How to get rid of brown snails in an aquarium. Helena snail: is a predatory mollusk needed in an aquarium?

Before starting the gastropod control process, you should clean the aquarium. This is necessary in order to get rid of eggs deposited in algae, as well as in tank decorative items. During the cleaning operation, the inhabitants of the aquarium should be moved to another container. Simply catching the gastropods from the tank will not be enough, since the offspring remain in the form of eggs. If they are not removed, fighting snails will be pointless. There are several ways to get rid of snails. Each of them has a number of advantages and disadvantages. Among the main methods are control using chemical, mechanical, and biological control agents. The method using traps also shows good results.

Biological control agents

The essence of this method is the introduction of direct enemies of gastropods - crustaceans or fish - into the aquarium. They eat shellfish.

To remove coil snails you will need to purchase predators. Helps great. She eats her own kind, but much smaller in size. For fish, this type of predator is absolutely harmless, since they only eat their own kind and insects.

An excellent way to get rid of aquarium snails is to introduce some types of fish that feed on gastropods into the tank. This task is accomplished by:

Cichlids.
Gourami.
Tetradons (for example,).

The latter are the most progressive, since they have strong bone plates in place of teeth. With their help, the fish can easily bite through the shell of gastropods. They are aggressive fish and at the time of hatching the mollusks, the remaining inhabitants should be moved to another aquarium.

Macrobrachium (one of the representatives of arthropods) also copes well with the destruction of gastropods.

Chemicals

Is the most in an effective way in the fight against gastropods, but has a number of nuances. The products contain copper, which is toxic to them. Manufacturers claim that it does not provide negative influence on other inhabitants of the aquarium, but it is better to play it safe and temporarily move the fish into a separate container.

One of the effective remedies against snails is the chemical drug “Thunderstorm”. You can buy it at any pet store. It should be used only as a last resort, as it quickly kills all snails, which negatively affects the biological balance of the aquarium.

You can make the chemical yourself if for some reason it is not available in the pet store. To do this you will need copper sulfate.

To begin, move the inhabitants and plants into a separate aquarium.
Next, you need to dilute 0.4 grams of copper sulfate per 10 liters of water.
Turn on aeration in the aquarium.
After several hours, remove the dead snails, clean the tank and change the water.

Mechanical controls

It is the most labor-intensive, since its effectiveness directly depends on human actions. Helps completely remove snails from the aquarium or reduce their numbers to a minimum.

It is necessary to pull out large mollusks from the tank with your hands, and crush small ones against the walls. Removing gastropods in this way is ineffective. If there are plants, their reproduction will continue, since eggs remain on the stems and leaves. To get rid of small shellfish, you need to remove plants and decorative elements from the aquarium. Next, clean them of eggs and gastropods themselves. Small snails in the aquarium may be on air compressor hoses or other equipment, so you should be careful when cleaning.

Traps

Is one of unusual methods catching snails. You can buy a trap at a pet store or make it yourself. To do this you will need scissors, a ball, a plastic bottle, several stones, and snail bait.

You need to take a small bottle.
Place weight stones and bait on the bottom.
Place a balloon on the neck of the bottle.
Cut using scissors top part ball so that only a tube 3–4 cm long remains.
Place the protruding part of the ball in a bottle and fill it with water.
Lower the device into the aquarium.

Purchased traps are based on the fact that their doors open only into the device. Once there, the snail cannot get back out. Such structures are easy to assemble, but help actively fight gastropods. Store-bought traps are dangerous for fish. Often they swim in there faster than snails, but cannot get out.

Preventive measures

Clean the aquarium soil regularly.
Do not overfeed the fish, as snails feed on leftover food.
Get fish that use shellfish for food.
Get rid of excess gastropods in a timely manner.
Do not use plants from local bodies of water.
Clean algae to get rid of laid eggs.
Use traps or other methods to control gastropods.

Content:

The most interesting representative of snails in aquariums is the Helena snail. Her “trick” is that she is a predator, and her favorite delicacy is other mollusks. This is why aquarists turn to Helen when their aquariums become overrun with snails.

Helena is native to Southeast Asia. The snail lives in fresh water clean rivers, lakes and ponds with sandy and muddy bottoms. IN aquarium conditions The snail adapts perfectly. Keeping Helena is not a big hassle: she is easy to feed and breed.

Description

Helena snail is not only great way get rid of mass gathering shellfish in the aquarium, but also its real decoration. The cone-shaped shell is painted with dark brown stripes alternating with bright amber. Such flashy colors seem to warn of the danger of surrounding inhabitants. The body is grayish-green, dotted with black specks. Adults reach sizes of 1.5 - 2 centimeters.

The structure of the body is distinguished by an elongated leg and a breathing tube. When the cochlea is in motion, the tube is always extended. Compared to other snails, Helena moves quite quickly - after all, it is a predator and must keep up with its prey. After finishing the meal, the snail buries itself in the ground, leaving only the tip of its shell on the surface, and rests, digesting the food.

It is most active in the evening and at night. During the day he prefers to sleep, hiding at the bottom. They live on average from 1 to 3 years. Reproduction is possible at the age of about six months.

Like many snails, Helena is unpretentious, and its maintenance does not require much expense.

Temperature: above 20 degrees. The optimal temperature will be between 21-25 degrees. If the temperature drops below 20, Helena will not be able to reproduce and will begin to refuse food.
Hardness: Helena will take root in an aquarium with medium-hard water. Soft water will cause the shell of the mollusk to break down.
Acidity: 7-8 pH
Aquarium volume. For the full existence of one snail, about 5 liters are needed. But it’s still better to provide the mollusk with more space - about 20 liters.
It is ideal to use sand or fine gravel as soil. As mentioned above, Helena loves to bury herself in him. If the soil is large, the snail will be deprived of this pleasure. In addition, soft soil is necessary for snail breeding.
If you have just purchased little Helenas, you should not put them in a community aquarium. Give them time to get stronger: babies will not be able to find enough food. Wait until they grow to about 1 centimeter.

Feeding

The Helena snail is a big fan of mollusks such as coils, physes and, less commonly, melania. Having chosen a victim, Helena extends her proboscis with a mouth opening directly into the shell and begins to literally suck out the contents, ultimately leaving an empty shell. It does not attack larger snails, such as ampullaria or tilomelania, because it simply cannot handle it. The predatory snail does not touch even very small snails, into whose shells the proboscis simply cannot fit.

Helena can and should be fed with additional food, especially if she was not bred to eat brooding snails. They eat up the remnants of fish food and actively feast on bloodworms, frozen shrimp, and catfish food. In nature, Helena often feeds on carrion. This is also possible in an aquarium - very sick or dead inhabitants may well be eaten by a snail.

Compatibility

Helena is only a threat to small snails. She gets along with fish quite normally, and if she attacks, it is only on a very sick and weakened individual. Swift shrimp are also not on Helena’s list of victims, but, as in the case of fish, weak representatives that have not tolerated molting well can become a target. Rare species It is better to keep shrimp separately.

Like many snails, Helena eats fish eggs, but it does not touch the fry: they are usually very nimble, and the snail simply will not catch up with them.

Good news for aquarium plant lovers! Many snails, when there is a lack of food, begin to attack algae, causing serious harm to them. Helena snails are completely indifferent to plants.

In some cases, the “population” of the aquarium is reduced in a natural biological way. An example of an event is Operation Helena the Snail. During it one biological species snails are destroyed by other, small, weak ones. Action brings benefits. Watching the process is fascinating. The main thing is that the action helps regulate the number of multiplying living creatures (coil snails).

General characteristics

Aquarium life is characterized by self-regulation. Helena the predatory snail leads unusual image life. Features of food: relatives, smaller in size. Helena is a native Southeast Asia. In nature, it inhabits lakes and ponds. Prefers running water to stagnant, cloudy mixtures.

The native home is sandy, silty substrates. An adult snail likes to burrow into the ground and wait out the daytime. Parental instinct implements a similar tactic: when babies mature, they remain in a buried state.

Aquarium life began recently, a decade ago. Helena managed to gain popularity. The ability to safely clean the aquarium of multiplied coils within 2-3 months is a valuable individual feature.

The appearance of the predator is attractive. The size of the shell does not exceed 20 mm, the color is considered bright, flashy - yellow range alternating with dark brown, amber stripes running in a spiral. Often the design is decorated with black dots, making the appearance attractive. Interesting appearance complemented by the cone-shaped shell.

The body of the snail itself is gray-green, similar in appearance classical types, can be invisible in photos and videos.

The difference between snails is their ability to move quickly. It is necessary to catch up with the prey when hunting, you cannot fall behind in the thickets of vegetation, and overcome obstacles caused by design elements.

Life home aquarium Helena developed a number of habits:

Soft water is not advisable (it harms the strength of the sink);
loves fresh water, able to adapt to conditions with added salt;
The soil prefers soft, loose (fine gravel, sand), with a consistency close to its native element. Doesn't make it difficult favorite activity– spending time inside the ground;
stagnant water is the key to an uncomfortable stay for Helena. It is better to observe the shift schedule and monitor cleanliness.

It is optimal to place the couple in a 20-liter aquarium.

Life expectancy ranges from one to three years, depending on the conditions created.

The optimal water temperature is 21-23 o C, but fluctuations of 2-3 o C are easily tolerated. Reducing the water temperature below 18 o C will provoke Helena to refuse to eat.

About nutritional features

Living in natural conditions, Helena picks up “snail carrion”, eats it, and survives on this. Can eat fish if they are dead and unable to move.

From the moment she turned gray in the aquarium, her diet included live snails (physa, melania, coils, ampullaria). Having a special device (a tube at the end with a mouth opening), Helena directs it into the shell of a living snail and sucks out all its internal contents, leaving behind a pacifier - a shell, which over time acquires a lifeless gray color.

Helena does not hunt large snails, but the red-brown “small things” can be eaten almost completely by her.

If there is no “live food” in the aquarium, feed predatory helena You can use any food used for fish, including live, plant-based, dry and frozen. You don’t have to worry about shrimp – they are not suitable as food for carnivorous helens.

It’s worth thinking in advance what Helen’s “children” will eat if you buy them at early age and put it into a common aquarium. They will not be able to find food for themselves and will die before reaching adulthood. Therefore, in aquarium farming there is a rule: Helena snails must grow to the size of mature individuals in a separate aquarium, with the availability of special food. In this case, bloodworms, chopped frozen shrimp, and catfish food are suitable.

Reproduction of one's own kind

Adapted to aquarium life, Helenas can reproduce successfully. To do this, they must reach the age of six months.

Unlike coil snails, Helena snails are not hermaphrodites; they are divided according to gender. When you look closely, they become noticeable external differences female and male individuals.

The Helena snail reproduces by mating. It is slow, often involving not only a certain pair of “parents”, but a whole group of snails sticking together.

Even the stage of preparation for reproduction itself is interesting. A pair of “parents” who have chosen each other begin to have close contact. They spend their days practically clinging to each other, taking turns climbing on each other’s backs, as if they were riding horses. It is better to place such a couple in another aquarium in order to provide them with peace at the time of laying eggs.

As fertilization progresses, the female lays a single egg, which she tries to place on a stone, driftwood, or simply a hard surface. Considering that one egg is produced at a time, and even that is not a guarantee of its final development, the reproduction of Helena is a long-term issue.

An egg is a small square bubble with an egg inside. yellow. For ripening, a period of at least 2-4 weeks is required.

Preferring such aquarium inhabitants and being interested in breeding them, aquarists always buy Helen’s company and expect offspring from them.

When the egg reaches the stage of maturation, a young snail hatches from it and immediately buries itself in the ground. Staying there for several months, she further extends the process of obtaining snail offspring. When the size of the snail baby reaches 5-8 mm, it comes to the surface of the bottom and begins an independent life.

What is the best neighborhood?

Keeping Helen involves determining in advance their possible proximity. Compatibility with fish, even very small ones, does not pose a danger to anyone. If you see a scene where a snail eats a fish, then most likely it has already died or become seriously ill. Helena will not catch live moving fish, like shrimp, and she will not even try. She will find something to eat elsewhere.

She can eat fish and shrimp eggs if she finds them and can reach them. Young fish, moving quickly and hiding from danger, are also not of interest. An objective assessment of the degree of benefit or harm from its maintenance is possible with careful monitoring of the number of individuals inhabiting the aquarium and the quality of their life.

About some features

Organizing proper care behind a water house inhabited by snails, aquarists often wonder: will they damage the plants, will they bite young shoots or strong formed leaves?

Such questions arise for a reason. Many types of snails are capable of replacing it with plant food when there is a lack of animal food. They gnaw (if the soft chewing apparatus of their mouth can be called that) available twigs. More often this happens with outdated, rotting leaves. For this reason, debates continue among aquarists: are snails harmful to the plant world?

Regarding Helens, there is a clear opinion: they are not interested in vegetation. They will not replace animal feed with it. This explains the possibility of regulating the number of snails naturally: if there is a lot of food for them, they multiply intensively and quickly increase their numbers. If there is not enough food, they stop laying eggs and reproducing their own kind.

A special feature is night look the lives of such residents. They are active in the evening and at night. They sleep during the day and are practically invisible even at the bottom. At this time they gain strength for night hunting.

The Helena snail is a peculiar, original resident of the water house. This is a predator that devours its own creatures, having adapted to get them even from hard calcified shelters. But this is also a bright character, decorating the water landscape, bringing benefits in its content. Whether to start it or not is a matter of taste, but it will not harm anyone. That's for sure!

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Aquarium snails are beautiful, useful and for the most part do not harm other inhabitants. However, there are times when they reproduce so profusely that they begin to irritate the aquarist. This is especially true for ground snails, such as melania. Getting rid of them completely is not easy, and in this article we will look at the main ways to deal with an excess number of snails.

Snails are gastropods, part of the genus Mollusca, which also includes mussels and clams, and are characterized by a single shell. They move along the surface with the help of one large and muscular leg, eating food with a small mouth. A pair of sensitive tentacles come out of the head and have eyes on them, with the help of which snails study the world. They have lungs to breathe on the surface, gills to breathe underwater, or both.

Most snails are hermaphrodites, that is, they have both male and female genital organs. In most cases, mating requires a pair to lay eggs in a protective mucous film; in an aquarium, they can often be seen under the leaves of plants. Ampullaria are laid large number eggs above the surface of the water, the clutch looks like yellow or orange eggs in a dense, hard heap. Some snails, such as aquarium snails, are viviparous. Aquarium snails are omnivores; they can eat food remains, carrion, and rotting parts of plants. Some large snails can damage delicate plants, but contrary to popular belief, small snails do not damage them.

Snails in an aquarium

A controlled population of snails does not harm the aquarium; on the contrary, the snails eat leftover food, clean algae, and soil snails mix and aerate the soil, preventing it from rotting. Many contain interesting snails - ampularia, which are not very demanding and are not prone to rapid reproduction. However, small snails such as physes tend to reproduce quickly in favorable conditions, and quickly fill the aquarium, covering glass, filters, and plants.

How to avoid snails in your aquarium

Usually, snails enter a new aquarium in the form of eggs or adults, which are transferred along with plants, decor, or when transplanting fish. Check all plants for snails or their eggs, or soak plants in a solution that kills them (Hydra-Tox), even the most careful aquarists have snails. For a balanced aquarium, snails do not pose a threat. Instead of fighting their penetration into the aquarium, it is better to monitor their number; rapid reproduction means some problems in the aquarium.

Growing snail population in an aquarium

The main reason for an excessive number of snails in an aquarium is. Snails devour leftover food and multiply in a quadratic progression. If you are worried about snails, or more precisely their number in the aquarium, check whether you are overfeeding the fish?

Typically, waste accumulates in the soil and serves as a storage area for snails, so the second task is to siphon the soil and remove any remaining food. Snails also eat algae, and if you don't have catfish or similar, it's worth adding them to the jar, creating food competition. In addition, catfish eat snail eggs.

Do snails carry diseases?

Fighting snails with chemical methods

New drugs to control snails can be bought in pet stores and online stores, but still should only be used as a last resort, since it has many side effects. The main problem is that when it works, mass death of snails will disturb balance in the aquarium.

Death will cause a bacterial outbreak, changes in water parameters and fish diseases. Moreover, the chemistry will not kill all snails and their eggs, and they will continue to reproduce by eating the remains of their relatives. Read the instructions carefully, some drugs are toxic to fish and shrimp, also avoid using other aquarium chemicals, they may reduce effectiveness.

Natural method - snail traps

Snail traps are now produced by many brands, but buying them from us is quite difficult. It's easier to do it yourself. The most basic trap for snails is to leave a leaf of scalded cabbage overnight at the bottom of the aquarium, placing it on a plate. In the morning it will be covered with snails, which are easy to remove. By doing this regularly, you will significantly reduce the population.

If fish, for example, catfish, do not allow you to do this, then you can modernize the method. Let's take it plastic bottle, close it, burn or pierce holes in the bottom so that fish cannot get in and snails can easily get in. Inside we put either lettuce, cabbage or other vegetables, preferably scalded, so they will work more efficiently. Fill the bottle and leave. In the morning you will receive a full bottle of snails.

Natural method - fish
Some fish naturally eat snails, and you can use them for control. However, if your fish is sufficiently full, it is unlikely to pay attention to them. Keep them slightly hungry. An excellent snail eater, but he has a bad temperament and is not suitable for community aquariums. Of the less aggressive ones, some species. Also all species that eat snail eggs. To help the catfish in the fight, turn over the decor, driftwood, pots, etc., since eggs are most often deposited under it.

Natural method - predatory snails

Carnivorous snails (Antentome helena) are carnivores and eat other types of snails. IN recent years They have become quite popular and buying them is not a problem. These are beautiful, cone-shaped snails that also look attractive. They grow up to 1.-2 cm. Helenas can snails and even completely destroy them; if this happens, they begin to eat like all snails, although such a diet is not typical for them. Although helenas do not reproduce as quickly as regular snails, they can produce offspring. However, the snail is quite expensive, and if this happens you will not be at a loss.

Myths about snails

Snails pollute the aquarium
Quite the contrary, aquarium snails eat waste, clean surfaces, and destroy. This myth most likely stems from the fact that snails thrive in neglected aquariums that are overfed and poorly maintained.

Snails can kill small fish
Snails are omnivores and will eat anything they can get their hands on. When the fish dies or is already very weakened, the snails instantly gather for a feast. The aquarist sees that the fish is lying on the bottom and is being eaten by snails, but they are not to blame for its death. With a little thought, it’s easy to understand that a slow-moving snail cannot pose any danger to healthy and playful fish.

Snails spoil plants
Some snails, especially those from nature and local water bodies, can damage plants. But the majority of aquarium snails do not harm plants in any way. Snails have a small mouth adapted for scraping surfaces, and higher plants have a hard surface. The origin of the myth is easy to understand - snails constantly eat old, dying leaves and it seems that they are the ones who killed them.

Simple rules:

Don't overfeed
Clean the soil regularly
Get catfish or shrimp so that they also eat algae
Get some fish that eat snails
Turn over driftwood and decor
Use snail traps
7. Check new plants and decor for eggs and snails
Never use plants or decor from local bodies of water.
Do not feed the fish for a couple of days, they will be more willing to eat snails
Watch the water if you use chemicals

Mar 1, 2014 admin

the storm of all coils, physical and melania

The size of Helena snails is 0.5 - 1 cm. The body of the mollusk is elongated, the head and legs have a trunk-like shape

In addition to their decorative properties, Helena snails have very interesting feature - They are predators and feed on animal (protein foods). Unlike many others freshwater snails, they do not eat plant organic matter.

This amazing property Helen is excellently used in the fight against small snails such as: melania, coils, phys, acroluxes. The Helens attack and destroy them. Thus, we can naturally, biologically control the number of small snails that breed like rabbits. Yes, this process is not as fast as using chemicals against snails, but it is natural. In addition, almost all snail repellents contain copper, which is dangerous - poisonous to fish and disrupts the biobalance of the aquarium. In addition, a sudden death of snails from chemicals leads to the same sharp pollution of the aquarium, the growth of dead organic matter, etc. After using such preparations, you need to carefully clean (siphon) the aquarium, filter the water well, and it is advisable to use aquarium charcoal and zeolite.

At the same time, it must be said that helens are absolutely harmless to other aquatic organisms: fish, shrimp, crayfish, plants and even large snails such as ampullaria. They don't attack them because they can't catch up. Regarding ampularia, only small - young individuals can be attacked; adult ampullaria are out of reach of Helena.

When the horde of coils, milania, phys is completely destroyed, there is no need to worry about the fate and diet of Helen. These snails perfectly eat any other proteinaceous organic matter that has fallen to the bottom. In this regard, they can be said to be the orderlies of the aquarium - they eat leftover food and “recycle” dead organisms.

Reproduction and breeding of the Helena snail

These snails reproduce quite quickly in a year; a pair of helens can produce 250-300 offspring, which depends on water parameters. There is no difficulty in breeding Helena; in fact, it happens independently. These snails are of different sexes; it is not possible to determine who is male and who is female until the moment of mating. Therefore, if you want to breed these snails, then buy them in a small group from the pet store - 4-5 pieces. They cost Helena, by the way, it’s not expensive, 1 USD. per piece.

Helen's reproductive process begins with a joint walk through the aquarium; after mating, the female lays eggs on hard objects aquarium The incubation period of eggs is 25-30 days. After this line, the young Helena will fall and burrow into the soil, from which it will not emerge until it reaches 2-3 mm. size. Sexual maturity of a young Helena occurs at six months.

It is worth noting that by placing a small group of helenas in your aquarium, you will not see immediate results. Only after time has passed, when the Helen colony grows, will the result be visible. More effective in this regard is rotten banana skin, which is dropped into the aquarium overnight and taken out with bunches of snails in the morning.

Well, also, these little coil and melania snails are not so bad. They are also beneficial, the reels are excellent at handling dead plant organic matter, they can be fed to fish, especially cichlids. And melania, for example, quite successfully loosens aquarium soil, which ensures the absence of oxygen-free zones in it.

All of the above is just the fruit of observing this type of snail and collecting various information from owners and breeders. We would like to share with visitors not only information, but also with live emotions, allowing you to understand the world of aquariums more fully and subtly. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and first-hand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share with us your successes and joys, share and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every awareness of a mistake, which makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us there are, the more pure and transparent drops of goodness there are in the life and everyday life of our seven billion society.