Feeding 1 mystery snail. What to expect?

[Torbay]

I got a golden mystery snail for my 40 gal breeder tank last week. I've watched/read quite a bit about them. I have a bit of biofilm on my glass, but I've also attached blanched romaine lettuce or carrot to a flat rock a couple times. "Goldie" cruises around and has glided right the veggies without pausing. No live plants as my fancy goldfish dig up even Anubias. Just not sure how often to offer veggies or leave them in tank longer than overnight? I hear they eat a lot and can easily smell/seek out food. Maybe he's getting enough biofilm so he's not hungry yet? Just not sure what to expect consumption-wise with a single snail. Thanks in advance for your insight!

Water parameters: pH 7.6, hardness approx: 200, Amm/Ni/Na:  0/0/15 pp,  71 degrees

Edited December 31, 2022 by Torbay
added more info

[TheSwissAquarist]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea @Guppysnail any ideas?? I would say he seems fat and happy 😊 so he doesn’t need any dedicated feeding for the moment.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

The carrot needs to be really soft. I boil mine for 20 minutes or until a fork effortlessly goes into it. My snails don’t really care for lettuce but they love boiled green bean, zucchini, squash, cucumber, cabbage. I leave veggies in the tank for 24 hr or less. They don’t mess with parameters during that time like a processed food would because they don’t rot that fast.
 

They do need a calcium source for their shell. Such as crab cuisine or banquet food block. And protein, such as sinking fish food pellets. @Torbay

Edited December 31, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Torbay]

Thank you for your replies. Good to know they're not fond of lettuces - I know spinach can supply some calcium, so will try that next. I boiled the paper thin slice of carrot for 5 min, but maybe it's still too firm to be appealing. I will try some of the other veggies and the calcium block. My snail is a bit smaller than I quarter and has a ridge or crack in its shell, so I want to address that. Thanks again!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 12/31/2022 at 3:32 PM, Torbay said:

Thank you for your replies. Good to know they're not fond of lettuces - I know spinach can supply some calcium, so will try that next. I boiled the paper thin slice of carrot for 5 min, but maybe it's still too firm to be appealing. I will try some of the other veggies and the calcium block. My snail is a bit smaller than I quarter and has a ridge or crack in its shell, so I want to address that. Thanks again!

My gang does not like spinach either! Lol. It seems the only leaf they eat is cabbage. But another calcium option is a piece of cuttlebone (plain, unflavored, found in the bird section) added to the tank. They will occasionally graze on it and it also dissolved verrrrrry slowly and releases calcium into the water as it does.

A snail will get a ridge in their shell when moving from one tank (such as the pet store) to another. The ridge will appear to run around the shell in a circle, if that makes sense. It’s caused by a difference in water types, even if the difference is slight. Now if that snail has an actual crack in its shell, that can be cause for worry. If the shell is thin (overall, not just the edge where new growth occurs), that could mean the snail did not get proper nutrition w/ calcium before you adopted him.
 

@Guppysnail is there something in spinach that prevents a snail from absorbing or digesting the calcium that is in that spinach?

green bean

 

cabbage

 

carrot (she is carrying it around) - LOL

Edited December 31, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

On 12/31/2022 at 5:51 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

is there something in spinach that prevents a snail from absorbing or digesting the calcium that is in that spinach?

My understanding from when I had my beardie is the iron blocks the use of calcium in reptiles. Might be the same for snails? 

[Torbay]

Taking notes!! Thank you again!

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I love that you are researching the needs of your snail friend @Torbay