In addition to fish and various arthropods, snails can be kept in the aquarium. Almost all aquarium snails will look harmoniously in the aquarium and peacefully coexist with other inhabitants. However, there are some species that harm plants or other inhabitants of the aquarium.
Buy these pets in specialized stores. Since all species of aquatic snails moved from the natural environment, they can infect an infection that provokes the death of fish and algae.
Main snail food
What feed aquarium snails, will depend on the main focus of the aquarium. If the emphasis is on keeping and breeding fish, there is no need to feed mollusks separately. They can feed on the waste of life of other inhabitants, eat up the remains of fodder after fish, microorganisms and dead algae. If the aquarium is equipped only for snails, it is necessary to give them fresh fruit, grated vegetables and greens. Scraped meat will serve as a treat. All the food that has not been eaten in two days, it is necessary to remove from the aquarium, so that the pathogenic microorganisms would not develop in the water.
Popular species of aquarium snails
The most common in aquariums are the following snail species:
- Ampularia . These snails can reach up to 8 cm in diameter. Most often they have a bright yellow shell, so they look very beautiful in the aquarium. Feed on aquarium snails ampulyary small plants and the remains of fish feed. They do not need special care, but for the eggs that they lay on the surface of the water, special humidity is needed.
- Melania . A ground dark gray snail often enters the aquarium by accident. The length can reach up to 4 cm. Breathing aquarium snails melania gills, so for them is very important the presence of oxygen in the water. These viviparous snails spend a long time in the ground and rarely fall into the field of vision. They are very useful as aquarium inhabitants. Since in addition to eating the remaining after the fish fodder and dead organic matter, they also serve as an indicator of the quality of water in the aquarium. If the melanie began to creep along the walls, going to the surface of the water, it is necessary to saturate the water with oxygen or change the filter.
- Helena . He is a vivid representative of a predatory species, since he hunts other kinds of snails and eats them. Fish and plants do not touch these snails. The color of the aquatic snail Helena amber-yellow with dark brown strips, spirally arranged. The size of the snails does not exceed 2 cm, caviar is laid on the elements of the aquarium decor or stones. These predatory aquarium snails possess a proboscis with denticles, with which they drill shells of small snails.
- Fize . These small-sized snails possess brownish shells with a pink tinge. The main condition for their full-fledged existence is to keep the water temperature at least 20 ° C. The aquarium snail of the fishes feeds on the remains of fish food and the products of their livelihoods.
- Neretin . These brown aquarium snails can reach a size of up to 3.5 cm and require special conditions of detention. Water hardness should be increased for the maintenance in the form of a delicate shell, which is possessed by an aquatic snail of neurin. When keeping the Neretas, the aquarium must be equipped with a lid, as they can crawl out. For full reproduction, they need salt water. For larvae, plankton is also a prerequisite. Adult individuals feed on inferior algae.
- Marisa . Snails with a shell of yellow-brown color, which require the availability of quality water. Aquarium snail maris grows to 4 cm in diameter. These aquarium soil snails feed on any food that comes in the way. Very often they spoil the living plants.
All these varieties of aquarium snails, if properly maintained, will be the decoration of any aquarium.
Main conditions of detention
Before launching into the aquarium snails must be kept in quarantine. It is necessary to constantly monitor the presence of food, because if it is not enough, some species will eat the plants. To maintain soil snails, it is important to have a sufficient layer of soil on the bottom of the aquarium. Overpopulations in the aquarium can be avoided by constantly monitoring the number of fast-breeding snails, which include melanias and fizzy.
If all necessary conditions are met, the snails will decorate the aquarium for 2 to 3 years.