Which type of snail?

[ElenaSp]

I have a 5g betta tank and I'm thinking of adding one snail to help with the algae and for decor. My PH is at around 6.5 , GH around 8 and KH around 4 (I use test stripes). Any ideas which type of snail would be okay in these conditions and eat some algae? I'm leaning towards a nerite to be honest..

 

[Donya]

Ornamental snails with thicker shells like apple snails and Nerites need a higher pH >7.0 or the shell will be damaged at an increased rate. Too long in acidic water and they will get pinholes in the shell and will have difficulty calcifying the area to repair it. The smaller Planorbid ramshorn snails are more adaptable to lower pH conditions due to the shell being more protein-based but those are frequently considered a pest species.

 

[ElenaSp]

Ornamental snails with thicker shells like apple snails and Nerites need a higher pH >7.0 or the shell will be damaged at an increased rate. Too long in acidic water and they will get pinholes in the shell and will have difficulty calcifying the area to repair it. The smaller Planorbid ramshorn snails are more adaptable to lower pH conditions due to the shell being more protein-based but those are frequently considered a pest species.

Thank you, I read that nerites would survive lower ph that's why I was considering them. I'm conserned about ramshorns as they are able to reproduce asexualy and in freshwater and I would not like to have an infestation..

 

[biofish]

Thank you, I read that nerites would survive lower ph that's why I was considering them. I'm conserned about ramshorns as they are able to reproduce asexualy and in freshwater and I would not like to have an infestation.

My betta fish’s tank had a pond snail infestation, same shtick.

And my betta fish took break delight in ripping the small snails from the glass so they flipped upside down on the sand and feasted.

A couple months later there weren’t any pond snails left.

Gave him a nerite companion to keep the tank clean and he was unbelievably frustrated when the snail was too big to pluck off the glass. They’ve been together for a year and the betta just ignores Mr.Snail

So if you did get asexual reducing snails, lack of over feeding and the literal predator of your tank should do pretty good to keep the numbers low~

In my experience, nerites are by far the most effective in algae control. I like to get 1 per 5 gallons and they go to town.

One time I had a 5 gallon tank go without a snail for a couple weeks and it became just an insane wall of green- dropped 4 nerites in there and three days later the tank was spotless. Removed three of the snails and the single leftover snail has been more than enough since.

 

[ElenaSp]

My betta fish’s tank had a pond snail infestation, same shtick.

And my betta fish took break delight in ripping the small snails from the glass so they flipped upside down on the sand and feasted.

A couple months later there weren’t any pond snails left.

Gave him a nerite companion to keep the tank clean and he was unbelievably frustrated when the snail was too big to pluck off the glass. They’ve been together for a year and the betta just ignores Mr.Snail

So if you did get asexual reducing snails, lack of over feeding and the literal predator of your tank should do pretty good to keep the numbers low~

In my experience, nerites are by far the most effective in algae control. I like to get 1 per 5 gallons and they go to town.

One time I had a 5 gallon tank go without a snail for a couple weeks and it became just an insane wall of green- dropped 4 nerites in there and three days later the tank was spotless. Removed three of the snails and the single leftover snail has been more than enough since.

Damn, that is one hungry betta XD. No but seriously I know they'll eat anything. Mine ate all the detritus worms from the plants. The nerites I think are the most difficult to keep, especially in ph lower than 7.5 so they are not my ideal solution as sb mentioned above. I started looking at mystery snails too and I am thinking of adding a couple of shrimp just to test how this will go.