Bladder snail care
Physella acuta · North America; now found in fresh water around the world
Bladder snails are small, thin-shelled snails whose shell coils to the left, and most arrive by accident on new plants.
- Tank size
- 5 US gal or larger
- Temperature
- 64 to 82 °F (18 to 28 °C)
- Group size
- Alone or in a pair
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Adult size
- 0.6 in
- pH
- 7 to 8.5
- Hardness (GH)
- 5 to 18 dGH
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 years
- Diet
- Scavenger
- Care level
- Easy
In a 5 gallon: Aqueon 5½
16 3/16 × 8⅜ × 10½ in outsideHow to keep bladder snails
Bladder snails are small, thin-shelled snails whose shell coils to the left, and most arrive by accident on new plants. They clean up leftover food, biofilm and soft algae, and one snail can lay eggs on its own, so their numbers follow how much you feed.
Diet: Scavenger: leftover food, biofilm, soft algae, dead plant matter. Fish food types compared · how often to feed.
Where they swim: Bottom of the tank.
Bladder snail tank mates
Share the temperature and water, and neither side eats, nips or bullies the other. Check the full group in the stocking checker.
Kubotai rasbora
0.8 in · 10+ gal · 72–79 °F
Celestial pearl danio
1 in · 10+ gal · 72–78 °F
Pygmy corydoras
1 in · 10+ gal · 72–79 °F
Flame tetra
1 in · 10+ gal · 72–82 °F
Spotted blue-eye
1 in · 10+ gal · 75–82 °F
Kerri tetra
1.1 in · 20+ gal · 75–81 °F
Ember tetra
1.2 in · 10+ gal · 73–84 °F
Lambchop rasbora
1.2 in · 10+ gal · 73–82 °F
Keep apart
Pea puffer: Pea puffers belong in a tank of their own.
Assassin snail: Assassin snails eat snails.
Dwarf orange crayfish: Dwarf orange crayfish eat snails.
Everglades pygmy sunfish: Everglades pygmy sunfish belong in a tank of their own.
Oscar: Oscars are aggressive towards peaceful fish such as bladder snails.
Clown loach: Clown loaches eat snails.
What a bladder snail tank needs
A tank of 5 US gallons or more (such as the 5 gallon: Aqueon 5½) with a cover, and the equipment below. Bladder snails are comfortable at room temperature, so a heater is optional in a normal home.
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Aquarium Co-Op Easy Flow Sponge Filter, Nano
A sponge filter gives gentle flow and cannot pull in small fish. It runs from an air pump, with airline tubing and a check valve, all sold separately.
Aqueon QuietFlow Internal Power Filter up to 5 gal
Rated by the maker for up to 5 US gal, which covers a 5 gallon bladder snail tank without being built for a far bigger one.
hygger Hang-on-back Canister Filter 5W
Rated by the maker for up to 10 US gal, which covers a 5 gallon bladder snail tank without being built for a far bigger one.
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
Tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, the readings that matter most before and after adding bladder snails.
Seachem Prime 100 mL
Removes chlorine and chloramine from tap water at every water change.
Fluval Edge Thermometer
Shows the water temperature at a glance, so you know it stays within 64 to 82 °F.
More choices, each with the reason it is in or out: Filters for a 5 gallon tank. We don’t list fish food: any good brand of the foods under Diet will do. Plan the whole tank's equipment →
Common bladder snail problems
- A sudden boom means too much food or something rotting in the tank; feed less, clear out dead leaves, and trap snails overnight under a blanched lettuce leaf.
- Assassin snails, loaches and pea puffers eat them; add one only if it suits the rest of the tank.
Test the water first whenever fish look unwell: see what your readings mean, then match the symptom. For disease, a vet who treats fish can diagnose it and advise treatment.
More to compare
Sources
Name, origin and adult size checked against Wikipedia: Physella acuta. Temperature, pH, hardness, group size, lifespan and minimum tank size are common hobby guidance, not figures from that article. Ranges are the range the species tolerates; aim for the middle. Minimum tank sizes are for an adult group. Drawings are our own; photo credits follow.
Photo credits
Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.
- Bladder snail Dat doris, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kubotai rasbora BottomDog, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Celestial pearl danio Cisamarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pygmy corydoras Birger A, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Flame tetra Igor Balashov (iNaturalist), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Spotted blue-eye Der Regenbogenfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kerri tetra Juan R. Lascorz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ember tetra Klaus Rudloff, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Lambchop rasbora AverageWalrus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pea puffer Beta Mahatvaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Assassin snail Steffi Klee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Dwarf orange crayfish HellSpawn754, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Everglades pygmy sunfish Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Oscar H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Clown loach Vlad Butsky, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cherry shrimp TheJammingYam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Amano shrimp Stefanie Leuker, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ghost shrimp Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Mystery snail Gabriel Resende Veiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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