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My daughter brought home a black mystery snail last night and I do not know anything about these snails can anyone help me?????

They eat left over fish food, dying plant matter, and any type of sinking food. Mine love shrimp pellets but they'll also eat algae wafers or spirulina pellets. That kind of mystery snail will get about 2". They might sample some algae but shouldn't be fed on only algae. Also they need calcium to build their shell. Feeding veggies like kale, spinach, or leaf lettuce that are high in calcium is helpful. If your ph is below 7.0 it can dissolve their shells and make it hard to use calcium.

Thanks for the info. I can I tell if it is dead? You said they eat algae, right.

Keep in mind that they can easily sleep for a week so don't worry. They might also feed on any live plants in your tank, so take care

If its "door" is open and it's not moving it is probably dead...Of course another way to tell if it is dead, is what I was toldpull him out of the water and smell himif it smells then he is deadMy suggestion, do this by the toilet heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

The snail sold as the black mystery is 99% of the time not a plant eater. They only eat dead or dying plant matter. Snails will eat some algae but only in passing if it's an easy meal. They are not good algae eaters and cannot survive on algae alone. A dead snail has a very very bad smell. These guys are lazy and will often float around or just sit in the same spot for days but if you take it out and smell it you'll know for certain if it's dead.

OK so what is a good algae eater? I am not interested in CAE or SAE, thanks

u have to consider the size of ur tank to know which algae eater u can get....if u have a small tank.... ottos will be great, but, ottos r sensitive to water conditions...so, if u keep ur water pristine...and there are algae (brown-diatoms) around, they will reward u. do u know what particular algae u have problem with???

I have a 46 gallon tank with some green algae spots on the glass and rocks.

Fish can't eat spot algae. It stuck on the glass like superglue and it's hard as a rock. A razor blade will scrape it off glass otherwise alot of scrubbing. The only fish I've been told will even attempt spot algae is the flying fox. The rest may scrape the top but the spot will still be there. Spot algae usually shows up in higher light tanks which aren't planted heavily enough or the plants are lacking something like co2. I only get it on my 55g planted tank with 220w of compact fluorescent and only when the co2 isn't turned up high enough. To temporarily put a dent in the stuff an old toothbrush will get some off if you don't want to use a razorblade and the rocks can be soaked in vinegar to kill it.

To identify your algae for certain try http://otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html

Last edited by sham at 20-May-2005 12:25