River mollusks: snails and double -legged in the aquarium

Bivalves and other river mollusks, such as snails, make interesting aquarium additions. They provide useful advantages in addition to their distinct visual appeal. Their innate tendencies can support the general health of the aquatic ecosystem by preserving a wholesome tank environment.

Aquarists tend to overlook these creatures, but they present a fascinating way to add diversity to your aquarium. Bivalves filter the water, keeping it cleaner and healthier for other inhabitants, while snails are great cleaners because they feed on algae and leftover food.

It’s important to know these mollusks’ unique requirements and how they interact with other species before adding them to your aquarium. With this knowledge, you can design an aquatic habitat that is healthy and balanced for the benefit of all its inhabitants.

Where to get mollusks

• Tentacia bitinium (Bithynia tentaculata);
• Pond snail (Lumnaea stagnalis);
• Viviparous meadow dace (Viviparus viviparous);
• Theodoxus fluviatilis;
• Physa fontinalis;
• Dreissena polymorpha;
• Toothless duck, fish (Anodonta anatina).

These omnivorous, rather inconspicuous species of freshwater inhabitants won’t cause any issues. However, you can’t just throw them in with the other fish in the shared aquarium. Water snails kept in the house need to be quarantined for a week. It is put in a different water-filled container. Prior to this, the water is treated with specific antibacterial agents. The closest pet store is where you can purchase them.

Preparing the aquarium

You must establish circumstances for river mollusks that are nearly natural in order for them to live normally.

The aquarium should be roomy, with a minimum width of 30 cm. It is filled with clean water and various types of algae are added. Those that thrive in natural reservoirs ought to be included in the group. Vegetation also needs to pre-adapt to indoor aquariums.

In a home aquarium, the water temperature should be between +18 and +28 degrees Celsius. When the temperature drops below +18 °C, you should turn on the heater. Snails slow down and hibernate in water that is too cold for them to survive. As a result, keeping the water at a normal temperature is crucial.

An appropriately designed lighting system is a crucial part of the mollusk habitat. Purchasing water filters that are clean is also advised.

A river snail’s lifespan is five years on average. However, a lot of the time, adult river snails that enter a home aquarium die because they are unable to adjust to their new surroundings.

How to feed

How to feed river snails at home is a question that aquarists frequently ask in their forums. Although these mollusks are omnivores in reality, a diet that includes some fruits and vegetables is preferred. Aquarium snails’ primary food source is thought to be:

• plaque present on the walls of the aquarium, on its bottom, stones, plants;
• algae, and their dead parts;
• dry fish food;
• tablet dried algae.

Snails’ primary responsibility in aquariums is to keep an eye on cleanliness. Mollusks thus consume leftover food, fish waste, and rotting plants.

River snails need calcium in their diet at home because it is what makes their shell. Crushed eggshells are the simplest calcium source to give to snails. Additionally, you can purchase a specialized supplement that includes calcium along with other elements required for aquarium mollusks to grow normally.

You can feed a river snail in a different container. At that point, it will be feasible to manage this process and guarantee that it is fed a typical quantity of food.

River snails cannot be fed flour products or leftover food from the communal table because the quality of their diet determines how long they live. Making sure paper doesn’t inadvertently wind up in the aquarium is crucial. River snails perish after consuming it because mollusks’ digestive systems cannot handle the processing of paper.

Bivalves and other river mollusks, such as snails, can make interesting additions to an aquarium because they provide both aesthetic appeal and organic filtration. By eating algae and debris, they contribute to the maintenance of water quality, but in order to maintain a balanced and healthy ecosystem, it’s important to understand their unique care requirements and potential effects on the tank environment.

Bivalves

Mollusks with toothless shells, like mussels, have two valves and gill slits that are used to filter food and oxygen out of the water.

Plankton and other organic particles that are saturated with water are the food source for river bivalves. An adult can filter over 40 liters of water in a single day. As a result, aquariums housing bivalves stand out for having exceptionally pure water.

The nitrogen and phosphorus waste products from bivalves are a great fertilizer for algae, causing them to grow rapidly.

Mollusks occasionally perish from a lack of natural food. Artificial feedings are available, but they are unable to significantly improve the situation.

In aquariums, bivalves can live anywhere from one week to two years. Everything will depend on the quantity of food and the maintenance conditions.

The aquarium is constantly aerated to ensure that there is an adequate amount of oxygen in the water. This snail is unable to breathe by rising to the surface, but it also cannot survive in the absence of oxygen.

For bivalves, overly warm water can also be problematic. Between +18°C and +22°C is comfortable for them.

Nuances of keeping bivalves

Bivalves found in freshwater environments can either develop from larvae or be viviparous, meaning they give birth to offspring that are essentially tens of times smaller copies of themselves.

• Glochidia (parasitic larvae) stick to other aquatic inhabitants and can grow on the body of a fish or a water turtle, for example.
• Veligers (plankton-feeding larvae) can attach to hard objects (snags, stones), so they do not cause much trouble, like glochidia. The latter seriously annoy fish, which is why they often die.

Keeping viviparous mollusks in shrimp tanks is also a good idea, even though the exact details of glochidia and crustaceans coexist are unknown.

Why are river mollusks dangerous?

Potential hosts of helminths and other parasites that can infect fish are river snails.

River snails can be placed in aquariums with only guppies without much fear. Additionally, it is best to avoid taking a chance and to keep mollusks apart if the population in your home pond is more vulnerable to outside influences.

Snails and other double-legged river mollusks add a distinct charm and usefulness to an aquarium. They are beneficial additions to any tank because of their innate behaviors, which include clearing out leftover food and algae.

However, in order to preserve a balanced ecosystem, it’s critical to select the appropriate species and monitor their population closely. Overcrowding and other problems can arise quickly when there are too many mollusks.

You can create a more vibrant and healthy aquatic ecosystem that benefits all of the animals in your aquarium by learning about the needs and behavior of these creatures.

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