freshwater and land snail husbandry
The Snailkeeping Hobby
Pomacea bridgesii
Introdruction to General Husbandry
1. Proper Tank Setup Mystery snails do best in a well-established tank, obviously. However if you are just starting out, you can always ask a friend or aquarium shop about speeding the cycling process up by taking a bit of tank gunk from a well-established tank. A minimum of five gallons per snail is recommended to prevent overcrowding and maintain stable water parameters. I personally keep 15-20 snails in a 25 gallon tank, but I supplement my overcrowded tank performing 50% water change once weekly. Snails are VERY dirty and create oodles of shit and mess every day. It is imperative to perform cleanings often in order to keep nitrate/nirite levels at zero. Another important thing to keep in mind is that snails lay their eggs 3-5 inches above the water line (sometimes higher if your snail is very ambitious), so a secure lid is essential. Providing a gap of about an inch between the water surface and lid allows them to breathe air—an important behavior since they possess a lung as well as gills. The tank should include smooth decorations and live plants if you can, which offer climbing surfaces and grazing areas. Sharp or rough objects can hurt their sensitive foot or damage the shell if they take a bad fall.
2. Water Quality and Parameters Clean, stable water conditions are critical to the health of mystery snails. They thrive in temperatures between 72–82°F (22–28°C) and a pH between 7.2 and 8.4, which helps prevent shell erosion. Harder water with sufficient calcium is particularly important, as soft or acidic water can cause shells to thin or pit. Regular maintenance—such as weekly partial water changes of 20–30% and routine filter cleaning—prevents the buildup of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Snails are sensitive to poor water quality and can become lethargic or retract into their shells if stressed. Additionally, aquarists must avoid copper-based medications, which are toxic to all invertebrates.
3. Nutrition and Feeding Mystery snails require a varied diet for optimal health. Supplemental feeding with vegetables (like carrots, zucchini, spinach, or green beans), algae wafers or homemade snello, and other calcium-rich foods supports both shell development and energy needs.
Don't Use Cuttlebone! All my homies hate cuttlebone!
Cuttlbone is a popular calcium source in the petkeeping hobby in general. . Below are a couple relaiable alternatives to cuttlebone that my snails love! Wondershell Aquatic Foods Calcium Feeders You should feed your snails as much as daily and every other day at a minimum.
Manda's Snello Recipe
Ingredients:
-1 cup of baby food (use something veggie-based; I use 2 pouches of this carrot, zucchini, and pear kind.
-1 tbsp calcium carbonate
-1 tbsp spirulina powder
-1 tbsp high-protein fish flakes, bloodworm, etc.
-1 tbsp agar-agar powder
Combine the ingredients in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Add more baby food or small amounts of water if the mix is too thick, but the ratio usually makes a smooth batch.
Microwave it all on high for 4.5 minutes. The stuff will be a little stinky; try to do this when your roomates are gone lol. But this needs to happen so that the agar activates and makes the snello hold its shape.
Add the hot ingredients to your snello molds. I use all kinds of silicone mold trays from dollar stores and make all sorts of fun shapes for my guys. Alternatively, you can also just pour it all into a pan, freeze it, then cut the flat snello into little squares.
4. Enrichment Mystery snails should have air stones in their tanks to enable them to engage in an important behavior called parasnailing. Ok, maybe it's not imperative, but your snails will appreciate having one. You can also give your snails treats like mulberry leaves and shrimp lollies. Providing things like cholla wood, Indian almond leaves, magnolia leaves, and other leaf litter are a good way to provide enrichment. Mystery snails appreciate surface variety: leaf litter gives them extra places to climb over or around, which helps with their natural foraging. The leaf surfaces will develop biofilm (fungi, bacteria) which snails essentially graze on. Many hobbyists report snails “munching” or grazing leaf litter. Because mystery snails need good calcium to prevent shell issues, make sure you balance any lowering of hardness/pH by the leaves with adequate calcium sources. Monitor ammonia: If leaves decompose too quickly (maybe too many in a small tank), it might spike organics which can stress snails. As mentioned earlier, live plants are also a great way to provide enrichment. Amazon Swords and java ferns are big hits with my snails, as well as duckweed. Snails DO NOT eat plants! They eat decaying parts of plants, so that's probably what they're up to if you're suspicious of them eating your plants. They may dig up your plants, but they won't eat them!
Resources!
most of everything I learned I learned from this lady right here.
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