), usually with brown accents or stripes. Mystery Snails usually scavenge, but are also good at escaping so the tank must be covered tightly.
- Turbo Snails come in many shapes, colors and patterns, depending on the variety. Normally Turbo slugs scavenge algae, but also burrow in the tank floor for food.
- The Telaga Snail is the most common pest snail. Lake Snails tend to roam around aquatic plants and in tank water and are often accidentally brought home from pet stores.
- The Ramshorn snail has a shell that looks twisted and coiled, like the horns of a ram (hence the name). Ramshorn snails like to scavenge, but are often carried into the aquarium by accident, just like the Pond snails.
- Trumpet snails usually have an elongated, conical shell. Trumpet Snails are great scavengers and often appear uninvited in new aquariums, as well as Pond snails and Ramshorn snails thanks to their ability to hide in freshwater plants.
Step 2. Learn the different varieties of sea slugs
Sea slugs are also a popular choice for filling saltwater aquariums. Sea slugs usually eat algae and detritus, just like freshwater snails, but there are some types that are carnivorous. The color is usually also more diverse than freshwater snails. Therefore, many aquarium enthusiasts choose to keep sea snails. The snails you keep are very dependent on your personal aesthetic taste and the conditions of your aquarium.
- Bumblebee snails are carnivorous invertebrates. Bumblebee snails usually eat detritus from meat, including decomposing organisms in the aquarium, and are known to eat other snails in the tank if they are not fed.
- Cerith snails are easy to care for and can help add oxygen to the substrate. Cerith snails scavenge algae, detritus, leftover feed, and fish waste.
- Nassarius snails eat detritus, feed residues, decaying plant matter, and fish waste. Nassarius snails make great aquarium cleaners because they usually find plenty of food throughout the tank.
- Turbo Snails are generally easy to care for and tend to vary in coloration. There are many varieties, including the Turbo Astraea snail and the Turbo Chestnut snail, and tend to eat algae and dried seaweed flakes.
Step 3. Choose healthy snails
If you have no experience raising aquatic snails, you may be confused when choosing. Do not choose a snail whose color is faded, has no appetite, is reluctant to move/exerts energy, tends to hide in a shell, has spots on its body/mouth or other types of fungus, because it is likely that the snail is sick or carrying parasites. When selecting snails, look for the following signs of excellent health:
- actively moving in the water
- a healthy appetite for whatever type of feed he chooses
- consistent/even color
- the shell is clean
Step 4. Identify the risks faced by a particular variety
You need to be aware of the risks faced by certain varieties of aquatic snails. Some varieties are considered “pests” and emerge uninvited, then reproduce on a large scale. The population spike reduces oxygen levels in the water, increases the amount of carbon dioxide, and produces a lot of organic waste through the process of secretion and decomposition processes, in the end. When choosing aquatic snails, it's a good idea to choose varieties that aquarium owners generally don't consider pests.
- Ramshorn snails are considered the largest pest variety. This breed reproduces quickly and in large numbers.
- Lake snails and trumpet slugs are also considered pests by many aquarium owners, although some people keep them for aesthetic reasons.
- Seek advice from an aquarium expert at the pet store if you are unsure whether a particular type of snail could be a pest in your tank.
Tips
- Several species of snails will fill the aquarium. Find out the differences between different types of aquatic snails and choose the variety that best suits your needs.
- Some species of snails produce a lot of excrement. So, change and filter the water as often as possible to keep the snails healthy.
