Betta nipping on a newly bought mystery snail's antenna

[BaRanchik]

Hello!

I just bought a mystery snail for my Betta tank after reading they can coexist happily, and it seems like my Betta is not really fond of having a tank mate.

It's been nipping on the snail's antennas multiple times, and it even had a taste of them. Once the Betta has actually tasted the snail, is there any chance for them to just live calmly together after a few days? I love how well those snails are cleaning, and I don't have any other snail types for sale around my location.

I feed my Betta twice a day, so I'm pretty sure it's not hungry, so my guess is it's a territorial situation. I got the biggest snail I could find in the store, thinking it might make the Betta not think of it as a food source. What's weird is that the snail doesn't seem to even be bothered by the Betta. It won't hide when the Betta is near - it's only hiding for a few seconds after actually being attacked but then it immediately goes back to work.

Is there something I should do? Should I wait and hope for them to get along after a few days, or should I just move the snail to a different tank immediately and keep the Betta alone in the tank?

Also, does the snail's antenna grow back if it's been nipped on?

[Brandy]

I think the betta thinks they are worms. The snail is unlikely to be attacked and killed, and will likely learn to pull the antenna in when the betta is near. It isn't that he is hungry exactly, it is that for fish "worm" = IRRESISTIBLE CANDY BAR!!

[Hobbit]

I have ramshorn snails in my tanks and unfortunately their antennae are always short. Even the most peaceful fish just love them. Thankfully aquatic snails have their eyes at the base of their antennae (unlike land snails). Yes, this does mean that Gary the Snail is not an accurate representation of aquatic snails. But the good news is even though the fish love to nibble on them, the snails don’t go blind and don’t seem the worse for wear.

[Lifeisgood]

My red betta Phoenix lived peacefully with two adult Mystery snails in a vertical 15 gallon until they died of old age.  He did not bother them at all.  But when I put a couple of their babies in with him to replace them, he ate their antennas off.  I was so sorry that I didn’t catch what was going on until he bit them all off.  If your betta doesn’t start ignoring the snail soon, you might want to put some pretty Nerite snails in there instead.  They keep themselves protected and don’t have long antenna.