Do Taiwan Bee Shrimp Eat Snails?

Written by Noa in Taiwan bee shrimp

If you’re getting ready to set up a Taiwan Bee shrimp tank, you may wonder if there are any tank mates that you can safely pair with your shrimp. Fish should ideally be avoided, as they may eat your shrimp (especially the babies), but what about snails? Are snails a good option, or will your Taiwan Bees eat them?

Taiwan Bee shrimp do not eat snails when they are alive, and they make for safe tankmates for your shrimp. However, your Taiwan Bees may eat their snail tankmates after they die if you don’t clean up their bodies fast enough. They will only eat the dead snail, leaving the shell behind. 

This article will look at Taiwan Bees and snails in further detail, exploring some snails you can safely house in your shrimp tank and explaining the diets for both your shrimp and snails.

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Do taiwan bee shrimp eat snails?

Snails You Can Add to Your Taiwan Bee Shrimp Tank

Some snails you can add to your Taiwan Bee shrimp tank include:

  • Nerite snails: These snails are great for algae. Another great advantage is that they do not breed in freshwater. So, while other snails like Malaysian Trumpets will breed quickly and must be maintained, this isn’t an issue with Nerites. However, this also means you’ll constantly need to purchase new Nerites.
  • Malaysian Trumpet snails: These snails are great for stirring your substrate, which reduces the risk of toxic chemicals being released into your tank water from air pockets in your substrate. This is especially helpful if your tank is not heavily planted.
  • Black Devil snails: Black Devils are another good option for substrate stirring. Additionally, they’re great scavengers who will clean up a lot of your dead fish without you getting involved and, unlike Malaysian Trumpets, will not breed very quickly.
  • Japanese Trapdoor snails: These snails are voracious feeders, scavenging on dead animals and munching on algae. Japanese trapdoor snails are a great option if you’re looking to keep your tank clean.
  • Ramshorn snails: Ramshorns are known for munching on algae in your tanks. They’re boldly colored and attractive, which is why people enjoy having them in their tanks. Additionally, they’re fast breeders, which is both a positive and a negative. You’ll never have to worry about running out of them, but may find your tank has more snails than you like before you know it.

What Taiwan Bee Shrimp Eat

Like other bee shrimp, Taiwan Bees are opportunistic omnivores – which means they eat pretty much anything. Some common foods that Taiwan Bees will eat include:

  • Algae 
  • Biofilm
  • Dead biomass, such as dead plants and snails
  • Blanched vegetables

You can also feed them commercial food designed for shrimp. I recommend the Aqueon Omnivore Shrimp Disc Food (available on Amazon.com). This food is designed for shrimp in the genus Caridina, under which all bee shrimp – including Taiwan Bees – fall. The food is made with bentonite clay, which promotes a strong shell in your shrimp. It is designed to mimic a shrimp’s natural diet in the wild.

What Snails Eat

What your snails will eat highly depends on what type of snails they are. Some snails are scavengers and eat algae, fish food, and dead plant and animal matter. Some shrimp will also eat live plants, and you can also feed your shrimp vegetables.

Shrimp need food that is rich in calcium. This allows their shells to grow healthily, so if you’re feeding them vegetables, make sure you choose ones that offer ample amounts of calcium. 

Alternatively, you can also feed them commercially available snail food. I recommend the Tetra TetraMin Tropical Tablets (available on Amazon.com). These tablets are designed for bottom-feeding tropical fish but are also a great food for snails. They’re high in vitamin C and designed to provide a balanced diet for your bottom-feeding fish and snails.

Assassin Snails

While most snails are okay to keep in the same tank as shrimp, this is not necessarily the case with assassin snails. 

Assassin snails will eat the same foods other snails will – but their diet needs to be protein-rich for them to be healthy. Generally, this means that they eat other snails and similar protein-rich supplements.

However, in rare cases, an assassin snail may also eat a live shrimp. Keep in mind that this is an exceedingly rare occurrence and generally involves a shrimp that is already old. However, this is a consideration to keep in mind if you’re thinking about getting assassin snails for your shrimp tank. Unless you’re okay with potentially losing a Taiwan Bee to an assassin snail, keeping these snails out of your tank would be best. 

Final Thoughts

Taiwan Bees will not eat live snails, and you can safely place most snails in the same tank as your shrimp. Some things your shrimp will eat include algae, blanched vegetables, biofilm, and commercial shrimp food.

Sources

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