One Mystery Snail Growing But The Other Isn't.

[avatar0810]

I have a gold mystery snail in with one neon tetra, the others died, one Glofish, and an albino Cory. It has gotten quite a bit bigger since I got it, but my sister has a black mystery snail in with her betta and it is still very small. Her betta is a bit aggressive but he hasn't really been bullying the snail that I can notice. My dad dropped a fish pellet in for her snail and the betta did try to take it even though he wasn't interested in eating it. That was the first time something like that has happened but nobody has ever tried to give her snail any food specifically for it either. I'm just curious as to why her snail could be staying so small.

 

[NickAu]

 
but nobody has ever tried to give her snail any food specifically for it either.

And that could be the problem, Snails need to be fed.
 

 
My dad dropped a fish pellet in for her snail and the betta did try to take it even though he wasn't interested in eating it.

LOL thats quite normal, Bettas are pigs when it comes to food, I have one that loves picking at a bit of algae wafer.
 

 
I have a gold mystery snail in with one neon tetra, the others died, one Glofish, and an albino Cory.

Tetras Glofish and Corys are shoaling fish and need to be kept in groups of 6 or more to be happy, How big is your tank.
 
I am assuming the Glofish is some kind Tetra Danio or Barb.

 

[Aquarian58]

Are you sure the black snail is a Mystery Snail and not another variety that may be close to fully grown now?
 
I had a boisterous female platy in with my MS for a while and the MS would move around the tank with its cephalic tentacles almost completely retracted because the platy would nibble at its soft spots under its shell.
 
When I relocated her to my larger tank the MS immediately extended its tentacles to full length and now keeps them extended except when sleeping.
 
The MS seems to have grown somewhat since the platy was moved so i'm wondering if the snail your sister has feels intimidated by her betta, even if the betta does not appear to be aggressive  when being observed?

 

[avatar0810]

I'm pretty sure it is a mystery snail. If you look at this link and click on either the black or blue mystery snail color it looks like those. http/www.petsmart.com/petsmart-north-america/live-fish/mystery-snail-zid36-15237/cat-36-catid-700002?var_id=36-15237&_t=pfm%3Dsearch

She got it from PetSmart and they had it advertised as a mystery snail. They did have nerite snails but they were in separate tanks from the mystery snails, or they were supposed to be. It's very possible that it feels intimidated because it took her snail a long time to even decide to go after the food last night.

It also doesn't move around the tank anywhere near as much as mine and spends it's time when it's resting buried up around these big decorative rock-like things she has in her tank. It's so small that these rocks are above its shell. It's probably about the size of my thumbnail, maybe a little bigger. Does it sound like the betta is intimidating it?

I forgot to say that she also keeps her tank light off except when she is looking at their fish for a few minutes every now and then through the day and when she feeds.

 

[betta fish]

It could be due to a variety of things but we have very little to go by, snails growth is usually affected by water quality, space, food available and temp, it does sound like your sisters snail is getting picked on by the betta, they just love the tentacles so it is getting very little in the way of food, especially as Nick mentions how bettas are little pigs so I doubt the snail is getting much if any 

 

[StevenF]

In order to grow the snail needs food. In many aquariums biofilm (including algae) growing on things in the aquarium provide more than enough food for snails. However in some aquarium the biofilm and or algae may not be enough to feed the snail. This may happen is the water is very soft. if that is the case you should feed them. The other possibility is that the snail is sick in some way and as a result is not growing as fast as it should. I wouldn't be able to diagnose any such illness.

 

[StevenF]

I forgot to say that she also keeps her tank light off except when she is looking at their fish for a few minutes every now and then through the day and when she feeds.

this may be part of the issue. Algae needs light to grow. If the light is not one enough very little algae will grow and the snail will have a significantly reduced food supply. Also keep in mind fish live with the normal day night cycle in the wild. if here light is off most of the time in a dark room the fish might have some health issues caused by lack of light.

In people a lack of UV exposure outside can cause low vitamin D levels in the blood and that is known to cause a variety of health issues and possibly a week immune system. I don't know if that applies to snails. Its probably a good idea to put the light on a timer to provide a more normal lighting environment.

 

[avatar0810]

She's started leaving the light on some and she feeds him a shrimp pellet sometimes. He's growing some.