If you want to keep tank mates with your Axolotl, Snails are a good addition and can even help to keep the tank clean.
How to keep Axolotl and Snails together?
Some snails tolerate the cold water temperatures of axolotl tanks without any problems and can live well with them.
If you want to keep snails in your axolotl tank, you should also have some plants. Here you can find an article about the best plants for an axolotl aquarium.
Snails don’t need a lot of light and they usually prefer less current, which fits wonderfully with the Axolotl’s housing conditions.
Since snails move slowly, there is no danger that they will stress the axolotl with excessive activity. They are also neither territorial nor aggressive and cannot injure the axolotl.
To ensure that your new snails don’t bring any diseases or parasites into your tank, it is a good idea to quarantine them for a few weeks before adding them to the tank to make sure they are healthy.
Which snail species are best for an Axolotl tank?
To prevent your Axolotl from injuring itself, you should only select snails with soft shells that the Axolotl can digest if it eats them. If the shell is too hard, it can injure the axolotl’s intestines.
Bladder Snails (Physidae)
Bladder Snails* grow to an average size to around half an inch (max. 1 cm), so they pose no risk of constipation if your axolotl eats a one or two. These small freshwater snails can tolerate water temperatures from 32 to 90°F (0 to 33 °C).
Great Ramshorn Snails (Planorbarius corneus)
Great Ramshorn Snails* are larger snails that can grow up to 1,5 inches (4 cm) and are comfortable at temperatures between 39 and 78 °F (4 and 26 °C).
Apple Snails and Great Pond Snails
Apple and Great pond snails are both larger snail species that prefer warmer water of 64 to 82 °F (18 and 28°C).
Apple snails usually grow between 0,7 and 2 inches (2 and 5 cm) and great pond snails even up to 3 inches (7 cm). If you want to keep great pond snails or apple snails, you should make sure that the water temperature doesn’t drop below 82 °F (18 °C), as they don’t tolerate these temperatures well.
Advantages of snails in the axolotl tank
Snails clean the aquarium
Snails eat food debris and algae, ensuring better water quality. They also clean the aquarium glass, which results in a clear view and less cleaning effort for you.
Live food
Especially small and young snails are a good snack for a hungry Axolotl. Since snails reproduce quickly, there is also no danger of your Axolotl eating the entire population.
Snails are part of the natural diet of wild axolotls. In their natural environment, axolotls eat mainly mollusks, worms, insects and also small snails.
Easy to keep
Snails are very easy to keep. They usually don’t need extra food and are robust animals that don’t have any special demands.
Conclusion
If you want to keep other tank mates in your aquarium besides Axolotl, snails, especially small bladder snails or larger apple snails are a good choice. They won’t hurt your Axolotl and clean the aquarium as well. Snail species with colorful shells are also an eye-catcher in the aquarium.