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Snail tank only?

18K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  DragonFyre14 
#1 ·
Does a snail only tank require a heater or a hob filter? I have been buying plants and rinsing the snails into a 10g goldfish tank. Today I rehomed the goldfish and now have an empty tank except for the snails. My wife wants to keep them. Do snails need temp, filter, food, water changes? How do I care for them?
 
#2 ·
I'm not exactly an expert in snail keeping (seeing as i haven't owned any yet). However snails require a well oxygenated environment so it's best to have a filter of some sort. Also (this may vary between species or snail) most prefer temperature between 64-86 F and seem to thrive best in temperatures between 70-74 so as long as the water temperature doesn't drop drastically over night a heater might not be necessary. As far as food goes you can feed them a mixture of vegetation and fish food at night and remove excess food in the morning (they are more active at night.)
 
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#3 ·
They also need calcium, so drop a piece of chalk in from time to time. (or a calcium pill, as long as you wash the coating off first.)

Those little mineral blocks will also work.

They do like a little water movement (small filter or airstone), and love plants. They don't eat plants unless they're overpopulated and starving, and don't overpopulate unless they're overfed.

I keep ramshorns and pond snails in all of my own tanks, and I've never had a problem. They only seem to eat dead, dying, or bruised plants. (And if they didn't eat them, they would rot and pollute the water.... so they're doing you a favor!)

They adapt to a wide range of parameters- in my experience, ramshorns like heat and pond snails prefer cold water- I'd aim for a temperature of 72-78F. If you keep your rooms around that temp, then they should be fine.

For interest, consider adding Assassin Snails, mystery snails, apple snails, and Rabbit snails...
 
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