For such a small, unassuming snail, the Bladder Snail (Physa acuta) brings out a lot of passionate discussion and arguments for and against the aquarist hobby.
Are they good to have in a tank? Bad? A pest to be eliminated?
Yes, they are considered invasive freshwater species. That isn’t a point up for debate. But they continue to be popular and appear in the aquarium trade for a reason.
If you don’t like them, you don’t have to buy them, we suppose. But there are many who feel quite strongly that they shouldn’t be traded in the first place, which only encourages their proliferation in a way that only enhances their visibility and puts further spread of these snails on the table.
Their origins are somewhat of a mystery, but they are suspected to be of Eastern European origin. Others say Central America. The bottom line is nobody is really sure.
Are Bladder Snails just a case of a bad reputation?
Let’s take a look at them in detail and plead their case before you pass judgment.
Bladder Snails Behavior
Bladder Snails are hermaphroditic, which makes them prolific reproducers.
Not only that, but they are able to thrive in very poor water conditions, including polluted waters which have allowed them to spread in the wild where others would perish or not attempt to inhabit.
These snails do not possess an operculum to retreat and hide when feeling threatened or pursued by a predator. Instead, they must wiggle their shells quite quickly side to side, almost like a quick shaking motion as a deterrent.
These guys are rapid gliders and can move surprisingly swiftly in tanks. It can be quite astonishing, and we suspect they would make a rather good racing snail!
They are also capable of rising to the water surface or waterline and turning upside down to breathe air and respirate. If danger is present when they surface and become more vulnerable, they are able to release all of the inhaled air and sink rapidly to the tank/water body floor.
Bladder snails have expanded their habitat by being really good at sticking to plant life. Known as ‘professional hitch-hikers,’ they have an uncanny ability to cling and then survive transportation.
On the flip-side, their eggs may also be attached to plant life or matter, and then they hatch when you least suspect it.
What this means to the hobbyist is that any new plant life or decor you introduce into your tank should be quarantined if you are not a fan of the Bladder Snail. This will ensure they aren’t present before the eventual move to the main tank.
Their quirky actions in tanks make them actually quite interesting to watch for the uninitiated.
Sometimes they can be seen swimming or floating in the water with their inhaled air, just enjoying the water flow and thus going with the flow. We’re guessing snails like the odd bit of speed, too, when they can get it.
Bladder Snails Lifespan
Bladder Snails live on average for about a year on average but can reach 2 years.
We will discuss more on tank requirements a little later in this article.
Bladder Snails Appearance
Bladder Snails are often confused with Pond Snails, and we will break down how to tell the difference shortly.
They are one of the only snails with a shell that spirals to the left. Almost every other snail, if not all, spiral to the right.
They have a hard, slightly translucent shell that is yellowy-brown and has lighter golden spots on top.
They have long, slim, filament-type antennae, and their body color is a mixture of black, grey, and purple shades.
They grow to about a half-inch in size.
The way to tell them apart from Pond Snails, which they often get confused with, is pretty straightforward.
Pond Snails have triangulated tentacles that are thick at the base and taper to a tip.
They have right-spiral shells, and their shells are plain brown. Pond Snails are also huge compared to Bladder Snails, anywhere from two to six times the size.
It shouldn’t be too hard to tell them apart, really!
Bladder Snails Habitat Requirements
Bladder Snails live just about everywhere on the planet that isn’t covered in snow and ice.
They can thrive in just about any water condition but prefer slow-moving, warm waters, and they don’t mind if it’s dirty either.
Let’s take a look at the specifics for keeping Bladder Snails.
Tank Conditions
They aren’t fussy about tank conditions, is the first point to make. Whatever you throw at them, they should be able to endure, but this article isn’t about testing a species’s limits.
They prefer lower temperature ranges for better reproductive rates but will mature more slowly in those conditions.
Calcium is a key component of their shells, so you need to supplement the tank with calcium building blocks if yours is low on this element. Eggshells or cuttlefish bones are a good idea to add into the tank, which will help them consume some as they clean.
If you start seeing lots of these snails in your tank, it’s usually indicative of poor water quality because of too many algae feeding them. This is usually indicative of overfeeding your fish which allows them to produce far too much waste. Excess waste will encourage your snails to populate the tank even further.
Monitor your population of snails and, if necessary, reduce them. More on that below.
Water changes will need to be done each week with at least 30% per change.
Water conditions should be noted, tested regularly, and maintained as follows:
- pH of 6.0 – 9.0
- Water hardness 0 – 30 GH
- Temperature between 59 – 90ºF (15 – 33ºC)
- Lighting can be standard
Tank Size
There is no minimum tank size requirement for these snails, but smaller tanks with a dense population of fish will create the ideal waste and water algae condition for them to reproduce prolifically.
This isn’t ideal and should be avoided.
Bladder Snails And Other Aquarium Fishes
Realistically, you probably never bought a Bladder Snail intentionally. You just ended up with them in your tank despite your best efforts to avoid that, or you ended up with them in your tank and decided to embrace them.
These snails have no issue with any fish, and many fish will view these snails as food.
Some hobbyists will have a tank just for the snails to use as a live food source which can work nicely.
Here are some of the best species to mix in with your Bladder Snails, particularly if you want your fish population to benefit from eating them:
- Green Spotted Pufferfish: they love crunching these snails
- Betta Fish: although they won’t eat adults and will eat eggs and baby snails
- Yoyo Loach: these fish will happily eat Bladder Snails of any size all day long
- Crayfish: they prefer smaller and more immature snails with softer shells
- Assassin Snails: they can wipe out a population; very useful if you didn’t want them in the first place
Will Bladder Snails Destroy My Plant Life?
They are omnivorous creatures who eat algae, dead and decaying organic matter, including meat, vegetables, insects, and plants, as well as food leftovers and fish waste.
They do remain plant safe, however. They are not prone to eating healthy living plants, but people confuse seeing snails on the plants with eating them when they are just cleaning algae off the plant.
They can be brilliant at trimming off dead or soon to be dead parts of plants which actually makes them efficient little gardeners in your aquarium, keeping things neat and tidy.
Bladder Snails Reproduction
Bladder Snails don’t need a mate to propagate.
Being hermaphroditic and in possession of both male and female reproductive organs, they can self-fertilize if need be, although offspring are generally weaker.
If two or more snails reproduce, they lay small eggs in a clutch between 10 – 40 and attach them under leaves or areas that are usually well hidden.
In a week, eggs will hatch, and they reach full adulthood as well as sexual maturity in around a month.
You can imagine how rapidly they can explode as a population if not managed.
What To Do If There Are Too Many Bladder Snails?
If you have an unwanted infestation of these snails and don’t have species available who would love to eat them, we have some tips to help you reduce the population.
Things you need to check for should be as follows:
- Are you feeding your fish too much? Overfeeding creates the perfect storm for Bladder Snails. They will end up eating all of the excess algae produced and waste, which in turn will encourage them to reproduce and continue their ravenous appetite for feeding in the tank.
- Are you changing your water often enough? If you aren’t, then you probably have more algae than you should which will again encourage the snails. Algae will also out-compete any plant life you have, robbing them of essential nutrients making them weak. Weak plants are more susceptible to rot and decay, which will encourage the snails to feed on them too. This is a worrying sign that your tank might end up in disaster mode and get to a state that can’t be retrieved. You might need to start up a new tank with a new nitrogen cycle as a result
If you are sure both points above are under control, then you can do a few more things to remove excess snails:
- Lettuce traps: Bladder Snails can’t resist lettuce, and if you place some full-sized leaves on the tank floor, the snails will gather on it. Remove the leaf, and you can grab a large group of them in one go.
- Buy snail predators: As we mentioned earlier, there are a number of species that find Bladder Snails tempting to snack on. If your water parameters permit and tank compatibility allows, you can try and get a few natural predators to keep your population down naturally and get some fish food at the same time.
Are Bladder Snails Good Or Bad?
So, are Bladder Snails really friends or foes? Do they deserve their reputation as bad apples in the aquarium hobby?
There are definitely arguments for both, and it’s not likely to end here.
What we do know is that they are often an unwanted visitor, which makes their unexpected appearance in your setup not only annoying but tricky to manage.
We’ve outlined a number of ways to help with that, but here we should also point out that Bladder Snails do have their merits.
If you have a small setup with fewer fish where it’s fairly easy to keep an eye on these guys without them running rampant, they will do an outstanding job of tank cleaning.
It’s much harder to keep them under control in large tank setups, and this is where we think they get their bad rap.
It takes a lot of time and effort to cycle the water in the first place, setting up large tanks, then you spend a lot of time getting the landscape just so ready for your fish inhabitants. And then bingo, you have an unwanted intruder that has exponential population growth. It can be frustrating.
But take heart, there are ways to remedy the situation.
And if you have a smaller, easier-to-manage setup, they just might be the left-handed spiraling shell snail for you.
