Lawn snail (description of the species and maintenance at home)

It’s no longer possible to surprise anyone with aquarium fish. Experienced aquarists want something more original. And such an unusual pet can be the Luzhanka snail - in Latin its name is Viviparus viviparus.

Mollusks quite often end up in home aquariums, without knowing it, people bring them with aquatic vegetation and soil. But it is almost impossible for the snails of the class of gastropods from the viviparidae family considered here to enter the aquarium unnoticed due to their size. The length of the meadow snail reaches 3-4 cm, and the height of its shell is 4.5-5 cm. A photo of the meadow snail clearly demonstrates how large a mollusk it is. The adult carapace has 5-6 convex rounded whorls, separated by distinct sutures.

Keeping in an aquarium

The conditions for keeping and breeding loaches depend on the type of fish. Each species requires special attention and care, but there are general recommendations that will help you arrange your pets in an aquarium:

To grow phenotypes, a spacious tank is purchased so that the fish can move freely without restrictions, and good filtration is also installed.
The substrate is chosen to be fine in size, without sharp or rough edges, because pets love to bury themselves in the ground. It is better not to use sand.
The optimal water temperature is 25–27C, lighting is set depending on the preferences of the fish species and vegetation.
Plants and algae must be planted in the aquarium, decorations, shelters, snags and stumps must be placed so that timid pets feel comfortable.

Loach fish are often kept in a separate aquarium because the phenotype is timid and anxious. When a pet is stressed, it makes unpleasant sounds and squeaks, behaves restlessly, rushes around the pond and buries itself in the ground. However, if desired, pets can be placed with other species, for example, bots or catfish. The main thing is that the size of the reservoir allows it. Also, dense vegetation, shelters and grottoes must be planted in the species reservoir.

How to trim plants correctly

There are two types of haircuts: thinning and “zero”. In the first case, the height of the bushes that have managed to grow is corrected. It is permissible to cut the stems so that their length is no more than 4-6 cm. The scissors should be held straight, almost vertically.

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Zero cutting is carried out only for well-developed and rooted plants. In this case, you need to trim the stems so that stumps no more than 2 cm high remain. After this, the plantings will produce many shoots, which will significantly compact and thicken the “green carpet”.

Content

Gastropods: species with descriptions and photos
Pond snails are excellent for keeping in a freshwater aquarium. To make the mollusks feel comfortable, you will need to create suitable conditions. To do this, maintain a suitable temperature regime and choose the right neighbors.

Maintenance in terrariums and aquariums

Sand or fine pebbles are suitable as soil. In addition, the aquarium must have live plants. Suitable temperature range +19°С+26°С. If the water is colder than the minimum mark, then the animals will slow down all life processes. They stop reproducing.

The snail has a delicate body

Any container is suitable for storage. It is recommended to avoid excessive proliferation. With increased crowding, infectious diseases cannot be avoided.

The snail has a delicate body. Therefore, moderate lighting is chosen. Otherwise, burns will occur. Animals are unpretentious in care, but do not forget about the hygiene of the general aquarium. Water is changed weekly - 30% of the total volume. The soil is siphoned as it gets dirty. They clean the glass. Filtration and aeration work around the clock

Nutrition and mineral supplements

This type of snail belongs to plant mollusks. They clean the aquarium perfectly. Pond snails at home eat food left over from fish. They can destroy algae on plants, driftwood, and other decorations. They will not refuse the dead inhabitants of the underwater world.

As supplements you can give:

lettuce leaves;
cabbage leaves;
cucumbers;
pumpkin;
tomatoes;
zucchini.

During life, the shell becomes fragile and is subject to destruction. For this purpose, mineral additives are used - chalk, eggshells.

This type of snail belongs to plant mollusks

If you place the population in an herbalist, they will feast on tender plants. Only hard-leaved plants will remain intact - Anubias, Echinodorus, and some varieties of Cryptocorynes.

Compatibility with other aquarium inhabitants

A pond fish in an aquarium can get along with almost any type of fish and snails. The exception is predators. Thus, it is recommended to grow shellfish separately or with shrimp. If you plan to keep it in a general aquarium, there should be a lot of hiding places in it.

The following are perfect neighbors:

neons;
mollies;
angelfish;
neon irises;
corridors;
loricaria;
swordtails;
rasboras;
minors;
platies;
thorns;
guppy;
other peaceful small fish.

If you choose the wrong neighborhood, the animal population will be destroyed.

Feeding at home

All mollusks, including the large pond snail, the photo of which is presented below, do not need a special diet. If you place mollusks in a common aquarium where fish live, then aquarists forget about separate feeding for a long time. They perfectly eat the fish food left at the bottom of the aquarium.

The aquarium pond snail is an unpretentious mollusk

In the presence of living plants, they feed on algae and clean plaque from walls, snags, stones, and decorations. Since the shell is susceptible to destruction, mineral supplements are periodically added. They are required to strengthen the shells.

Fresh vegetables are given once a month. For example:

cucumber;
zucchini;
pumpkin;
tomato;
cabbage

If living plants are present, they feed on algae

Vegetables are thoroughly washed under running water. After this, pour boiling water over it. Since such food can float, it is pressed down with a small stone or pierced with a fork.

Diseases

The aquarium pond snail is an unpretentious mollusk. However, it is considered one of the carriers of parasites and fungal diseases. This leads to infection of other inhabitants.

Before releasing any animals and plants, they must be quarantined. To do this, the individual is placed in a separate container with constant aeration and filtration. Observe for 1-2 weeks. Possible diseases are identified.

The pond snail does not need to create special conditions for reproduction

If the mollusks are deficient in minerals, the shell will begin to deteriorate. The diet is balanced. Existing cracks in the shell are eliminated with special preparations.

Conditions for keeping

Meadows breathe through gills, and therefore water quality is of fundamental importance for them. In this regard, this type of mollusk is seriously inferior to the reel. In addition to cleanliness, the water in the aquarium must be well saturated with oxygen.

It is also important to know that viviparous snails prefer cold water; the maximum they can withstand is +24°C. Since heating of aquarium water above the specified limit in an apartment is unlikely, we can say that this parameter can be attributed to the advantages of a lawn as a pet.

Did you know? The demands of meadows on the purity of water and its temperature are somewhat compensated by the resistance with which they can tolerate drought. A case was recorded when a striped lawn survived for ten months in the silt of a dry reservoir, however, to do this it had to bury itself 15 cm into the ground!

Aquariums that are not too deep are most suitable for viviparous snails. The water in them can be of any acidity and hardness, but the presence of a thick layer of soil is necessary, because it is in it that the mollusk obtains its food.

What can you feed snails?

Type of shellfish. class gastropods. class bivalve. class cephalopods

When caring for African Achatina snails at home, it is important to feed them correctly and in a timely manner so that the mollusk grows healthy and does not get sick. Their diet should consist of plant foods, mineral supplements and animal protein

Achatina - proper nutrition and care:

The basis of the diet: lettuce, dandelion, plantain leaves; various greens; shoots of vegetables and grains.
Vegetables: cucumbers, spinach, pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, peas.
Fruits and berries: apples, pears, watermelons, melons, bananas, apricots, plums, strawberries, raspberries, cherries.
Proteins: pureed meat products, fish food, meat and bone meal, boiled egg.
Mineral feeding: feed chalk, eggshells, small shrimp, special mixtures for reptiles, sepia.

There are a number of foods that should not be given to snails. Salt poses a mortal danger to them. We must ensure that it does not enter their diet in pure form or in large quantities. It is prohibited to give gastropods spices, sweet, smoked, spicy or sour foods, or fried foods. You should also avoid pasta, raw potatoes and citrus fruits; the latter do not have a very good effect on your pet’s shell.

Conditions for reproduction

Lawn snail

Most snails are hermaphrodites and do not need special conditions for reproduction. Bisexual snails require two individuals to reproduce. Since it is impossible to determine the sex of the mollusk, you need to buy 4-5 pieces for a guaranteed result.

Snails breed frequently

If you observe snails, you will notice that they reproduce constantly and in large numbers. You need to find owners for the babies in time, they grow quickly and you can lose control over the number of shellfish in the aquarium.

Preparation

You only need to prepare for the reproduction of ampularia; the rest of the snails are hermaphrodites. Bisexuals do not require special training. If the goal is to obtain offspring, then adult individuals need to be placed in a separate aquarium, then they will immediately, without feeling danger, begin to copulate.

For successful gestation and laying of eggs, favorable conditions must be met:

the water in the aquarium should be 24-25 degrees;
avoid changes in water temperature;
give enough food;
introduce complementary foods containing calcium.

If the conditions are met, you can hope for the rapid appearance of healthy offspring. It is necessary to plant ampularia only if it is necessary to preserve the offspring. In a community aquarium, most babies will die. And if breeding is not the goal, then ampullaria can reproduce in a general aquarium.

In this video you will learn more about Triton reproduction:

How do they reproduce?

Same-sex snails reproduce without a partner. One mollusk entering the aquarium is enough, and offspring will be born.

To reproduce heterosexuals, several individuals are needed. Mollusks lay eggs on stones, driftwood, and plant leaves. Species such as melania and helena live in the ground and lay their eggs there.

Ampullaria spawn on the wall or under the lid of the aquarium, above the water level. The female examines the walls and finds a suitable place where she lays eggs. The eggs are large, the process takes about a day. The masonry looks like a bunch of grapes stuck to glass. Three weeks later, the cubs are born and immediately fall into the water.

Care after birth

After the babies go into the water, the aquarium needs to be enriched with oxygen 2 times a day for 20 minutes. Periodically, you need to do a partial water change and promptly remove food debris, dirt and dead snails from the container.

There are a number of diseases in snails

The cubs do not need special feeding. To feed them, crushed fish food and salad greens are quite suitable. There is no need to be afraid of overfeeding; a small ampoule will not eat more than is necessary for growth and development.

Kinds

There are two main types of lawns - real, or river (river snail), and striped, or swamp. It cannot be said that they are fundamentally different from each other, but it should be noted that aquariums usually contain the “striped version” of the mollusk.

Real (river)

River meadows are larger in size (its dimensions were discussed in the previous section), and the main color of their shell is dark brown. These mollusks live in the central and eastern parts of the European continent.

Striped (swamp)

The marsh meadow, as you might guess, prefers standing water to running water. It is smaller than its river relative, but not significantly: the maximum shell height is 4 cm, the minimum is half as much. Habitat: Almost all wetlands in Europe.

The top of the shell of this mollusk is more blunt, but its tip is very sharp, and the outlet is decoratively curved upward. These snails have more spiral turns than river snails: their number ranges from 6 to 7. The gills of this mollusk also have their own differences - there are more outgrowths on their main plate, which makes their structure similar to that of a fish.

Being small in size, these snails have an undoubted advantage over the river variety (from the point of view of an aquarist): their shell has a very bright emerald tint, which gives it a sophisticated and even exotic appearance; sometimes the striped lawn is even confused with the South American ampoule.

The aquariums also contain crabs, catfish, turtles, newts, and snakeheads.

Luzhanki

Lawns (family Viviparidae)

belong to prosobranch mollusks that extract oxygen from water using the gill apparatus hidden under the shell. In our country, the most common are two close, similar species: true lawn (Viviparus viviparus),

living in stagnant waters, and the smaller
striped lawn (V. contectus) -
an inhabitant of flowing waters.

A real lawn is a large snail with a shell in the form of a blunt yellowish-brown cone (height up to 40 mm). Three dark brown stripes run along the whorls of the shell. The hole is closed with a horny cap. The striped lawn has a shell with a blunt apex and an opening pointed upward.

Meadows are usually found in bodies of water with a muddy bottom. Caught from the water, they close the lid of the shell, and after being placed in the water, after a while they open it and push out their dark body, dotted with small yellow specks. With the help of a wide flat leg, the snail slowly moves along the bottom.

Meadows are characterized by water breathing. With a lack of oxygen dissolved in the water, they die much faster than pond snails and coiled fish, which can float to the surface.

When kept in aquariums, lawns are more demanding on water quality than their tropical relatives. They feed on various plant remains that are found at the bottom of reservoirs.

The propagation of lawns is interesting. Unlike pond snails and reels, they are dioecious. Latin genus name Viviparus

(viviparity) indicates that the snail gives birth to live young (other freshwater gastropods lay eggs). Juvenile meadows do not look like adults. Their shell is covered with stiff bristles, which subsequently fall off.

A real lawn; striped lawn

Meadows look like ampullaria. Sometimes at the Bird Market they are sold to inexperienced aquarists under the guise of this tropical mollusk.

Twirly

Vertyachki Vertyachki (family Gyrinidae) are typical aquatic insects belonging to the group

Contents From the author Freshwater hydras Leeches Bryozoans Molluscs Crustaceans

Shellfish

Mollusks Freshwater mollusks are found in almost all stagnant and slow-flowing waters. More

Cancers

Crayfish Other inhabitants of aquariums, crayfish, also belong to the order Decapoda. On the territory

Identification of freshwater mollusc species

Identification of species of freshwater mollusks Table for identification of freshwater mollusks (p. 9

Bryozoans

Bryozoans Some zoologists classify these animals as worms, others as tentacles (B

Nutrition

Meadows are practically omnivorous, they find food in the ground themselves - this is food not eaten by fish, excrement, rotten parts of plants. They do not require any other feeding.

But you can treat them with vitamin fish food. From time to time it is necessary to give finely crushed raw eggshells and pharmacy chalk - they contain calcium, which is useful for strengthening and growing the shell. School crayons should not be given - they contain glue.

One of the advantages of keeping lawns is that, unlike other types of mollusks, they do not eat live ornamental aquatic plants. That is, they do not spoil the aquarium interior created with love by the owner, while doing an excellent job as soil cleaners and orderlies of the surrounding aquatic environment.

Reproduction

Reproduction of loach representatives usually occurs in summer or spring. The phenotype reaches sexual maturity at four years; during spawning, future parents are intensively fed in order to produce offspring. The female lays over 30 thousand brown eggs in algae or soil, which easily stick to the leaves. Six days later, tiny squeakers measuring 5 mm in size are born, which develop rapidly: after a year, the fry already reach 4 cm. Babies begin to search for food independently already in two weeks old.

Loach fish are interesting representatives of the aquatic world, which differ in body shape, color and restless behavior. Squeakers are fascinating to watch, and their movements are smooth and graceful. However, pets, despite their similarity with snakes or eels, can not only diversify the appearance of the aquarium, but also benefit the owner by warning about possible weather changes.

Description and characteristics

Representatives of the loach family are distinguished by their activity and long, snake-like body. The largest wild phenotype reached 35 cm in length; domestic species of loaches are much smaller. In their natural habitat, loaches live in muddy, swampy lakes and ditches with dense vegetation, and often rise to the surface of the water to inhale oxygen. At the same time, the fish emits a characteristic squeak, which is why the phenotype is nicknamed the squeak.

The color of the fish is predominantly gray-yellow, the back is brown, the belly is scarlet or yellow. The loach fish either has tiny, barely noticeable scales, or does not have them at all. Thanks to the mucus secreted by the squeak, the fish can easily move and dig in the ground without fear of damaging the body.

Description of appearance:

body in the shape of a cylinder, compressed laterally;
fleshy lips and several pairs of antennae;
the abdomen is smooth, straight;
fins are rounded and brown in color.

Representatives of the family prefer to be nocturnal; in the wild they play the role of scavengers or orderlies, but there are several large species that are classified as predators. Loach fish can breathe both atmospheric air and oxygen dissolved in water. In the aquarium hobby, there are three popular varieties of squeakers:

The spined lance is a fish up to 10 cm long with a light yellow body color.
Amur loach - the color of the phenotype is chestnut or copper, grows up to 18 cm.
Common squeaker - the size of the individual varies from 15 to 30 cm, the color depends on the habitat.

Domestic indoor peepers live on average 6–7 years.

Maintenance and care

The lawn snail and the coil are equally loved by aquarists for their ease of maintenance and beauty. But the former are bottom-dwelling mollusks, they breathe oxygen dissolved in water, so they do not rise to the surface of the water for a breath of air. Because of this, water quality is important to lawns. If the aquarium water is not sufficiently enriched with oxygen, these snails die.

The water should be cold enough, not warmer than +24°C.

Recommended aquarium parameters: shallow, with a thick layer of soil at the bottom (lawn fish burrow into it and thus obtain food).

If not maintained properly, the meadows become diseased and become dangerous to the entire fauna of the home aquarium.

general description

The pond snail has a well-developed shell, twisted to the right. The front part of the body is visible from the shell. The head is wide, with a pronounced cervical interception. The surface of the body that comes into contact with water is completely covered with small cilia.

The pond snail has a well-developed shell, twisted to the right

Movement is carried out with a powerful flat leg. It's long enough. In times of danger, the leg closes the hole in the shell where the snail hides. The sole secretes mucus required for movement.

The pond snail is the most common type of aquarium snail.

Pond snails are classified as pulmonary snails. Therefore, they need air to live. Breathing is carried out through the lungs. To renew the air, the individual must rise to the surface of the water. During inhalation, you can hear squelching sounds, which are called the voice of pond snails.

Natural enemies of lawns

Most types of aquarium ornamental fish do not touch adult specimens. But many of the fish popular among aquarists eat newborn babies with pleasure. These include gouramis, clown loaches (macracanths) and marble loaches, cichlids and geophaguses.

But the deadly enemy of the harmless lawn is the freshwater predatory snail Helena. These mollusks are capable of eating even large adult meadows. To feast on it, Helena sucks the lawnwort's body out of its shell and devours it.

Popular types of aquarium snail

ampularia - this American freshwater mollusk is found in almost every aquarium and is notable mainly for its rather large size;
The horned freshwater snail is popular due to its appearance: a bright shell with black and yellow stripes, on which horn-like growths stand out. Moreover, its “horns” are quite effective protection against human importunity: if you take the mollusk in your hands, the injection will be quite painful;
Helena is a freshwater predator, she is bred to eat other snails;
Batman is an excellent glass cleaner, suitable for salt water aquariums;
devil's thorn - features a magnificent conical shell. It is preferable to keep it in an aquarium with salt water, in the company of relatives and without fish, otherwise the mollusk will constantly hide in the ground;
Maryza is the owner of a beautiful round shell, has a peaceful character and gets along well with many types of fish, but is picky about the conditions of detention.

Snail Luzhanka

Amazing things about lawns

Luzhankas are freshwater mollusks that are well adapted to environmental changes:

tolerate long-term drought. There is a known case where a grasshopper survived in a dry pond for 10 months
buried in the ground under unfavorable conditions
are excellent aquarium cleaners
omnivorous organisms, always find food if you do not give them special food
multiply quickly
can sink to the bottom and easily float to the surface of the water

Luzhanki belong to freshwater mollusks

Lawn grass adaptations help them survive in changing environmental conditions.

Appearance and structure

The sink at the lawn is cone-shaped, with thin walls. The coils on the shell are arranged in a spiral. The color of the shell is brown. Alternatively, there may be a greenish tint; three bright brown stripes run across the main background. During life, the shade of the shell may change. Between the turns of the shell there are contrasting stripes of yellow tones. When the grasshopper hides its body in its shell, the mouth of the oval-shaped shell is tightly covered with a lid, which also has clearly visible concentric stripes. The lid itself can be carved, figured or rounded. The body of the mollusk is dark, with golden dots scattered throughout the background.

These spots are a feature of lawns, and inexperienced aquarists sometimes mistake them for a disease.

The head of the mollusk has a noticeably protruding lobe-shaped snout, on which long tentacles are located (they are also called antennae or horns) - at the base of which the mollusk has eyes. When moving, the lawn exposes them in front of itself. In females, the tentacles have the same thickness. And in males, the right tentacle has a characteristic shape. It is rounded and wide, shorter than the left one, this is the copulatory organ of the snail - with it the male copulates with the female and fertilizes her. The meadow eats with its mouth located on the proboscis, in the mouth there is a long narrow grater with three rows of teeth.

Male meadows are smaller than females. In females, the whorls on the shell are more convex, which is why females look more rounded.

The leg of this mollusk is powerful, muscular, flat and wide. There is a groove on the lower surface of the leg. This structure allows the lawn to move slowly but confidently along the bottom topography.

The Luzhanka snail belongs to the comb-gill mollusks - with this structure, the respiratory cavity is located on the back, and is enclosed in one large gill and one small - rudimentary. Water passes into this cavity through a breathing tube.

These snails are often overgrown with algae; a green coating appears on the shells, which completely hides the pattern of the shell. Sometimes the algae grows so much that the shell becomes covered with green fluff.

Lawnworts (Viviparus contectus)

Family: Luzhanok (Viviparidae)

Distribution: Central and Eastern Europe

Description: Luzhanka is a large snail with a spirally curled shell, which has the appearance of a blunt cone, consisting of 5 or 6 turns, the upper (first) whorl is smooth to the touch. The seams are pronounced and clearly visible. Sink height 45 mm, width 30 mm.

The color of the shell is light brown with a greenish tint; the color is influenced by the environment in which it prefers to be. Three dark brown stripes run along the shell whorls, but such stripes may be absent, especially in small mollusks. The sink opening can be tightly closed with a carved, figured and rounded lid. Concentric stripes are clearly visible on this cap.

There are three subspecies, with minor morphological differences: Viviparus viviparus viviparus; Viviparus viviparus costae; Viviparus viviparus penthicus;

Meadows caught from the water lie motionless with their lids closed. But, being lowered into water, the snails after a while open their lids and move their dark-colored body out of the shell. The body of the lawn is dark gray-brown, and golden-brown dots seem to be scattered against this dark background. The head of the meadow is extended in front into a short proboscis, on which the mouth is located. The livebearer breathes using gills. Young meadows are not similar to adults not only in their size, but also in the shape of their shell. The latter appears to be faceted and covered with hard bristles, which subsequently fall off.

The meadow has two long tentacles (horns, antennae), which it puts forward when it moves. Moreover, in the female these antennae horns are of the same thickness, while in the male the right tentacle is greatly expanded. The wide flat leg gives the snail the ability to slowly crawl over underwater objects. Luzhanka belongs to the group of so-called comb-gill mollusks, i.e. in which the respiratory cavity lies on the back and consists of one large gill and a small rudimentary one. In addition, water is carried into this cavity using a special breathing tube.

If the snail gets scared, it compresses the supply of air that is in the lungs and quickly sinks to the bottom because it becomes heavier than the water. On the contrary, if it is at the bottom and there is a need to swallow fresh air, it weakens the pressure on the compressed air, which, by expanding, makes it lighter and raises the snail to the surface of the water.

The temperature of the water, its acidity and hardness do not matter to the lawn: any water is suitable for it. There is only one caveat regarding the lawn: taken from natural conditions, these snails can become carriers of infection or parasites. Therefore, before putting them in a common aquarium with fish, some safety precautions should be taken.

Take a separate jar of water, throw in a couple of crystals of potassium permanganate, stir and plant your lawns there for a week or two. If you don’t have potassium permanganate, you can also use streptocide ground into powder: three tablets per liter of water. After keeping the snail in such quarantine, after 8-10 days you can transplant them into a common aquarium.

Reproduction: Snails reproduce all year round; researchers found females with developed embryos in spring, summer, and even winter.

Eggs fertilized in the female's body develop in her genitals. The meadow does not lay eggs, as most mollusks do, but bears the offspring within itself. In the female of this snail, embryos can be found in the oviducts at various stages of development, which has made the meadow a favorite object for the study of embryonic development. For its ability to give birth to viviparity, the meadow received a second name - viviparity. Newborn meadows immediately begin to lead a lifestyle characteristic of these mollusks. The shells of young snails have a special fringe, which makes the mud shaggy.

Reproduction and lifespan

The Luzhanka snail is a dioecious viviparous mollusk. Future cubs develop in the female and are born not in the form of eggs, but in the form of full-fledged tiny snails, immediately ready to live and feed on their own. When leaving the mother's body, each small snail is immersed in a swollen gelatinous mass. This is the shell of the egg, from which the baby is immediately freed. The shells of babies are covered with stiff bristles, which soon fall out. At one time, the female brings 10-12 children.

In order for the lawns to begin to reproduce, it is enough to acquire only two individuals of different sexes. If a couple does not produce offspring, this may indicate unsuitable living conditions. In this case, you just need to clean the aquarium and completely replace the soil.

The breeding season is year-round. Meadows are very prolific. If the aquarium has become crowded, the population must be reduced artificially. Either catch some of the snails and release them into the natural environment, or add their natural enemies to the aquarium.

The lifespan of meadows is longer than that of other representatives of the gastropod class. In good conditions and with proper maintenance, this snail can live up to 8-10 years.

Taking care of your sink

A healthy and intact shell is an important sign of the health of the mollusk. It requires proper care. In order for the shell to be strong and quickly recover when chipped, the snail must have constant access to calcium supplements (sepia, powdered eggshells, natural chalk without additives).

If the sink is cracked or chipped, treat the damaged surface with an antiseptic to prevent infection. During the healing period, it is better to place the mollusk in a separate tank, provide it with calcium and carefully monitor its nutrition. The snail will heal the damage on its own.

What role do snails play in an aquarium?

The appearance of snails in an aquarium sometimes occurs unnoticed. Observing the life going on there, the aquarist suddenly notices that on the wide leaves, walls, shells or just the ground, a small scattering of pebbles has appeared, hard to the touch and almost black in color. After a few days it becomes clear: these are young snails. In bright light, their reddish or brown color is visible. They move quickly, and at the moment of movement, a tender soft body appears from a dark shell, half of which is a leg.

At the moment of danger, the snail hides itself in a calcined house and waits out the danger there. She recognizes it with the help of a pair of neat horns and eyes located at their base.

The babies are brought into the aquarium along with the soil or vegetation in which the eggs were laid. It is light and hardly visible to the naked eye. Each egg eventually produces a small snail. It burrows into soft soil for its development and growth. After a couple of months, a viable individual appears in the water and begins its activity:

quickly moving along the walls, with its mouthparts it scrapes off mucus and green growths from them, thereby providing a service for maintaining the sanitary condition of the artificial reservoir;
pick up the remains of food intended for fish. By eating this kind of debris that has settled to the bottom, they fight possible decay processes and prevent the release of decay products into the water;
Some species of snails feed on fish carrion, thereby preventing organic water pollution.

But all the described activities are nothing in comparison with the practical benefits of biological regulation of the number of snails themselves.

What to do with eggs

If there are too many eggs in the clutch of Achatina, or new snails are not needed at all, there is a need to control their numbers.

It is very important to prevent the uncontrolled reproduction of these mollusks, given that snails are very fertile. Many of their species are capable of reproducing offspring several times a month

Moreover, each clutch can contain up to 300 or more eggs.

Leaving all the eggs should not be done from the point of view of a humane attitude towards nature. Snails will not be able to live and develop normally in an overpopulated terrarium. And it will simply be impossible to provide them with proper care. Finding so many people willing to shelter a mollusk, even an exotic one, in their home will also not be easy. Especially considering that you will have to do this very often.

When the Achatina snail has laid eggs in the aquarium, the most correct decision would be to get rid of them at this stage, before the babies hatch from them. After all, there is a big difference between freezing eggs and freezing live shellfish.

If you still decide to keep the offspring, over the next 3 - 4 weeks the snails will need to be placed in caring hands, given their ability to grow very quickly. If this is not done, they will need a new spacious terrarium. The old one will become very cramped for the snails. The amount of food consumed by Achatina per day will also increase. Therefore, when leaving offspring, you need to be absolutely sure that they will be able to be accommodated.

The African snail thrives in a terrarium with transparent walls. A spacious aquarium or plastic food container will also suit her. In transparent containers, it is quite easy to see the mollusk clutch, even if it is located at the bottom. Once a week, you need to lift the container and inspect its bottom in order to notice the eggs in time.

Behavior

When a lawn snail gets scared, it compresses its lungs to conserve its air supply. Due to this, its specific gravity becomes greater than water, and it quickly sinks to the bottom. Being at the bottom to inhale air, on the contrary, relaxes the lungs, and the air in them carries the mollusk to the surface.

If a snail is taken out of the water, it will instantly hide in its shell, close the lid of its shell, and will remain in this state until it enters the water again.

Diseases

Arowanas have excellent immunity and are able to adapt to even the harshest conditions. Most often people get sick from improper care or eating contaminated foods:

Overeating and obesity - reduce the portion size and arrange fasting days.
Cloudy eyes and curled gills occur due to poor aquarium maintenance, high pH levels or too low water temperatures. At the first sign of disease, you should clean the aquarium and change the water.
Toxicosis is caused by parasites that fish become infected with from food. The first signs are lethargy, loss of appetite, apathy. If treatment is not started, the fish sinks to the bottom and does not move. Treatment is carried out with salt baths. The aquarium also needs to be cleaned.
Injuries and bruises occur due to fights or fish falling out of the aquarium. The affected arowana is given 30-minute salt baths (1 g per 1 liter of water) three times a day.

Arowana is a fish that brings good luck and prosperity to the home. Its content will not cause any difficulties. But you need to have considerable resources to provide the fish with a large aquarium and high-quality food.

Purchasing recommendations

It is best to buy lawns from pet stores or from experienced aquarists. In these cases, the snails will not have to be kept in quarantine. But you can also catch them yourself in a nearby river. To do this, you will need a net with a long handle, which you need to run along the bottom and scoop up more soil - there will be several snails in it at once. But in this case, the mollusks will definitely need quarantine.

Quarantine conditions

Live-bearing mollusks often carry infections and parasites that are harmful to all inhabitants of the aquarium. As a quarantine, you need to prepare a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Add a couple of crystals to 1 liter of water so that the water turns a barely pink color.

Instead of potassium permanganate, streptocide tablets are suitable - 3 pcs per 1 liter of water. They are ground and stirred until dissolved.

The snails are placed in a bath with an antiseptic composition and kept in it for 7-10 days. After this, they can be safely transplanted into the aquarium.

CARE

As soon as the babies are born, they can be in the same terrarium with adults. They need to be planted only if there is very little space for all the mollusks. The snails then cannot receive adequate nutrition, which affects their growth and development.

If the decision to rehome the babies is made, then you should act very carefully, since their shells are fragile and delicate

Experts recommend dividing Achatina before they become sexually mature. Otherwise, if you miss the moment, uncontrolled mating may result. It is believed that several months after mating has occurred, the female is able to lay eggs, even if there was only one contact.

Keeping and propagating Achatina at home is a very exciting activity that does not require any additional costs and is not accompanied by difficulties. Plus, you can make a profit if you start selling small snails, since they are popular and many people want to buy such a pet for themselves.

Aquarium preparation

In order for river snails to live normally at home, they should create all the conditions for this.

The aquarium must be at least 30 cm wide; they can live alone or together with other inhabitants.

Clean water at room temperature is poured into the container, and any plants, including duckweed, are placed. The water temperature is not higher than +28, but not lower than +18. If there is a possibility that the water will cool below the established norm, then it is better to use a heater. The temperature regime must be observed, since at low temperatures mollusks can slow down their vital activity and hibernate.

Important! The lifespan of mollusks is 5 years, but if the water temperature is maintained from +19 to +25, this time can be increased.

Mollusks should select the necessary lighting and install filters to purify the water.

Types of lawns

Meadows belong to the class Gastropods, subclass Prosobranchs, and family Viviparidae.

Lawn snails are relatively large inhabitants of fresh water bodies

large sizes up to 4 cm
conical sink with right-hand twist
horny operculum
dark stripes in the form of longitudinal lines

The family includes two genera - Viviparus and Contectiana, the representatives of which have different shell shapes, radulas and the location of egg capsules in the uterus. Below are common types of lawns.

Real river

The viviparous or viviparous meadow (Viviparus viviparus) is a small mollusk measuring 2-2.5 cm, dark brown in color with a pointed apex. It is found at the bottom of reservoirs with running water and reservoirs.

Striped marsh

Viviparus contectus, size 2-4 cm and the top of the shell is dome-shaped. It lives on the bottom and is rarely found on the leaves of aquatic plants. Prefers bodies of water with stagnant water - lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes.

Similar species

The species Viviparus georgianus is similar to the lawn viviparus. It is included in the German Red List and has the status of “endangered”. The mollusk feeds on green algae and detritus.
The Ussuri viviparus (Viviparus ussuriensis) is a large snail 4.5–6 cm with a thin-walled shell with a sharp tip. Longitudinal ribs and transverse lines are visible on the horny surface. The rounded, ovoid opening has an acute angle at the top. Lives in Primorye, the Amur River basin, prefers river floodplains. When kept in aquariums, it requires good water aeration. It feeds on the remains of organic matter, dead fish, and detritus.
Viviparus Vistulae has a variable shell shape, usually cube-shaped or spherical. The apical angle is slightly more than 100 degrees. On the last lower whorl below, the brown stripe is far from the midline.
Viviparus ater is an Italian river snail with an almost spherical shell, an inhabitant of reservoirs with fast or moderate currents. Settles in shallow waters with higher aquatic plants. Included in the Red List of Rare Species of Switzerland.
Viviparus sphaeridius is about 4.5 cm in size, with five whorls, the width of the last whorl is not more than 0.88 cm.

Description of the snail

The viviparous shell has the shape of a cone with a rounded top measuring 4 cm and an opening 3 cm wide. The number of whorls is 5-6, they are convex with a beautiful relief pattern and twisted to the right. The mouth is oval in shape without thickening. The horny operculum with concentric stripes completely covers the entrance.

The viviparous shell has the shape of a cone with a rounded top.

Males are smaller in size, while females have expanded coils on the shell. Juveniles are almost spherical in shape with 3 rows of bristles arranged in a spiral; they have clearly defined edges. As they grow older, the bristles fall off. The soft body is dark in color with yellowish spots. The head has a lobe-shaped snout pushed forward.

Appearance and structure

Meadows are distinguished by dark brown, red-brown, brown, yellow-brown or light brown coloration of the horny cover. Some individuals have a greenish tint. The whorls on the shell have three dark brown stripes, but such lines are not always present in young snails. In an aquatic environment, the shell is covered with a layer of algae, which masks the characteristic stripe pattern.

Some individuals have a greenish tint

Sometimes algae cover the shell in a continuous layer, forming a delicate green fluff. The head has a proboscis with a mouth opening equipped with a long and narrow grater. The radula is dotted with three rows of small denticles. The tentacles serve as organs of touch and extend forward.

The head has a proboscis with a mouth opening

The male differs from the female in the presence of a strongly thickened right tentacle, which is necessary for reproduction. The eyes are located at the base of the tentacles. The muscular and massive leg with a groove on the underside is adapted for moving along the surface of aquatic plants.

Habitat and distribution

The habitat of livebearers stretches from the western borders along the Atlantic coast to the central regions of Eurasia. In the north, this species is found in southern Norway and Sweden. In Russia, the range extends through the Ob river basin in Western Siberia. Mollusks prefer fresh, clear water in bodies of water with moderate currents. Usually found at depths of 2 to 7 meters. They inhabit shallow areas of floodplains of large rivers, channels, and are found on sandy soil, silt deposits, and in thickets of aquatic plants.

Behavior

In reservoirs, livebearers easily sink to the bottom, compressing their lungs. The specific gravity of the animals becomes greater than the mass of the water and they quickly sink. At the bottom, the mollusks relax their lungs, the volume of air increases and they float up. When the snail is pulled out of the water, it pulls its soft body inside and does not show itself until it is back in its habitat. Gastropods crawl along the substrate, contracting the muscles of their wide and flat legs. In case of danger, they hide inside a protective cover.

In reservoirs, livebearers easily sink to the bottom, compressing their lungs

Meadows extract oxygen for respiration from the water of the gill apparatus located in the mantle cavity. Therefore, they can only live in environmentally friendly water bodies. These are cold-resistant organisms, so they cannot tolerate too warm water. For the winter, they bury themselves in muddy bottom sediments and cover them with a lid. But in severe winters, when the reservoir freezes to the bottom, most of the mollusks die.

Lifespan

Luzhanki live longer than other gastropods - 8, maximum 10 years.