If you have an aquarium, and you, tormented by night's insomnia, wish to include light in it, you will certainly see on the glass walls of the fish tank a lot of aquarium snails. It is not necessary to be frightened, these microscopic mollusks sometimes live next to any aquarium fish and in open reservoirs. You just need to know what snails eat in your aquarium, where they came from, and whether they really need it. I must say, much depends on what kind of species has settled in your aquarium.
What kind of snails are in the aquarium?
The question is, do snails in the aquarium, sometimes excites the minds of all novice aquarists. Do they harm the fish, will not spoil the plants, will not any dangerous parasites bring to the gentle aquarium world? The answer is not clear, because the snail is different. And among this brethren are all kinds. Let's take a look at the most common.
- The acroloxes. These are the smallest snails that can be found in an aquarium. Their shell resembles a miniature cap.
- These babies feed on organic remains that settle on the bottom of the aquarium, for example, the remains of fish food. They lead a secret life, creep into the light of God only at night. If, by turning on the light, you will see a horde of these tiny mollusks, think, but do not you overfeed your scaly pets? Maybe we should cut their daily diet? By the way, with decreasing the volume of feed and acroleums will reduce their population.
- Horn Reel. This is a classic snail, to the form of which we are accustomed from the earliest childhood. It periodically rises to the surface of the water to swallow fresh air. In nature, this snail eats algae, and in the aquarium it becomes a cleaner, eating mucous membranes from the aquarium walls. Although, the cleaner from it is not so hot, and besides, this mollusc does not mind eating delicate aquarium plants and can infect fish with dangerous parasites.
- Proudoviks. A snail for an aquarium is absolutely useless. Not only will it spoil and soak up aquarium plants, so even the larvae of the trematode can infect fish.
- Fize. These are small, pretty beautiful snails. Pisces, they do not do much harm, as well as special benefits, they do not bring, but green plantations will pierce thoroughly, despite their microscopic nature.
- Melania. But this is exactly what we need. Small snails melania for the aquarium are simply irreplaceable. First, they all the time, like good gardeners, truck farmers, dig up the soil, improving its drainage and removing all organic remains. The roots of aquarium plants, they do not damage and fish can not infect anything. In a word, these are the best snails for cleaning the aquarium. And secondly, melanii much earlier than other inhabitants of the aquarium feel the lack of oxygen and announce this, getting out of the soil layer on the walls of the aquarium and the water surface.
What do snails eat in the aquarium?
This is another headache for those who are just beginning their journey in the field of aquaristics. We have already partially answered the answer, but this is not enough. Therefore, let's talk about what snails eat in the aquarium in more detail.
So, what does aquarium snails eat? And everyone. These things are so unpretentious that they can eat everything that lies badly. For them, the food will be a scurf on the aquarium walls, and littered pieces of fish food, and decaying plant remains, and the deceased inhabitant of the aquarium. An exception will be only artificially produced species of snails. Care for them is quite laborious, and they can eat only very soft food. If you just started practicing an aquarium, then you should not start such sissies.