Snailed It! Your Hub for Aquatic Snail Care

A useful reference for popular aquatic snails and their tank size minimums! For the minimums alone, scroll to the "Conclusion" section :) Mystery Snails Tank Size Minimum: 10 gallons* They start out tiny, but they can reach 2 inches! *While a mystery snail on its own can live in a 5 gallon, I do not recommend housing them in one. Spending their days exploring and roaming, these snails do best in a spacious environment that can accommodate their inquisitive personalities. They're highly social creatures, and they benefit from the company of fellow mystery snails. (It's not strictly necessary to house them with another mystery, but in my experience, they very much appreciate having a companion.) In addition, mystery snails produce a lot of waste, and it is much more work to maintain the bioload in a 5 gallon tank than it is in a 10 gallon tank.  Summary: while one mystery can live in a 5 gallon tank, mystery snails flourish in 10 gallons and above. They also benefit gre...

  "What is this arm on my snail? Is he okay?" Among the most frequent questions I come across regarding aquatic snails include questions about anatomy — and rightfully so! Snails have very funky anatomy, sometimes mystifying both beginner and long-time snailkeepers. While we still have yet to fully understand how aquatic snails function, there's thankfully much that we do know. Today, I'll break down the components of aquatic snail anatomy, focusing on the mystery snail.  The mystery snail encompasses the anatomical structure present in each freshwater aquatic snail, hence my focus on this specific species. Lola, the master of balance! Siphon That question asked at the beginning usually pertains to the mystery snail. What is that little tube? Most initially guess either parasite or genitalia. You'll be relieved to know that it's neither. This is their siphon! I'll include this video I uploaded to my Instagram account for a fun summarization: My Siphon Vide...

In my last post,  I touched on the basics of ramshorn snail care. As I received a request to delve into their diet, I'd like to take the time to do so today. While I haven't owned them myself, I am very familiar with their care and needs after extensive research (I'm planning to buy some soon though!). I mention this just to note that I can't speak from personal experience, so any recommendations I make are based on research and second-hand accounts. I'll provide links to some of my sources below. Anyway, ramshorn snails are beautiful and lively additions to any tank. How are they best cared for? Let's dive in. credit: Eric A. Olson, Wikimedia, (CC BY-SA 2.5) (Note: I am not sponsored by any brands I mention, or any sources I recommend. Thanks!) Tank Size Ramshorns are best suited to tanks 3 gallons and above.  Tank Setup and Decor Pretty much anything goes! Live plants, silk plants, cute little pirates — the sky (or lid) is the limit! Of course, the same guidel...