You are in love with the stunning color of mystery snails and can’t wait to have some in your aquarium. Wondering many questions about these stunning snails?
So, can the tank hold all your snails? How many mystery snails per gallon?
We will give you the correct answers to these questions. You can also learn some caring tips. Let’s follow our post!
Contents
How Many Mystery Snails Per Gallon?
One mystery snail needs 2.5 gallons of water. People often allow some extra space for this species because it can reproduce rapidly.
A 20-gallon aquarium, for example, can accommodate up to eight of these snails, whereas a 10-gallon tank can only handle four.
So, to figure out how many of these pets to raise in your aquarium, you can use this formula:
Number of snails = Tank size/2.5
With this formula, we will have a chart below. You can apply it to your aquarium:
| Tank size (in gallons) | No. of snails |
| 5 | 1 – 2 |
| 10 | Up to 4 |
| 15 | Up to 6 |
| 20 | Up to 8 |
| 30 | Up to 12 |
How Long Can Mystery Snails Live Out Of Water?
Snails can stay out of water for eight to ten hours. The correct answer depends on temperature, moisture, size, age, and species.
Temperature
This species doesn’t like hot weather because they quickly dehydrate.
They are cold-blooded animals. As a result, the temperature of their habitat has a significant impact on their survival.
If the temperature is cool, these creatures can have an easier time retaining water in their body, allowing them to live for longer out of water.
Humidity
Humidity impacts how long these species can survive without water. With more moisture, they will live longer.
The snail’s body won’t have adequate moisture if it is in a region with less moisture. When the body becomes dehydrated, it does not create as much slime, which affects every biological function.
Size
Larger snails can live longer than the smaller ones because they have more moisture content in their bodies, keeping them hydrated longer.
Age
Baby snails have a harder time retaining moisture because they haven’t developed their endurance under harsh conditions. Hence, babies can’t produce slime at the same rate as adults.
Once they’re out of the water, their slime supply rapidly depletes because of dehydration, making it impossible to find a water source.
So, the only choice for the babies is to stay curled inside the shell and die slowly.
Species
There are approximately 43,000 snail varieties, and different breeds have varying water-resistance limits.
Snails were formerly aquatic creatures, but some have adapted to thrive on land. So, check your snail species to determine how long they can live without water.
For example, garden species don’t need water to hydrate because they are terrestrial.
Their moisture supplies are air, soil, and food. Meanwhile, mystery snails have to live in water for most of their life.
Some species are fine without water
Can You Have Too Many Snails In Your Fish Tank?
It’s not advisable to have too many of these creatures in your fish aquarium because of these reasons:
Toxins
Many snails may expand the bioload, leading to frequent surges in toxins such as ammonia. These toxins necessitate equally regular maintenance treatments to restrict.
Not only will the scenario worsen quicker, but your pets will also suffer. The parasites and illnesses thrive in such poor conditions, attacking your pets seriously.
Stressful environment
Even if you have the time and dedication to care for your tank, the overcrowding will stress your pets and make the tank a more dangerous habitat. Things get even worse when their tank mates are larger fish with a violent tendency.
Destroyed plant life
The worsened aquarium conditions are terrible to the live plants as well because of the hungry snails.
This species eats algae; however, when you put too many of them in the same container, the food supply may not be enough for all. Then, they will consume the plants instead.
Do Mystery Snails Produce A Lot Of Waste?
Yes. These creatures can make a lot of waste.
They’re among the largest snails in any freshwater aquarium. Hence, they can consume a lot of algae, resulting in more feces.
Your pets will defecate more if they consume more. And because they’re always eating, it implies they’re constantly pooping.
Their bioload is also relatively large. As a result, you’d better keep them in a small tank and raise only one.
With such a habitat, your pet can’t reproduce, and you won’t suffer from snail overpopulation in the tank.
How To Control The Population Of Mystery Snails?
Overpopulation is the biggest problem when raising this species. To avoid this problem, you can follow these guidelines.
Choose one gender
For these creatures to breed, you must have both male and female species in the aquarium. As a result, if you only raise them in one single gender, their population will not increase.
Keep the water level high.
To keep the eggs safe from predators in the water, these animals lay them above water. So, you can prevent them from reproducing by raising the water level.
It would be best to leave around an inch. Your pets can’t reach the top surface to lay eggs. Hence, you can keep their population in check.
Remove the excess number.
If overpopulation occurs, what can you do? The simplest method is to take some of your pets out of the tank until the number doesn’t annoy you.
You can learn more tips for controlling the snail population in your tank from this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdh2veVBoFY
Conclusion
A 5-gallon tank can hold one to two mystery snails. Even though they look pretty, do not put too many in your tank to avoid toxins.
If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to ask. Thank you for reading, and see you in the next post!
Alex is a pet freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience. He attended Colorado State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, which was where he first got some experience in animal nutrition. After graduating from University, Alex began sharing his knowledge as a freelance writer specializing in pets.
