# Question about what Mystery Snails Eat??



## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Ok I'm posting this here coz it's got to do with my betta fry aswell. 

I have 2 betta fry tanks at the moment and on someone's suggestion I put a small mystery snail in each. I cleaned out the fry tank with the smaller fry in it today, there were 77 of them 2 days ago and there's now only 45! I was wondering if it's possible that the mystery snail is eating the fry because there were no corpses in the waste water. I thought maybe the fry died and the snail was eatting the corpses, which is fine with me but I just want to make sure it's not eating live fry!

Anyone got any ideas? 

PS the fry hatched on the 23rd December so they're a week old today.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

No way a mystery snail can catch a live fry. Its most likely just eating the dead, which they will do.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Thanks boxerman, I figured as much. I did think it was strange that I had 77 then next clean out only 45 and no corpses to be found (usually I can see them in the waste water, white bodies with black eyes). At least I know that the snail is doing a good job at keeping the waste under control.


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## mudskipper26 (Nov 30, 2006)

i was reading a book and it said mystery snails or other types can catch and eat fry, so it is possible according to the aquarium book.


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## ch2linda (Dec 19, 2006)

Maybe they sorta leap on them when they have their back turned.


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

I don't see any way a mystery snail could catch a live, healthy fish. Probably the snail has just taken care of the corpses for you.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Leaping snails? Like flying squirrels? :lol:


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

Like flying fish.


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## mudskipper26 (Nov 30, 2006)

it said it in a book


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Understood. But sometimes books say all sorts of weird things.  I have mystery snails in all of my non-puffer tanks and there's no way any of them can leap out and catch a fry. They move REALLY slow.


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Perhaps they meant the fry that can't really move well. Kinda like angel wigglers when they first hatch... but before they are freeswimming. 

Definitely true about books too - being in a book doesn't necessarily make it so. Thats why when I question something... I usually ask a lot of people about it. That way I can sorta get a general consensus from people that I know have experience.


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## mudskipper26 (Nov 30, 2006)

maybe...but there are snails(not apple) that eat and attack live fish.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

It's very common for betta breeders to use snails in the fry tanks to eat the dead fry and leftover food. I don't think most snails catch and eat healthy fry... maybe stealth ninja snails, but not most snails.


RC


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Stelth Ninja Snails....well I deffinitly don't have them!! The ones I've got are about the size of a 5c coin (or for you americans I think the comparison is a nickel) so they're not huge and there's no way they could catch one of my fry, they're really speedy and seem to be growing at twice the rate my other spawn did and the only thing different I've done with this lot is change their water sooner and more often. With my last spawn they were in the same tank with a % of the same water (I did partial water changes everyday and removed as much debris as I could) for about 2 weeks until I got a fry net and managed to catch them and set them up in a storage tub with a snail. This new lot was put into the storage tub from the spawning tank at 2 days after they were free swimming and at 10 days old they're the same size my first spawn was at 2 1/2 weeks!! If they keep growing at this rate I'll be able to put them in the my first spawn in a weeks time and you won't be able to tell the difference between the 2 spawns! Anyway..enough babbling on... My CT female died last week  so I'm getting 3 more on the weekend (one of them will be a free replacement from my LFS, they asked me to freeze the corpse and a sample of water and bring it to them and they'll replace it as long as nothing is wrong with the water and she was in my community tank, where there's nothing wrong with my other fish, so I'm covered lol. And they sell their females for only $4.95 so I can get 2 others for under $10 :-o

Ok that's deffinitly enough babbling on.

Thanks for your replies.


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