Every aquarist will tell you that sometimes controlling the number of snails becomes almost impossible. The fact is that they fall along with the soil or the roots of plants, and after a while they begin to multiply actively. Nobody insures against such problems, but this does not mean that it is unrealistic to cope with the problem. The predatory snails of Helen in this matter can be invaluable, and help control the number of uninvited guests.
Aquarium snail helen
The main feature of this snail is its diet: it feeds exclusively on protein foods. In other words, she will not touch the plants, but other her relatives are quite capable of overtaking. However, do not rush to worry that these inhabitants of the aquarium are able to swallow anything that moves. Pisces they simply will not catch up, and large mollusks also will not disturb. And just those small snails that enter the aquarium by chance and spoil the appearance of algae and the quality of water, they are capable of exterminating.
Everyone knows melania , which is brought with the ground, one of the favorite dishes is helen. But large species such as Neretin , Ampularia or Teodoxus are completely safe. The only thing that has to be controlled is the presence of small individuals of these species, because their helen can be swallowed.
What to feed helen except snails?
Now it becomes clear why the content of the Helena snail in general can become interesting for the aquarist: these are the real helpers. But what should you do if your pet food is processed by your pet? For the maintenance of the snail helenas frozen food such as daphnia or bloodworm is quite suitable.
In extreme cases, it is always possible to offer snails chicken minced meat, it will definitely not be abandoned. It is logical to assume that this species is dangerous for small fish or shrimp. However, in fact, this is not so: the prey just need to catch up, and in this case, the helenas are completely safe. But caviar or fry, a dead fish is quite fit for lunch. That is why it is unacceptable to spawn in a common aquarium where there are these snails.
Predatory snails of Helen in your aquarium
If you are asked to multiply a snail Helen, you need to consider some points:
- these snails are different sexes, however, it is almost impossible to determine the sex, so watch closely the individuals who crawl for a while in pairs (most likely this will be the pair you need for further breeding);
- Only one egg is deposited at a time, it is very easy to detect it because of its appearance: it has a small shell of a square shape;
- for reproduction you do not have to create favorable conditions, it is enough to keep the temperature above 20 ° C and provide enough food;
- which can trigger the stopping of reproduction, such as lowering the temperature, too active behavior of fish - the calmer in the aquarium, the higher the probability and speed of reproduction.
After hatching the snail helen will be in the thickness of the soil, and eat the available protein food pieces. And only after reaching a size of the order of 3 mm it will begin to hunt. For a year the pair will give you about 300 eggs if the conditions in the aquarium are as favorable as possible.
Remember that although it is a predator, but it is not possible to radically change the situation in the aquarium for a week. Do not expect that immediately after settling in the aquarium all pests of molluscs will disappear. To do this, it will take about a month, or you will have to populate more individuals. But be assured, through time in your underwater realm there will be absolutely no trace of unwanted guests and the situation will improve significantly.