Love them or hate them, ever more aquarists are learning to embrace the gastropods that were once vilified. Neale Monks introduces aquarium snails.
IT WOULD NOT be unfair to say that aquarists generally dislike snails. They view them as unwanted pests, as likely to destroy their plants as they are to breed uncontrollably until they outnumber the fish a hundred to one. While some species certainly can cause problems, there are other species that have a lot more going for them. Snails are generally hardy animals, easy to feed, and in their own way, quite attractive. They don’t pose any threat to fish, except perhaps as eggs, and a few are reliable algae-eaters that can be usefully employed in that role.
What follows is a survey of some of the snail species available. A few have specific needs, and one or two are, it has to be admitted, voracious plant-eaters. Others are strict algae-eaters and eat little else, but many are omnivorous with a preference for meaty foods. In the wild they probably eat carrion alongside whatever small prey they can ambush, and in the aquarium will readily take any leftover fish food they find: frozen bloodworms and mysids, catfish pellets, and so on. The best of these breed slowly as well, making them good choices for use in planted community tanks where they help round out the ‘ecosystem’ and add interest to the tank.
NEALE MONKS
A long-standing aquatics author with a particular passion for brackish water species.
APPLE SNAIL
•Scientific name: Pomacea bridgesii
•Origin: Tropical South America
•Diet: Omnivorous, with decaying plant material being favoured in the wild; the extent to which they can be trusted with live plants is a matter of some debate…
•Care: Unfussy, but shell becomes pitted in soft water
•Reproduction: Pink egg masses laid above the waterline, from which juvenile snails emerge after a couple of weeks
•Notes: An old favourite, but one for which many aquarists have mixed feelings. Some specimens nibble at live plants, but by no means all, and this might mean that in some tanks they simply don’t get enough to eat. A question hangs over their lifespan, too, and their sheer size means a dead specimen will quickly pollute an aquarium. One issue is that in the wild, these snails may have a resting phase when they dig into the mud and while away the dry season. Under aquarium conditions, a lifespan of around a year is typical, but the downside to that is that aquarium specimens rarely get as big (up to 6cm across) as wild snails.
•Availability and price:
Extremely com
