Mystery Snail Review

Good Points
First of all, these are probably the most hardy of all snails. They are 24 hour eating machines. They WILL eat ANY food that falls on the bottom, regardless of how old it is. And they cannot overrun your tank, as they are extremely difficult to breed. If they have, well that's great, but they haven't for me and many, many other people. They grow to about 3 inches if it has been eating a lot of food. They live for about 2 years on average.

Bad Points
They breathe air, so if they do not have access to the top of the water via a glass wall or something, they WILL die. You will notice when they do come up for air that they have like a long tube; that's like their "Air hole". They do gradually eat algae (notice they have a small mouth) and they aren't fast. So to clean a tank full of algae with 1 snail, could be a challenge. Also they leave a snail trail if they go over that same piece of glass, rock or plants etc. It looks exactly like algae, and it very hard to get rid of. I use a metal brush used for barbeque's (new of course), then a rough sponge or something to polish it off. Also, they can sleep for up to 3 days, so if they haven't moved, don't be alarmed. But when they do die they will give off a smell that makes you heave. If you pick it up and pull its trapdoor thing and there's no pull, as if to say "Hey don't do that, I want my privacy", chances are it's dead. I remember the first time I pulled one out completely, but let's never talk of that again.

General Comments
Generally, tanks with snails are cleaner tanks. Mystery Snails do VERY well in established goldfish tanks, and they won't overrun your tank with mini snails. They're attractive with their golden shell, and they look fascinating when they have all their gizmo's and what have you out and working. Although they're long tentacles for feeling their surroundings often get nipped by cichlids or clown loaches. A small snail with a few clown loches will leave you with an empty shell pretty soon, Clowns can't really suck out a big snail, but they will try. PH doesn't really bother them, but somewhere between 7.2 and 7.6 is a good standard. Acidic water tends to rot their shell. Pleco's are still the best at cleaning algae in your tank; however, they're much more expensive.