Betta and snails are the most popular fishes in fish tanks. When I started fishkeeping, I just worried about betta fish mates. The male bettas are so aggressive towards many fishes. So you need to be very care full while caring for male bettas.
Generally, Bettas and snails can live together but you should put medium size snails in bettas’ fish tanks. If you introduce small snails to betta then it will start eating. According to my concern, you can introduce medium snails to the betta tank.
Snails are good for cleaning the ammonia and the waste inside the betta fish tank. The only thing you need to consider is to watch it 2 weeks after introducing snails to the betta fish tank. There is more about snails and betta.
Let’s dig deeper, come follow till the end.
How many snails can live in a 3-gallon tank
If you need to keep fish tank water fresh and clean from algae. Add 1-3 medium size snails to a fish tank for maintaining well-maintained fresh water. In 3 Gallon fish tank, you can add 1-2 snails. To add more snails to the aquarium, you need to add 5 gallons per snail.
Snails can play important role in maintaining fresh water and cleaning fish tanks by removing algae. Most snail fishes will eat algae, dead plants, and fish. So adding snails to the fish tanks was a good option for maintaining fresh water.
Do snails keep the water clean?
Snails can keep the water fresh and clean. Adding snails to the aquarium will reduce your maintenance job of yours. But you must choose a good snail for cleaning algae from the fish tank.
In My fish tank, I have introduced snails as part of maintaining good water conditions with low algae. The snails will eat dead plants, dead fish, and algae from the fish tanks.
How to Introduce snails into the betta fish tank
Introducing snails into betta fish tanks was not easy. You need to take care of so many things such as temperaments, diet, introducing way, etc. You need to care for both betta and snail fish while introducing them.
Details About Snails
| Common names | Mystery snail, spike-topped apple snail |
| Distribution: | South America |
| Size: | Up to 2 inches |
| Life expectancy: | 1–2 years |
| Color: | Brown, black, blue, purple, gold, and white |
| Diet: | Herbivore |
| Temperament: | Peaceful |
| Minimum tank size: | 5 gallons |
| Temperature: | 68–82°F (20–28°C) |
| pH: | 7.5–8.5 |
| Hardness: | 7–18 dGH |
| Care level: | Easy |
Details about betta
| Scientific Name | Betta splendens |
| Common Names | Siamese Fighting Fish and several different names based on tail type such as crown tail betta, veiltail, Halfmoon, etc. |
| Size | 2.5 inches (6 cm) |
| Water Parameters | ph 6 – 7.5 | |
| Temperature | 75°F – 80°F |
| Temperament | Peaceful, aggressive towards other fish |
Temperaments
When we analyze the fish temperament of betta fish and snails. Betta fish are normally peaceful fish but sometime they may get aggressive and start attacking other fishes. Snails are peaceful fish in fish tanks, you can introduce snails to betta fish.
Don’t put so many small snails, introduce medium size snails to the betta fish tank. otherwise, it will start eating. After that, you need to watch for 2 weeks whether betta is attacking or not.
Water Temperature
Both fish have similar water temperatures such as betta fish needing 75°F – 80°F and snail fish needing 68–82°F. So they can live together in the same fish tank without any problems related to temperature.
Try to maintain the ph level and water temperature for increasing the growth of both fish.
Suitable Aquatic Environment
Provide a good aquatic environment for betta and snailfish. A good aquatic environment will make fish happy and stress-free. Creating a good aquatic environment is easy, You can use live plants, gravel caves for hiding fish, etc.
I recommend buying a 3-gallon tank: click here
Do betta eat snail eggs
Probably the betta fish will not eat the snail’s eggs, But if they start becoming aggressive due to sudden changes in the water parameters or feeding time.
Basically, they become aggressive when they see other bettas. If you see the bettas attacking snails’ eggs, then you can separate betta fish into another tank.
You can’t separate the snail’s eggs because they may break into small pieces. So the only way is to separate the betta fish.
Do betta fish eat baby snails?
Betta fish are very aggressive, so there can be a chance for eating the baby snails. So you need to be very careful about the snail’s eggs and babies.
In my opinion, You can separate the betta fish from the tank when you find the snail’s eggs. Otherwise, it will attack the small snails and eggs.
The snails lay eggs outside the water, so there will be a low chance for bettas to attack it.
If you found betta fish not eating any food, then read my article about betta fish not eating food.
How to feed snails in a betta tank?
You can feed the snail with shrimp pellets, algae pellets, and blanched vegetables. As they are not aggressive in eating feed, you can feed bettas and the waster will be fed by snails. I’ve been using snails for cleaning my fish tank and keeping fresh water.
Don’t worry about feeding both betta and snails at a particular time and don’t overfeed bettas because it will affect the health of fish.
