Melanoides tuberculata, commonly known as Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS), originated from all over Africa and Southern Asia. MTS are generally introduced into fish tanks accidentally by being attached to new plants or used aquarium decorations. They can come in a range of shapes, patterns and sizes. Opinions on MTS are divided with most having a strong dislike to them due to how quickly they breed and take over a tank. However, these snails can also be beneficial. As they move eating detritus and leftover food under the substrate, they are also aerating it. This in turn supports root growth and air exchange which are great in planted tanks.

How Do They Breed

Malaysian Trumpet Snails breed extremely fast, particularly in good tank conditions. The rapid breeding abilities of the MTS is one of the main reasons they are a concern to aquatic tank keepers. One method that works well with our members here is to use some vegetables like a sliced cucumber. Turn the lights off, wait a little while and remove. You can also limit their population growth by being strict with your feeding regime and removing any uneaten food from the tank. Take note though, without the use of a chemical deterrent, which is harmful to your other invertebrates, it will be unlikely that you can remove 100% of them.

What Do They Eat

They are not difficult to feed. Primarily, Malaysian Trumpet Snails consume large amounts of algae and detritus. They are also good scavengers – eating leftover food and fish waste as they burrow underneath the substrate; thus, doing their share of cleaning the tank. They are especially helpful to aquarists who collect messy freshwater fish, including goldfish, and who keeps live plants. No, MTS generally do not eat live plants. You can also supplement their diet by feeding them with leafy vegetables or any plant-based fish food. Just don’t overfeed them as this will cause a snail outbreak.

Water Parameters

These snails are not difficult to care for as they only require minimal attention. If the tank is good enough for your fish and/or shrimp, there is a good chance that it will be fine for them. That said, if you want to get technical, they should be kept in a freshwater tank range with the following water conditions:

• water temperature from 21° C to 26° C
• pH of 7.0 to 7.5

Sources:

Vogler, R. E., Núñez, V., Gregoric, D. G., Beltramino, A. A., & Peso, J. G. (2012). Melanoides tuberculata: The history of an invader. Chapter, 3, 65-85.

  Image credit - @Paul Minett

 Image credit - Nogi

Planorbidae make up a significant portion of aquaitic pulmonate gastropods. In Australia alone, there are over 20 species group taxa that have been described. Their common name, ramshorn snails, comes from the spiral shape of their shells, which looks like a ram’s horn.

Ramshorn snails come in a wide range of colours, including red, brown and black, and they can even be shimmery and translucent in colour. Because of the unique design on their shells and their colour, they can be a welcomed addition to an aquarium, offering vibrant colour and interest. However, oftentimes, these snails inadvertently appear in aquariums, hitchhiking on the live plants and/or accessories that have been transferred from one tank to another. If there is enough food available, these snails can quickly breed and take over an aquarium; but, if they are properly maintained, they can be a welcomed addition, even if their presence was not intended. These snails eat food that is leftover in the water, dead plant material and algae, and as such, they can help to maintain the health and appearance of an aquarium.

Maintaining Ramshorn Snails

Whether you are interested in adding ramshorn snails to your aquarium or they have taken up residence unexpectedly and you decide that you want to keep them, it’s important to understand how to properly maintain them, which fortunately, is easy to do.

They do will in aquariums of various sizes. They are also very adaptable, which means that they can do well in various types of water conditions, though they prefer water that is filtered. Additionally, they do best in tanks that do not undergo sudden changes in their condition. These snails consume algae and food remnants from fish, but they prefer to eat dying and dead plant matter that is shed from live plants. They will also eat dead fish, shrimp or other snails.

Things to Avoid

If you are interested in maintaining Ramshorn snails in your aquarium, you should be aware that there are species of fish that will eat them. The most common predators of Ramshorn snails include bettas, loaches and dwarf puffer fish. Assassin snails will also prey on these snails.

Live Plants

Some people claim that Ramshorn snails destroy their live plants, while others have reported they do not cause any issues. However, in most cases, they do very little damage to live plants, but if a large amount of them are present and there are delicate plants in the aquarium, such as Water Sprite and Cabomba, they can do damage.

Behaviour

Ramshorn snails are peaceful and non-aggressive. They will not cause issues with fish, shrimp or other types of snails in an aquarium. They spend their time moving about the tank eating and adding interesting colour, texture and dimension to an aquarium.

References

Arctos. (n.d.). Retrieved May 7, 2017, from http://arctos.database.museum/name/Planorbidae 

Brown, D. S. (2001). Freshwater snails of the genus Gyraulus (Planorbidae) in Australia: taxa of the mainland. Molluscan Research, 21(1), 17-107. doi:10.1080/13235818.2001.10673736

 Image credit - @Paul Minett

Clea helena is one of the most sought-after species in the aquarium business as it has the capability to hunt down pest snails; thus, helping solve the snail infestation concerns in fish tanks. Except for this, they are a peaceful community tank resident. Keep reading to know more about the assassin snail.       

Appearance

Their shells are conical and are prominent because of their yellow and dark brown stripes – adding a splash of color inside the fish tank.

Unlike other species, it is not possible to tell which a female assassin snail is and which a male is. They breathe by sticking out their siphon – like other snails. Clea helena grows as large as 0.5 inch or 1.3 cm. However, there were reports of finding bigger snails. As the large snails age, they begin to lose the tip of their shell.    

Natural Habitat

Assassin snails are found in Southeast Asia and are native to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. As freshwater aquatics, they occupy small bodies of water like streams and ponds. They prefer to live in areas where there are sandy or muddy substrates. Thus, if you are thinking about placing them in an aquarium, you should be able to reproduce a habitat like these conditions.

Care

It is so easy to look after an assassin snail. Water parameters are not essential, but to best care for them, keep them in water with medium hardness (pH 6.5-7.5). Their appearance may seem to point out that they move slowly but the truth is that they move quickly on any surface. Anyone can notice this particularly when they are hungry – and after they are fed as they disappear immediately.

Feeding

They eat other species of snails and worms, but they also devour anything they can find – including decaying fish and other small or soft-bodied invertebrates. Because of this, they do not give aquarists like you a hard time feeding them. If in case the tank has a significant population of snail, then you have nothing to worry about feeding them. Other aquarists feed them with brine shrimp, frozen blood worms and others.

Breeding

Some snails contain both the female and male reproductive organs. When they mate, they can produce eggs or young. However, these assassin snails are born a female or a male. Because you can’t tell their sex, buy 5 or 6 of them so you can at least be sure that you will have a male and a female. They mate for about 3 to 5 hours before they separate. Shortly thereafter, the female assassin snail will lay eggs (up to 4). These eggs, in a gelatinous square with a yellow centre appearance, emerge in a straight line.

Feed them meaty food as it helps in good reproduction.

Lifespan

Clea helena can live around two years, but make sure that the aquarium is well-maintained and they can easily exceed this lifespan.

Sources

Clea helena (assassin snail)

Clea helena 

Wikipedia

Image Sources

PKMousie Flickr cc

Spiny Marsh Snail

The Spiny Marsh Snail is an Australian native that is rarely found in the trade. This is a shame as it has an interesting shell shape and is well suited to aquarium life, providing a few simple conditions are met.

The Spiny Marsh Snail was first described by Linneaus in 1758 as Helix amarula, with a subsequent remaining of the genus to Melania in 1822, and finally to Thiara in around 1943. It is found from the east coast of Africa, through Madagascar, north to the Philippines, through the Solomon and other Pacific Islands, and along the north-eastern coast of Australia (See Schutt & Glaubrecht, 1999 for a global distribution map). Given this widespread distribution, it is surprising that its distribution in Australia is limited. It is found from the Bloomfield River (south of Cooktown) to approximately 100km south of Cairns. Thus it is limited to around 6 major tributaries.

The Spiny Marsh Snail is found in the lower freshwater sections of rivers, generally just above the tidal range. It is probably tolerant to low levels of salt as it would be exposed to brackish conditions in drought years, and therefore may be suitable for brackish aquaria. This requires further investigation.

In its natural habitat, the Spiny Marsh Snail is found amongst rocks and pebbles, but also sandy areas, which is where I found them in the Johnstone River. In aquaria, they regularly bury themselves, especially when exposed to bright light. However in low light, or if the tank is densely planted or shaded, they are happy to move on top of the substrate and even climb the walls. This makes them useful for removing dead spots in substrates, but may mean they could dislodge plants in heavily planted aquaria, but I have not kept them under these conditions – something to watch for.

I have noticed they are particularly active at night and may graze algae from the glass during this time. I've seen no indication that it eats plants, and indeed plants are generally absent from its natural habitat, other than Vallisneria or Aponogetons. They happily eat prepared foods (shrimp/fish food) as well as some greens (cucumber/zucchini). However, they seem to spend most of their time grazing.

The Spiny Marsh Snail grows to a maximum size of approximately 50mm, perhaps slightly larger. From what I've seen, they are fairly slow growing and long lived. This makes them excellent candidates for aquaria, because unlike other pest snails, it makes it easier to control their numbers. Indeed breeding in aquaria is unlikely because it is thought the Spiny Marsh Snail releases planktonic larvae that move into the brackish/salty areas of rivers before migrating back up the river to settle. However, the true breeding habits of this snail are still unknown and present a challenge for aquarists. Nevertheless, these characteristics make it unlikely that the Spiny Marsh Snail would ever be a pest in aquaria.

One condition that seems to be an absolute must for this snail is that pH needs to be 6.5 or above. In acidic conditions (pH < 6.0), the shell dissolves and the snails refuse to come out of their shells. If your snails are not active, check your pH. That said, this doesn't mean that they require lots of dissolved minerals (e.g. calcium carbonate). The TDS of the Johnson River where I found these was only 28 ppm at the time, so Spiny Marsh Snails may be the perfect tankmates for Neocaridina shrimp (cherries) and Australian native shrimp, but less so for Caridina (crystals, bees, etc.).

So if you are after a snail that is good looking, hardy, a good algae eater, turns over the substrate, easy to feed, won't bloom into a pest population, is native and presents a breeding challenge, I highly encourage you to track down some Spiny Marsh Snails. Why not try a biotope tank with Vallisneria or Aponogetons and Caridina gracilirostris?

Some additional material worth reading.

Field trip to Johnson River, Queensland Australia with habitat description and pictures.

http://www.naturkund...brecht_1999.pdf

Atlas of Living Australia – shows the collection points of Thiara amarula in Australia.

http://bie.ala.org.a...e-f394430ec676#

Australian fresh water snails belong to the master group "Gastropoda" ( Snail)

Gastropoda have a unique feeding structure called a "Radula" a special cartilage type structure lined with tiny teeth that the snail uses for rasping and scraping food from rocks etc.

Freshwater snails have several methods of breathing underwater. Some have gills located within a mantle cavity inside the shell, others obtain oxygen from air filled spaces within their bodies and some have peripherally placed branches which the snail brakes the water surface with to obtain air ( a bit like a snorkel)

Snails grow their own shells by depositing a calcareous material along the periphery of the shell opening.

Snails move by producing a waterproof mucus lubricant under the flat part of their foot and by using a series of muscle contractions allows them to "Slide" across the surface of the substrate.

Gastropods play an important role in the freshwater ecology by breaking down dead animal and plant matter.

fresh water snails are mainly scrapers, and scavengers some might be predators as well. These snails can be found in a wide range of still and flowing waters, from coastal to inland streams, rivers , pools ,billabongs and dams throughout Australia.

Freshwater snails can be collected from weed and algae beds in shallow still water and from the soft muddy bottoms of flowing waterways. Several species of Australian freshwater snails can be found living in temporary pools in the central parts of Australia. They are thought to be able to withstand short periods of drought by burrowing under the silt and secreting a calcified plug known as an 'Epiphragm" to seal the opening of their shell to save moisture.

Some freshwater snails are omnivorous, but most are herbivorous , grazing on plant material and detritus. They are especially fond of algae film coating on submerged surfaces..

Many Gastropoda are 'Hermaphrodites" having both male and female reproductive organs They produce eggs that are typically laid in a gelatinous mass attached to the substratum. however a small number of species do bear live young.

NOTOPALA - Australian River Snail

Notopala River Snails are native members of the family "Viviparidae" and are predominately found in the Northern Tropic areas of Australia. Their distribution include the drainage basins of North and Central Australia and most of the S.E areas of Queensland and N.S.Wales. Notopala inhabit rivers, permanent water ,billabongs and can also be found in short lived water holes. They are usually collected from along the banks of the water way, under logs , rocks and in the mud on the bottom. They are thought to be able to survive short periods of drought by burrowing and sealing the shell opening.

Notopala are large snails resembling the "mystery snail"However they don't lay eggs. Their young are brooded by the female to the crawl-away stage before they are released. The young stay with the mother until they are large enough to fend for themselves. The word used to describe this is "viviparous ( live bearing snail)

Notopala snails have an inverted cone shaped shell, ranging in colour from brown to a greenish brown can have darker spiral bands. With the limited Genetic divergence and lifestyle of these animals , suggest that the Notopala species possesses very limited dispersal. Many are confined to a very small range or even one single waterway.

The body of this animal is similar to other snails but has a prominent snout , short eye storks on the outside of the tenticles.

As filter feeders the Notopala feed on bacteria suspended in the water and also grazes on bacterial "biofilms" that occur on hard surfaces in free flowing water, They are also good grazers grazing on algea growing on any submerged surfaces.

There is an amount of confusion as to the number of species of Notopala in Australia The genus is currently under review. preliminary studies estimate that the number of species could be around 18 .The Australian Faunal Directory lists 12 species and sub species..

Two Species well known to collectors and keepers are the Notopala Waterhousei ( Waterhouse Snail)

and Notopala Essingtonensis ( Essington Snail)

Dave Wilson from ********* provides the following information for the keeping of these animals.

Waterhouse Snail (Notopala waterhousei) The water quality for these snails does not appear critical but they do appear to fare better if the water is a little hard. They also do not toerate low dissolved oxygen levels , this is never a problem in a well run planted aquarium. In some of his very soft water ponds they have difficulty producing shell. the snails do well eating bacteria slime and algea growing in aquariums and do very well in aquariums with plenty of detritus. DOES NOT EAT LIVING PLANTS!

Essington Snails ( Notopala Essingtonensis) The water for these snails needs to be hard and alkaline suggest PH of 7.5 to 8.0, and a hardness of about 200 ppm They eat bacterial slime and periphyton and detritus in aquariums. The snails do very well with detritus as long as the water is hard, If the water is soft or acid their shells erode. like its larger relative it DOES NOT EAT LIVING PLANTS! hides during the day and ventures out at night to feed.

References used :- Dave Wilson ********* www.*********.com.au

Identification and ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates www.mdfrc.org.au

Adrian R Tappin Jan 2011 Notopala - Australian River Snails http;//aquaticlife.angfaqld.org.au