Snail Food?

[KenFromBG]

So I picked up a few snails about 3 weeks ago after my local fish store guy said they would help to keep the diatoms away. He was right, the snails do a great job of cleaning the tank. Now I am wondering if I need to feed them anything else? I was told by one of the workers at petco that I should get them some algae pellets. So I did, but my fish eat them. And they dont just eat them, they DEVOUR them. Then they look like fish balloons for a few days.

Is there something i could get that the fish wont eat but the snails will?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

You can feed algae wafers, crab cuisine, regular fish food, etc. They will literally eat anything.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Snails are scavengers, they'll eat whatever they can find...no need for special foods, they'll eat any fish food you offer

 

[Tuckerman821]

Mine eat cucumbers if I put any in, algae wafers and anything I put in there. But mostly they like to hang around the live plants and clean them.

 

[azvictoria]

Drop the algae tabs after lights are off. If you have cories, they'll eat them after lights off, too!

 

[Byron]

Are the snails one of the common small species, like pond snails, bladder snails, Malaysian Livebearing Snails, etc? Or are you referring to larger "decorative" snails? If they are the common snails they do not need to be fed anything, or they will be out of control rapidly. These little cleaner snails eat organics, including fish excrement, breaking it down faster for the bacteria to handle (or plant nutrition). The snails will reproduce according to the food supply, so adding any sort of food for them is going to cause an overabundance of snails.

 

[KenFromBG]

Are the snails one of the common small species, like pond snails, bladder snails, Malaysian Livebearing Snails, etc? Or are you referring to larger "decorative" snails? If they are the common snails they do not need to be fed anything, or they will be out of control rapidly. These little cleaner snails eat organics, including fish excrement, breaking it down faster for the bacteria to handle (or plant nutrition). The snails will reproduce according to the food supply, so adding any sort of food for them is going to cause an overabundance of snails.

I have 2 Mystery Snails and 2 Nerite Snails.

I just dont want them to starve.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I have 2 Mystery Snails and 2 Nerite Snails.

I just dont want them to starve.

Scavengers don't starve

 

[carligraceee]

So I picked up a few snails about 3 weeks ago after my local fish store guy said they would help to keep the diatoms away. He was right, the snails do a great job of cleaning the tank. Now I am wondering if I need to feed them anything else? I was told by one of the workers at petco that I should get them some algae pellets. So I did, but my fish eat them. And they dont just eat them, they DEVOUR them. Then they look like fish balloons for a few days.

Is there something i could get that the fish wont eat but the snails will?

I recommend chopping up some zucchini or boil some spinach. They will eat this in a few days. Wait a couple days after it is finished, then put some more in. They will grow like crazy and be very happy and healthy!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, yellow squash, all blanched or steamed, as well....