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Blueberry Snail
Viviparus sp.
📍 Southeast Asia
Blueberry Snails are attractive freshwater snails with a distinctive blue-grey coloration and rounded shell. They are peaceful detritivores that help maintain tank cleanliness by consuming algae, biofilm, and decaying plant matter. These snails are relatively hardy and make excellent additions to community tanks with appropriate water parameters.
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Care Guide
Diet
Blueberry Snails are detritivores that feed on algae, biofilm, and decaying organic matter. Supplement their diet with algae wafers and blanched vegetables such as zucchini, spinach, and cucumber. Provide calcium-rich foods or calcium supplements to support healthy shell growth and prevent shell erosion.
Behavior
Blueberry Snails are slow-moving bottom dwellers that spend most of their time grazing on surfaces and substrate. They are nocturnal and more active during evening hours. These snails are generally sedentary and do not burrow significantly, preferring to move along the tank bottom and decorations.
Breeding
Blueberry Snails are ovoviviparous, meaning they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Females produce small numbers of fully-formed juveniles, typically 1-5 per brood. Reproduction is relatively slow and controlled, so population explosions are unlikely in freshwater tanks.
Tank Mates
Both are peaceful detritivores that occupy similar ecological niches without conflict
Small shrimp pose no threat and share algae-grazing behavior
Small peaceful fish that ignore snails and occupy different water zones
Bottom-dwelling catfish that are peaceful and do not prey on snails
Peaceful mid-water dweller that generally ignores snails
Peaceful algae-eater that coexists well with snails in the same ecological role
Common Diseases
Shell Erosion / Soft Shell
Shell becomes thin, pitted, or chalky; shell may develop holes or become translucent
Increase water hardness (GH) to 8+ dGH, add calcium supplements or cuttlebone, ensure pH is above 7.0, perform regular water changes
Copper Toxicity
Lethargy, withdrawal into shell, inability to move, rapid death
Immediately remove snail from copper-containing environment; copper is highly toxic to snails and invertebrates—use copper-free medications and avoid copper-based algaecides
Parasitic Infections (Flukes/Worms)
Excessive mucus production, shell damage, lethargy, abnormal behavior
Perform large water changes, increase aeration, quarantine affected snails, use snail-safe parasite treatments if available; maintain excellent water quality
Calcium Deficiency
Slow growth, weak shell structure, pitting or pitting of shell surface
Add calcium supplements, cuttlebone, or crushed eggshells to tank; increase water hardness; provide calcium-rich foods like blanched spinach and algae wafers fortified with calcium
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Quick Facts
- diet
- Herbivore/detritivore - algae wafers, blanched vegetables (zucchini, spinach), biofilm, decaying plant matter
- lifespan
- 3-4 years
- max size
- 2 cm (0.75 in)
- tank size
- 5 gallons minimum
- temperament
- peaceful
Water it likes
- ph
- 7.0-8.0
- ammonia
- 0 ppm
- nitrate
- <20 ppm
- hardness
- 8-18 dGH
- temperature
- 72–82°F (22–28°C)