Welcome to the freshwater snailpages,here you can find info on snails in the aquarium,freshwater snails in nature and a description of some species. Most people who have an aquarium have snails too.And some of them try very hard to get rid of them.It is true that snails can cause damage in aquariums by eating the plants.But snails can be an interesting part of it too.Especially Applesnails are very beautiful creatures and an enrichment to any aquarium. More about those snails later.Native species can be kept too,but can reproduce themselves very rapidly and some carry parasites. Freshwater snails are very similar to those on the land but there are some differences. Because they live in the water their breathing must be adapted to that.Some snailspecies have a fine maze of arteries in their tentacles,they function as a kind of gills. Freshwater snails have only one pair of tentacles,their eyes are placed on their head.
to go there.
Helisoma nigricans-Red Ramshorn
Is about 25mm high and has a red body because of the hemoglobin it carries.It has long slender
tentacles and is a good tank cleaner,but will eat fish eggs.It is a member of the family Planorbidae
which species often carry parasites.An European familymember, Planorbis corneus is mentioned later.Viviparids They look like small apple snails,being almost 50mm high.They do best in water with a temperature below 24 Celsius(75 F). Females live for about five years and are mature at one years of age.Males live shorter,about three years. Campeloma decisum is a one of the species seen in aquariums.It has a large foot and gives live birth. Another well known species is Viviparus georgianus.It is 35mm high and has four chestnut colored band on the shell.Viviparids breathe through a gill and lack a siphon.
Lymnaeidae-Pond snails Some species are mentioned later in this list,like the genus Radix.They have brown or blackish bodies and tall pointed spires.The tentacles are triangular and used as gills.They do not well in water with a high temperature and are short lived.They may carry worms so be careful when handling them.
Physidae-tadpole snails These snails are often seen on aquariumglass.They have a thin shell and are sinistral snails,their mouth being on the left side.Physella is a common genus in Northern-Europe.
Thiarids-Malaysian live-bearing snails These snails have slender ,high pointed spires and are all female.They are good for cleaning the bottom of the aquarium and are active mostly at night.Melanoides tuberculata is a species often seen.It is about 36mm in height and has a brown shell with reddish spots . For the classification of freshwatersnails go here.
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