Aquarium Snails such as Mystery, Inca, Apple, Nerite, and Rabbit snail species can be attractive inhabitants to the aquarium. This slow-moving, gentle pet can make your aquarium look more lively. They are beneficial to keep them in the aquarium as they eat algae, uneaten food, dead plant substances, debris, and bacteria that form on rocks and the substrate, etc., and keep the aquarium fresh and clean. If you keep snails in an aquarium full of uneaten food, it would be overpopulated with snails as their reproduction rate would be high due to excessive food intake. Most of them love to eat plants, crops, and submerged aquatic vegetation. The rest of them uses their mucus to entrap and consume particles from the water column. Only a few of them are carnivores. Aquarium Snail does fascinating stuff, and it is very much interesting to watch it.
Aquarium snails need a healthy, safe environment and enough food to survive. They require a minimum of 5 gallons of water and a temperature of 72-82F. There are different types of aquarium snails. Depending on the types and size of the snail, crumble their food. Juvenile snails can eat about twice as much feed as adult snails. Baby snails prefer soft leaves and shoots. They need more food for growing, so you can feed them with crushed eggshells, clamshells, or snail shells alongside their regular food.
Additional Information
Snails do not have a set of teeth like mammalian. Snails have a specialized food processing organ known as a radula, which is a rough, tiny microscopic tongue-like organ. It is covered with thousands of small tooth-like protrusions called denticles. Snails eat solid food by cutting the food and eat prey with their radula before it passes to the esophagus. Your snail would be delighted if you give them food which is designed for bottom feeder such as shrimp pellets. Sinking food is best for snails as they cannot eat food that floats on the water surface. Food that is attached to the sidewall of the aquarium can also be eaten by snail much efficiently.
The most common aquarium snail is the apple snail. It can grow up to six inches, and it is identified by yellow apple-like color. Taking care of snails is not difficult at all. It is just like taking care of hardy fish. In the aquarium, there should be a continuous supply of algae, fresh vegetables, and plant-based food for snails to have proper health and well-being. Snail needs Carbohydrate for energy, protein for growth, and a large quantity of calcium in their diet for their shells. To give them extra protein and calcium, you should select a tablet or pellet food that sinks slowly and can reach the bottom without being gobbled up by your snails’ tank mates. If the aquarium doesn’t have a sufficient amount of algae, tablets may be needed as a substitute. They also need other minerals and vitamins.
Best Food for Aquatic Snails
- Calcium supplements
- Leaves and Vegetables
- Tuber crops
- Fleshy fruits
- Flowers
- Snails drink Non-Chlorinated water
- Household leftover foods
Calcium Supplements
Snails need a large amount of calcium to grow and repair their hard shell, which gives them protection against a predator. You should always keep the calcium supply close to the snail house. Snails can get an enormous amount of calcium through calcium powder, cuttlebone, shells from dead snails, natural limestone, bone meal, and wood ash. The minimum calcium required by a snail is 12% for health and growth, and it is best if you can provide 20% calcium to your snail.
Leaves and Vegetables
Leaves and vegetables are the favorite meal for snails. The elements are rich in vitamins, protein, and calcium, which help the snail to have stronger and healthier shells. The snails tend to at leaves from plants such as Apple, kola, broccoli, spinach, cassava, onion greens, okra, and eggplant. Fruit, flower, and fruit peels from the Paw-Paw plant are essential foods for snails.
Snails Also eat raw and Cooked Foods Such as:
- Raw or cooked lettuce, kale, blanched cucumber, blanched zucchini
- Submerged vegetation; water hyacinth anacharis, water lettuce, floating weeds
- Natural-forming macroalgae
- Benthic microalgae and cyanobacteria
- Algae tablets and alginate
- Slow-sinking fish pellets
- Commercial snail mixes
- Bloodworms, brine shrimp, and feeder snails
Raw foods contain more nutrients than cooked or processed food. Attempt to give your snail raw food whenever possible. Plants with sharp spikes and blades should not be given to snails. Always wash your leaves and vegetables before giving them to snails as contaminated food keep the snail away. Rotten food will attract fleas, lice, mice, rats, and diseases to snails.
Tuber Crops
Snail eats tuber, which has a good amount of carbohydrates and protein. Cassava needs to be in low cyanide content. The more cyanide in Cassava more it would taste bitter. Do not give too many carbs to the snail as it would cause bloating in the snail due to an increased amount of carbohydrates.
Fleshy Fruits
Snail love to eat soft fleshy fruits such as Aubergine, Paw-paw, Green beans, artichoke, mango, banana, eggplant, apricot, pear, oil palm, fig, tomato, peach, orange, pumpkins, ripe cherries, watermelon, cucumbers. Cucumber is the snail’s favorite fruit. Fruits are very rich in minerals and vitamins but low in protein. Cut them into smaller pieces so that it is easier for them to eat. Fruit such as orange and pineapple should be avoided. Their acidic content is harmful to the shell of the snail.
Flower
Snails also eat some kinds of flowers, which include rose, cauliflower, hibiscus, paw-paw, and sunflower.
Snails Drink Non-Chlorinated Water
You should not give chlorine water to the snail as it is very much harmful to snails. Snail drink spring water, which you can put in a shallow dish, and it needs to be replaced after 1-2 days.
Household Leftover Foods
Essential food, for snails, can be found in some household leftover food such as peels of fruit and tuber, banana, plantain, watermelon, damaged fruits, yam, and cooked foods like potato, rice, carrot, and beans. While providing household items, you should keep in mind that the food should not contain salt.
Formulated Food
You can make formulated food for your snail along with vegetables and tubers. With the help of the ingredients such as groundnut, soya bean, bean, maize, you can make formulated food for your snails. The quantity must be different for different types of snails. Formulated food helps the snail to be more active. It is also very convenient for the pet owner to feed this food for a longer time, as well as it saves time and energy. With the help of the formulated food, you can meet the required nutrients for the snail to grow and to be healthy. It is simple to create snail food as it mainly depends on the composition of proteins. You should remember that the ingredient of the formulated food should not be damped, and you should make sure to keep the special food in a dry place.
Shell off
It is a plant-based snail food which helps them to increase their growth rate and produce more egg. This is the best food for snails. The food contains all the essential nutrients that are needed for your snail to grow. It does not contain any chemicals that can cause harm to snails.
Food you Should not Give to Your Snail
- Never give contaminated food to your snail– any food contains pesticide is the potential killer for snail. Contaminated homegrown food that produces poisonous gases can also kill the snail. Snail avoid plant which is sharp-edged and produce toxic products
- Avoid giving your snail salty foods- optimum conditions for snails to survive is a cool and moisture environment. Salty foods rapidly dehydrate the environment, thereby limiting their chances of survival.
- Avoid giving carbohydrate Food– carbohydrates food such as rice, millet, and pasta are not digested easily by snails, and eventually, they block the digestive system of the snail. It causes internal blockage and led to the death of the snails.
- Avoid giving Chlorinated drink- do not give tap water to the snail as it contains chlorine. If you do not have non-chlorinated water, place the tap water under sunlight for 48 hours to remove chlorine.
Conclusion
This article gives you a clear idea about what to eat and drink for your snail. Since snails are omnivores, you can feed them with different kinds of foods. Snails do not demand much. Feeding and taking care of them is very simple. You can feed them from vegetables to fruits, tuber crops, concentrated feed, and many more. If you know the right kind of food for your particular snail, you can keep your tank stocked, and the snail will feed itself. Snails can eat up to 4-6% of their body weight within 24 hours. It is essential to feed them properly as it helps them to reproduce and increase their body mass. Keep your snail happy and healthy by treating them with their favorite food.