Are betta fish interested in snails as food?

[forestkeeper]

I had a right old problem with snails in my tank, on top of the Nerites I'd introduced. There were these tiny, flat ram's horn snails everywhere - I'm talking about 40 or 50 a day, and they were a real nuisance. I'd squash them, pick them off the glass and plants, even use cucumber to catch them, and add some geneflake to deter them, but it seemed like no matter what I did, they just kept coming back.

Then, about a month ago, I brought home a beautiful male betta, Douglas. And I swear, it was like he had a magic touch or something - the number of snails just plummeted overnight. Within a fortnight, it was noticeable - the glass would be clear, except for maybe half a dozen or so snails. And it's stayed that way.

The only thing that's changed is Douglas joining the tank. So, I'm wondering - is it possible he's eating the baby snails as they hatch? I've never heard of bettas doing that before, but I'm stumped for any other explanation.

If that's the case, all I can say is - cheers, Douglas, enjoy your snacks!

[Giggletons]

I've seen fish going for snail eggs before, that might be what's happening here, or maybe Douglas is picking off the baby snails as they hatch.

[darklord]

I've witnessed my own betta taking down small snails, so it's definitely possible.

[kingrise]

I've seen my Betta munch on tiny pond snails before, so it's definitely possible that's what's happening with your tank.

[aquagone]

It's down to the individual betta, I think. What's Douglas' personality like, forestkeeper?

[opaline]

I tossed an elodea stem into my betta tank from outside and caught a snail dropping off and floating away a couple weeks ago, but haven't seen any since. I'm assuming the same thing's happening in my tank. I'm also blaming him for munching on the leaves off the stalk - guess he's a bit of a plant thief.

[Giggletons]

I tossed an elodea stem into my betta tank from outside and caught a snail dropping off and floating away a couple weeks ago, but haven't seen any since. I'm assuming the same thing's happening in my tank. I'm also blaming him for munching on the leaves off the stalk - guess he's a bit of a plant thief.

pest snails are pretty harmless, they just munch on rot and help clean the leaves

[daisymay]

Haven't had that experience, my betta seems to be snail-proof, not touching them.

[roygun_1]

I had a mix of snails in my betta fry growout tank, and within a few days I found empty shells of bladder snails. I think that's a pretty strong indication that they can eat them.

[forestkeeper]

It's down to the individual betta, I think. What's Douglas' personality like, forestkeeper?

It's just a standard betta splendens, as far as I know.

From all the responses, it seems likely that Douglas is indeed munching on the freshly hatched snails - I'm still having to squash the odd larger one every now and then, but they're all tiny now, no more than an eighth of an inch. Not one of them has managed to grow bigger since we brought him home.

This is fantastic news, as even if they don't harm the healthy plants (though I do have my reservations about that...), they look messy and add to the bio load.

I was seriously considering getting an assassin snail, but I had concerns - what about my nerites, and what would I feed it once it had finished off the unwanted snails?

Thanks to everyone for their input - much appreciated.

On a separate note, does anyone know where I can find live daphnia in the UK? It used to be easy to get hold of, but now it seems to be nowhere to be found.